Lubicon Lake Nation Newsletter

achieve equal rights and

better living conditions for

people in the community.

He has never been on Coun-

cil before. His goals for his

term on Council are to settle

the land claim.

“It is key for better living,

more access to employ-

ment, and improved hous-

ing for our members.”

Coun. Laboucan shares re-

sponsibility for the Econom-

ic Development portfolio

with Coun. Ominayak.

By Elliot Whitehead

Chief Billy Joe Laboucan

says he decided to run for

Council because he felt peo-

ple needed a change. He

hopes to provide equal ac-

cess to jobs and housing,

and work towards settling a

land claim. Chief Laboucan

was on Council in the early

1980s, and his goals for his

current term on Council are

to see community members

working together with re-

newed friendships, and to

settle a land claim.

Chief Laboucan is in charge

of the Education and Gov-

ernance portfolios.

Councillor Joe Auger ran for

Council because he wanted

to see a change in the com-

munity “as things were not

good.”

He has never been on Coun-

cil before. His goals for his

term on Council are to com-

plete a land claim and “see

our members with housing

and other services.”

Coun. Auger is in charge of

the Housing and Infrastruc-

ture portfolio.

Councillor Brian Laboucan

ran for Council to help

Meet the Chief and Council

Did you know?

LUBICON LAKE BAND

WILL RECEIVE

$250,000 OVER TWO

YEARS TO COMPLETE A

TRADITIONAL LAND

USE STUDY.

FIVE BAND MEMBERS

RECENTLY COMPLETED

BUILDING ENVIRON-

MENTAL ABORIGINAL

HUMAN RESOURCES

(BEAHR) TRAINING.

Labour Market Plan

Introduced

2

Community BBQ 3

Strategic Planning

Session

4

Aboriginal Relations

meeting

4

Members complete

BEAHR training

5

Training for Chief &

Council

6

Inside this issue:

November 2013

Lubicon Lake Newsletter

From left: Elder Mike Laboucan, Councillor Brian Laboucan, Councillor Mike Ominayak, Councillor Cheryl

McMann Laboucan, Councillor Irene Laboucan, Chief Billy Joe Laboucan, and Councillor Joe Auger.

L U B I C O N L A K E B A N D # 4 5 3

See COUNCIL on Page 2

Councillor Irene Laboucan

ran for Council because she

saw the need for change,

and believes she can help.

“The band had been in third-

party management since

2009, and we were going

nowhere.”

This is her first term on

Council, and she would like

to see the land claim settled

as a means of creating more

access to jobs in the commu-

nity and have fewer people

depending on social assis-

tance.

Coun. Laboucan is in charge

of the Social Services and

Child Welfare portfolio.

Councillor Cheryl McMann

Laboucan ran for council

because she wanted to see

change in the community.

“It was too long with nothing

happening. I would love to

see the community thrive

and not rely on hand-outs

from the federal govern-

ment. It’s time for Lubicon to

Idle No More.”

This is her first term on

Council, and she would like

to see the land claim settled

to provide housing and in-

door plumbing, and to pro-

vide more to future genera-

tions. Specifically, an Elders

Lodge and a recreation cen-

tre.

Coun. McMann Laboucan is

in charge of the Education

and Health portfolios.

Councillor Mike Ominayak

ran for Council with the goal

Meet the Chief and Council

Page 2


Continued from Page 1 of seeing a land claim settled

“so that people could have

adequate housing and in-

door plumbing.”

This is Coun. Ominayak’s first

term on Council. He is shar-

ing responsibility for the Eco-

nomic Development portfo-

lio with Coun. Brian La-

boucan. Coun. Ominayak will

be mainly working with in-

dustry, and would like to see

the land claim settled.

“It is the key for us to have

better living conditions with

jobs and proper housing.”

Labour market plan introduced at community BBQ

The Lubicon Lake Band #453

received funding from the

Alberta Government, Alberta

Human Services to complete

a Labour Market Study.

The study will assist the Band

in finding out the career aspi-

rations of community mem-

bers and what barriers are

preventing them from

meeting their goals.

Community members were

hired to collect surveys in the

community from members

between the ages of 18-65.

As part of the process, the

community was required to

host a community engage-

ment strategy to prepare

members for the survey pro-

cess. After the community

event, over 200 surveys were

collected and the results are

being rolled up and entered

into a database that will as-

sist members in being placed

in jobs in the surrounding

area.

Children participate in potato-

sack races during the community

barbecue in September.

More than 100 people

attended a community bar-

becue in September, during

which the labour force sur-

vey project was launched.

The project is funded by the

provincial department of

Human Services.

The barbecue was a venue

to engage the Lubicon Lake

community in the labour

force survey, and featured

several different activities

for kids and adults of all ag-

es, including a horse shoe

tournament with 20 teams

and a volleyball tournament

with five kids’ teams and

four adult teams.

Organizers say 35 kids partic-

ipated in children’s activities,

and the entertainment had

something for everyone.

Gordon Shaw was the emcee

for the event, which had

hoop dancer Petie Chalifoux

and comedian Howey Miller

as performers. The Métis

Jiggers also performed: Isai-

ah Cardinal, Lucky Cardinal,

Shaylene Cardinal, Shalyn

Fountain, Celine Leprette,

Jessica Leprette, Matthew

Leprette, Ashley Maltais,

Trenton Maltais, and Jayden

Ominayak.

Fun and games at community BBQ

Page 3

November 2013

Hand games, and hoop dancing were

among the fun activities during the

community barbecue in September.

Lubicon Lake Band #453

hosted a three-day Strategic

Planning Session in October

2013 in Edmonton, AB.

Funding for the session was

provided by the federal gov-

ernment of Aboriginal Affairs

and Northern Development

Canada (AANDC). It is pro-

posal-driven funding from

the Professional and Institu-

tional Development Fund for

the 2013/2014 fiscal year.

The Strategic Planning Ses-

sion was not solely for Chief

and Council. Staff, some

community members, El-

ders, and youth were invited

to provide input to the ses-

sion.

The session consisted of the

following:

Team-building exercise

Input from participants on

what they wanted from

the session

Development of Vision and

Mission statements

Presentations from the

Alberta department of

Aboriginal Relations on

consultation, Traditional

Land Use, Economic Ca-

pacity Building, and the

First Nations Development

Fund (FNDF)

Presentation from Paul

Wyminga and William Vu

of Aboriginal Development

Branch, Human Services

Presentation from Mike

Oostendorp, Senior Field

Services Officer for Aborig-

inal Affairs and Northern

Development Canada

(AANDC)

Presentation from Al Rol-

lins, CEO of Kee Tas Kee

Now Tribal Council

Development of a Work

Plan and deliverables

Review of Chief and Coun-

cil portfolios

Two more Strategic Planning Sessions will take place be-fore March 31, 2014 to assist with identifying goals for the next fiscal year.

Last month, Chief Billy Joe

Laboucan spoke with the

Honourable Robin Camp-

bell, the Minister of Aborig-

inal Relations about several

items, including the inclu-

sion of Little Buffalo in the


land claim.

Chief Laboucan and Minis-

ter Campbell also discussed

economic development

and how the province can

provide support through

the First Nations Develop-

ment Fund (FNDF). The

Band is eligible for the

FNDF, and the program’s

Boris Contreras and Peter

Crossen say the Band will

receive its first funding al-

location in January 2014.

Lubicon will also receive

$250,000 over two fiscal

years (2013/14 and

2014/15) to complete a

Traditional Land Use Study.

Thank you to Aboriginal

Relations’ Allison Parry for

her work on this initiative.


develops Strategic Plan

Discussions

with Alberta

government —

Aboriginal

Relations

Page 4


Clockwise from top: Lubicon Lake Band #453 members participate in a

Strategic Planning Session in Edmonton in October. Youth members

also contributed to the session. One of the presentations was by Al

Rollins, CEO of Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal Council.

Members complete BEAHR training members. “I love to encour-

age and motivate Indigenous

people to work in the Envi-

ronmental sector,” she says.

“On the legal side, when

consultation is required, it is

important that a community

knows what the loss could

be in order to figure out

what accommodation might

be required. Collecting base-

line data of their traditional

lands is critical and this

course teaches students how

to complete this collection.”

Crowe says the Lubicon Lake

Band #453 members who

took the program were very

Last month, five Lubicon

Lake Band #453 members

completed a five-week envi-

ronmental monitor training

program for the community.

They were among a total of

nine students who did the

training. The other four were

from the communities of the

Kee Tas Kee Now Tribal

Council, who agreed to host

the training at the Loon Riv-

er First Nation.

The Building Environmental

Aboriginal Human Resources

(BEAHR) Environmental

Monitor Training Program

was designed for Aboriginal

communities, with the inclu-

sion of both Traditional

Knowledge and Western

Science. It was delivered in

the community for the first

time, starting in September

and finishing in October.

“It is an important time for

Indigenous people to partici-

pate actively in development

and help to reduce the im-

pact to Mother Earth,” says

Carol Crowe, the program

instructor. “This course is

one way to do that.”

Crowe says she enjoyed

teaching the program to the


Page 5

November 2013

enthusiastic about what they

learned.

“Students excelled in both

the classroom but were

much happier when they

were outside completing

environmental assessment,”

she says. “My experience

has been this awakens Indig-

enous people to what is go-

ing on around them, to see

how we need to take care of

Mother Earth in our home,

workplace and lands.”

The BEAHR Environmental

Monitor program is designed

to provide the knowledge

and skills Aboriginal people

need to participate, and

when appropriate, incorpo-

rate local and traditional

knowledge into environmen-

tal monitoring efforts con-

ducted by industry, govern-

ment, and civil society. This

is beneficial to Lubicon Lake

Band #453 as it faces a grow-

ing number of opportunities

and challenges related to the

management of natural re-

sources and protection of

the environment. The chal-

lenges start with an increase

in resource development

projects, and concerns about

sustainability for future gen-

erations.

Congratulations to the Lubicon Lake Band #453

students who completed the BEAHR training program:

Daniel Auger

Janine Gladue

Wendy Gladue

Cheryl Ominayak

Sharon Whitehead

will learn about indigenous

governance models, contem-

porary indigenous govern-

ance, principles of good gov-

ernance, roles of leaders,

managers, and staff, strate-

gic planning, conflict resolu-

tion, and decision-making

and arbitration.

The federal department of

Aboriginal Affairs and North-

ern Development Canada

(AANDC) has provided the

Chief and Council will be

attending a week of training

at The Banff Centre to devel-

op their leadership and gov-

ernance skills.

The program they will be

taking is called Leading

Teams: Good Governance for

Councils and Boards, and is

scheduled for Nov. 17-22.

Among other items on the

agenda, Chief and Council

Chief and Council attend Governance and

Leadership Training at The Banff Centre


Box 1351

St. Isidore, Alberta

T0H 3B0

Office: (780) 629-3945

Fax: (780) 629-3939

Our Vision The Lubicon Lake Band will be unified, self-sufficient and prosperous

through economic opportunities.

Respecting our people and the land while maintaining Treaty Rights,

culture, language, and traditions.

We honour our Elders and continue to guide our youth and future generations.

L U B I C O N L A K E B A N D # 4 5 3

Our Mission The Lubicon Lake Band is committed to successfully completing our Land Claim

and respecting our Traditions while promoting a Healthy environment

in a unified community.

Chief and Council

Chief Billy Joe Laboucan

Councillor Joe Auger

Councillor Brian Laboucan

Councillor Irene Laboucan

Councillor Cheryl McMann

Laboucan

Councillor Mike Ominayak

band with proposal-driven

funding under the Profes-

sional and Institutional

Development Fund. Part of

these funds will assist in

providing training for the

Chief and Council.

Chief and Council look for-

ward to putting into prac-

tice the strategies they

learn during the week-long

seminar.

STAFF

Yvonne Buc,

Band Manager

Administration

Kristin Calliou

Marina Gladue

Edna Laboucan

Martha Laboucan

Consultation

Wayne Auger

Laurence Calliou

Alex Laboucan

Troy Laboucan

Vera Laboucan

Betsy Ominayak

Health

Helen Calliou

Loretta Laboucan

Noreen Noskey

Virginia Ominayak

Documents

Lubicon Lake Nation Newsletter