The NACC executive has been very busy since the last issue of the Whispering Pines and we made it through another successful conference and headed directly into the mandate of this organization as set by the delegates.

NACC would to thank The Honourable Oscar Lathlin, Minister of Aboriginal & Northern Affairs for his welcoming remarks at the 2nd Annual Youth Conference and Veronica Dyck Executive Director for MB 4Youth who was representing The Honourable Peter Bjornson, Minister of Education, Citizenship & Youth. NACC would also like to thank the Chairperson for the Youth component of the conference, Robert Campbell along with Vera Goussaert. MB4Youth – Shawn & Roberta – education perspective presentation was also well received by the Youth Delegates. Without these people the conference wouldn’t have been such a success.

Also thank you to Cleo Holness from AWPI for her presentation on the employment perspective, Aboriginal Youth from professional and trade perspectives. Greg Wood, Mayor of Manigotagan, he is also the Eastern Region Vice-Chairperson for the NACC Board of Directors’ did a job well done on presenting on leadership and the importance of getting involved in your community. Greg said that he was a little choked up inside having to talk about his life where he has been and where he is today. The Elders Round Table was very well received and informative, we would like to thank the participants for attending.

Next year NACC celebrates the 35th year and we would love to hear from all member community councils on what they would like to see for this special anniversary.  A BIG THANK YOU to all our partners and sponsors.  As an organization we would not be able to bring the programming or services to our delegates without their assistance and support.

One of our projects we were able to develop through the assistance of our efficient summer students was the NACC Resource Library.  A list of resources available was included in all delegates’ bags.  We ask that you take the time to review it.  The purpose of this project was to be able to provide member community councils with information on funding programs available in the Province of Manitoba as part of our Community Resource Department.  If you would like any information on programs listed we would invite you to contact our office by fax, telephone or email for any requests.

“Building Consensus towards Safer NACC Communities – A Crime Prevention Plan” was launched officially at our 34th AGM and a challenge put out to the youth to be part of the solution. We would like to thank our partners National Crime Prevention Strategy – Community Mobilization - Government of Canada, Canada/Manitoba Rural Development Initiative, Royal Canadian Mounted Police “D” Division, and the Honourable Minister Peter Bjornson – Manitoba Education, Youth and Citizenship.  For this pilot project we plan to work with 12 NACC communities to assist community members in developing their own crime prevention plan.  If you are interested in knowing more about this project please contact our office or provide a letter or resolution from your community council.

Our CIMNET Webpage development is well on its way and we received kudos from all attendees at our training session during the AGM.  We still have 5 spots open for any community councils who are interested in joining this exciting project. Kathy Frisk is the project manager and she can be reached toll free 1-888-947-6222 if you should have any questions. Our webpage can be found at http://nacc.cimnet.ca.

The 34th NACC Annual General Assembly was very exciting and it was a thrilling time for the Youth who attended our conference from the different regions of the North.

The Administrator/Clerk group were spilt up into two groups one group went on tour of the Business Service Centre and the other group went to the CIMNET training this I found to be very exciting because that training gave hands-on look at the NACC new Web site and it gave the clerks a chance to see how easy CIMNET website’s makes it simple to up-date information.

On a more work related note there are a few program deadlines coming up in the near future. Manitoba Hydro’s Awards, Bursaries, and Scholarships for 2004-2005. The deadline for most of these offerings is December 1, 2004 so I encourage you to get your applications in today. I have the application forms and program pamphlets so feel free to call me or contact Julie Deslauriers Community Relations Advisor at Manitoba Hydro Phone (204) 474-4560 Fax (204) 474-4820 her e-mail: jdeslauriers@hydro.mb.ca or visit their website to see the complete list of programs offered at www.hydro.mb.ca. If you would like any information on different funding and programs available please visit out website: http://nacc.cimnet.ca. There is a list of our library resources for your community needs.

Hard work and dedication has paid off for Shawonipinesiik Kinew of Winnipeg Manitoba, who has garnered a prestigious Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation millennium excellence award, which consists of a $4,000 cash award to be used toward the cost of her studies at any Canadian university or college.

She is a proud citizen of the Ojibways of Onigamin First Nation, Treaty #3. She is one of twelve students from Winnipeg to receive a Local Excellence Award from the Canada Millennium Scholarship Foundation.

Shawon plans to be a writer, and will be pursing her studies at McGill University this fall.

This year’s conference delivered an outstanding amount of youth resources, facts on health issues, youth crime and the chance to socialize with fellow Manitoba youth and network ideas.

The conference’s atmosphere radiated a welcoming effect. It almost felt like home in a room full of strangers. Only the strangers in the room were yet to get acquainted, become team members and eventually friends.

As if representing our community wasn’t enough, we were fortunate to learn about the devastating effects of Diabetes. Diabetes affects everyone in the Canadian population. Whether it is being affected by it, or knowing of someone who does. Not only were the presentations very informative, they were concise and easy to understand. It was a bit overwhelming, with all the information to be absorbed. However, the information was the kind that one cannot forget so easily. For example, there are ten teaspoons of sugar in one can of pop.

There are some people out there that drink three to five cans of pop daily. This amount of sugar is not good for anyone, especially for First Nations’ people who are at higher risk of developing Diabetes. There are also two types of Diabetes. Type I affects a small percentage, around ten percent of the Canadian population. Type I is when the body doesn’t make enough, or any insulin and daily injections is required. Type II Diabetes affects a vast percentage of the population. Type II Diabetes is when there isn’t enough insulin produced and the body has a hard time using the insulin they produce, kind of like an ‘insulin resistance.’ With Type II Diabetes dietary restrictions are imposed. Another interesting fact is Acanthosis Nigricans. What is that? First, the correct pronunciation is â-can-thô-sis nî-gri-cans. This is a physical sign of skin discoloration commonly found around the neck. It looks as though the person with this skin discoloration has dirt in the creases of their neck, even if the neck is clean. This is a sign of the body not using insulin. There were also booklets on how to live with Diabetes and how to avoid getting Diabetes.

Gangs are a serious matter today not only in urban settings but rural communities as well. RCMP’s intention is to bring this matter to youth’s attention. Their message is clear to everyone. They would like to see youth united to work on a common goal. If this strays, youth get separated and lost and are led into gang lifestyles.

There are too many youth in contemporary society that aren’t aware of the many programs Manitoba has to offer them and their communities. Dean Fontaine who is employed with the Winnipeg Gang Unit specializes on gang-related problems and gang prevention. He helps individuals who are in gangs. He mentioned that a lot of youth get fooled in to gangs thinking they can get the family life. Fontaine said that no matter what, being a gang member always comes back to you. Fontaine had youth intrigued with his personal stories of visits to the prisons and jails. He gets important information from these members and uses them in his presentations Tattoos, colors, locations for example is what Fontaine shares with others to warn them about who’s who and what color signifies what. Fontaine concluded that trying to leave a gang is tough. One would have to change appearance, location and it becomes very difficult for this individual. This particular presentation was very informative and tragic how some youth lead this lifestyle.

One of these programs is the 4-H Program whose goal is to develop youth in technical and life skills to build strong and capable future community leaders. 4-H Program offers communities opportunities in many different areas, such as beadwork, gardening and photography. 4-H focuses on the four words that begin with the letter “H.” These are: Heart, Heads, Health and Hands. A youth can take advantage of this program and offer it to other youth in their communities. This program is rural based and has been running for ninety-one years in Canada. 4-H sees to help youth in their communities by engaging them to take initiative learn new things and help each other. 4-H also encourages youth to start a 4-H club in their communities. Call your local agriculture office. It’s a good way to mobilize the community.

Another free program offered in Manitoba is Teen Touch. Established in 1983, this organization requires the help of willing, sincere volunteers to come in and offer their support through the Teen Talk help phone line. Youth can phone this number anytime they feel this need to and just talk. Of course all calls are anonymous and confidential. The help line is there whether a youth wants to talk about a bad day they’ve been having or are seeking some advice on a subject they need help on. It’s good to know that there are others out there that want to help youth with any questions they have or even if its’ just that need to talk to someone other than their friends or family and share their feelings. Check out their website www.teentouch.org.

A more serious, and for some youth present, more private topic of STI’s was presented by two very confident young adults. STI stands for sexually transmitted infections, more commonly known as sexually transmitted disease or STD for short. Youth were given the signs and symptoms, safe practices, photographic descriptions and pamphlets on safe sex. According to a recent study, the numbers among youth were very high for STI’s in Manitoba. Moderate check-ups with the doctor were stressed just to be sure. So, it’s important for the good health of everyone that safe sex should be practiced at all times.

These were a few of the many presentations that were offered during this year’s conference. However, the presentations weren’t the only subject being offered. Youth themselves had the opportunity to engage in fun learning activities that taught some very valuable lessons. Games on teamwork, communication, and networking were enjoyed by many. One activity had groups of six compete against each other to see which group could cover one of their own like a mummy in toilet paper! Dizziness accompanied with laughter was seen and heard throughout the room. It was evident that everyone was enjoying themselves, learning the concept of teamwork and friendly competition.

Employees from Junior Achievement delivered an illustrating Power Point presentation on Advertising, Branding and Marketing. Lisa Grisk who is president of Junior Achievement in Manitoba said that ‘great marketing begins with creativity and imagination.’

Did you know that we see 560 advertisements a day, which in a year equals up to 200,000? A Brand by definition is a name of a product. For example, Nike and CanAqua are brands. It is been estimated that we see 10,000 brands a day. That means when 365 are up, we would have seen 3.6 million.

Another topic that was introduced was a marketing challenge. In this marketing challenge, groups from their regions were given a sixty second commercial to advertise their community through a Creative Brief. This Creative Brief contains nine elements of advertising a product. For example, one element would be ‘What is the key consumer response we want?’ Major brainstorming and good ideas were shared amongst the groups. The groups were given a day and a half to complete their skit with the help of someone who had marketing background.

A good logo, target market and a substantial amount of confidence were among the requirements of successfully marketing your community. This was an awesome exercise, because everyone submitted ideas, agreed and disagreed, and most importantly it challenged the youth. Youth had a taste of how marketing works, what steps to follow, and marketing terms. Once the commercials were done youth joined the rest of the Elders and community leaders in the main conference room. Judges were selected to evaluate the commercials on creativity, originality and to see if the groups followed the nine elements of the Creative Brief.

Our group consisted of youth representatives from The Town of The Pas, Flin Flon and Opaskwayak Cree Nation. Our company was NOR-MAN (as in Northern Manitoba) Trio (as in the three communities) and Tourism (what our communities had to offer tourists.) It was time consuming and we were the last group to finish, but all our efforts paid off because our regions came in first place. I’ll let you know now, all of us in our group were expecting to come in third, because the other groups did very good jobs and some of them were quite amusing and creative. It didn’t matter who won though, we all participated in this challenge and completed it and that’s what’s most important.

Youth concluded the conference with a discussion on issues and views need to be addressed for next year’s conference Leadership skills, fine arts and even possibly CPR training. We’ll see what’s in store for next year.

A huge thank you to Jacqui Meckling and Reg Meade for inviting Opaskwayak Cree Nation to attend this conference for a second time. We truly appreciate your generosity in providing the proper tutelage to give youth strength to become successful leaders. We look forward to meeting with your organization in the near future.