Keepers of the Water: Day 2
In addition to the dozen or so First Nations here, representatives from twenty US and Canadian non governmental organizations have also gathered this week in Ft. Chipewyan.
That’s a lot of talking heads and coordinating with this motley can be a challenge in any situation. For a small community like Ft. Chip already overtaxed by endless legal and regulatory fights, it can be nearly impossible.
This morning, all 18 of us met to begin streamlining communication with Ft. Chip and other native communities represented at the conference and settled on some good positions that we hope to formalize in a proposal by the end of the conference:
- To develop a set of consensus principals to guide relationships and build accountability between NGOs and First Nation communities.
- To commit resources to enhance community capacity to engage effectively with NGOs.
Wish us well, we’ll need all we can get to keep this boat sailing!
One Response to “Keepers of the Water: Day 2”
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October 25th, 2008 at 6:25 am
hi Brant;
I’m curious to know the ‘real’ story. the one i’m being fed makes me feel like it’s “balanced development” BUT that regulations are not keeping pace w development - so companies are not “reigned in”, rather they are left to exploit. It sounded to me like the government was colluding to develop - i.e. supporting the growth by not implementing tight regulations to keep things from getting out of hand.
Would appreciate knowing anything you find out… and if there’s things you need, please share that I can see if there’s anything I can do. Best regards,
Scott the Montrealer.