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Carrier Sekani Tribal Council
With the position of Education Technical Advisor for the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC), the role is to assist our member communities with their education policies and to support and advocate for our First Nation students at all levels. The position is to provide support and advise:
- The College of New Caledonia First Nations Advisory Committee
- The College of New Caledonia Fine Arts Advisory Committee
- The University of Northern British Columbia Senate Committee on First Nations and Aboriginal people
- The First Nations Education Steering Committee - Finance Committee & Board of Directors
College of New Caledonia (CNC)
The part-time instructors for the First Nations Studies course at CNC are Marlene Erickson and Bruce Allen. They were invited to participate in a Professional Development opportunity from May 5-22, 2005 in China. We attended the Zhejiang Forestry University (ZFU) in Lin’an City. Marlene and I will be more than happy to provide presentations on our trip to Shanghai, Lin’an, Hangzhou, Shaoxing, and Huangchan (Yellow Mountain). We found the people in China to be very friendly, respectful and curious. Thanks to the Professional Development Committee for allowing us this opportunity to explore another culture. We also would like to acknowledge Mr. Paul Blom from the CSTC office with his assistance and his important contacts with the university.
Yinka Dene Declaration on Education, Language and Culture
Recognizing our Creator put us on this earth to protect all life;
Recognizing that the earth is like our Mother as it nourishes, warms and cloths us;
Recognizing our great law of respect for all our brothers and sisters and all of creation handed to us through generations as symbolized in the white feathers of peace;
Recognizing our great law of sharing of our wealth with our brothers and sisters as set fourth in our Bat’lats (potlatch);
We hereby agree, and commit ourselves as elders, chiefs and representatives of the member Tribes of the Yinka Dene Nation, to work together as one for the education of our people.
The principles that will govern our approach to education are:
- The Yinka Dene must control their own education.
- All Yinka Dene must have the opportunity to reach their full human potential through education.
- Yinka Dene education needs the full participation of elders, parents and community leaders in teaching and learning.
- Yinka Dene education promotes the spiritual, mental, emotional and physical well being of our people to ensure their educational success.
The goals of Yinka Dene education are:
With the guidance of the elders, to teach the Yinka Dene language, way of life and history – past and present;
To prepare the Yinka Dene with the tools for success in the modern world.
Carrier Sekani Tribal Council - July 1988
