Media Advisory - Roundtable on Capacity Building - Becoming Masters of our Homeland

OTTAWA, March 11, 2013 /CNW/ - On March 16-17, 2013 at The Westin Hotel Ottawa, over 200 Eeyou-Eenou college and university students will gather in Ottawa for an event designed to help the next generation of Québec Cree take up the challenge of leadership.

Participating in the event will be national figures Justin Trudeau, MP, Papineau, Romeo Saganash, MP, Abitibi-Baie-James-Nunavik-Eeyou, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations Shawn A-in-chut Atleo, New Zealand Maori politician John Tamihere, Cree Grand Chief Dr. Matthew Coon Come and former Grand Chief Dr. Ted Moses.

In July 2012, the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee signed a governance agreement with Québec, under which we, the Crees of Eeyou Istchee, will participate as equals in the governance of a new Eeyou Istchee-Baie-James Regional Government. This agreement, the first of its kind in Canada, is the latest in a series of 75 agreements signed between the Crees, industries and the governments of Québec and Canada, starting with the James Bay and Northern Québec Agreement that made world headlines in 1975.

Today, the Crees of Eeyou Istchee are positioned to become a major force in the economic, political and social life of Québec and Canada. We have gained recognition of our aboriginal rights, and we have been able to translate these rights into innovative forms of self-government with the development of Cree-owned institutions and businesses.

A generation of highly skilled, committed young Cree professionals is needed to build the economy, staff the institutions, safeguard the land and Cree traditions, and meet the challenges of the future. This Roundtable will help the student participants match their educational pathways with the emerging needs of the Cree Nation.

The Roundtable is hosted by the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou-Eenou Istchee) in partnership with the Cree Nation Youth Council, Cree School Board, Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay, CRA Board of Compensation, Cree Regional Economic Enterprise Company (Creeco) and the Niskamoon Corporation.

SOURCE: Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)

Abel Bosum, Cree-Québec Negotiator
Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)
Tel: [phone]

Tina Petawabano, Director of Québec Relations,
Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)
Cell: [phone]

Stay informed by liking the event page at Facebook.com/RoundtableOnCreeCapacity.