News

The impacts of the residential school system are ongoing and felt throughout our member nations. This day is set aside to honour survivors, their families and communities.

CSTC will be closed Sept. 30 to give staff and members much needed time to spend with loved ones and to participate in reflection and healing.

If you are in distress and need support, please contact the Indian Residential School Survivors Society 24-hour Crisis Line at 1-800-925-4419.

EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT – 3 Month Term

Job Summary

The primary purpose of the Executive Assistant’s position is to provide administrative support to the Tribal Chief, Board of Directors, and the General Manager. The Executive Assistant role requires excellent administrative skills and the ability to function efficiently as a support person to the political and administrative personnel of the Tribal Council. The position requires an ability to work with minimum supervision and in an orderly and efficient manner. The incumbent must be proficient in knowledge of Microsoft Office Applications, minute taking, and maintain a high degree of confidentiality. Report writing and business English skills are required, along with excellent interpersonal and team management skills.

Job Responsibilities/ Duties:

• Coordinates schedule of appointments for the Tribal Chief;
• Prepares all levels of briefing notes for the Tribal Chief;
• Exercises due diligence for walk-in clientele, and phone calls;
• Correspondence and material presentation;
• Responsible for ensuring that CSTC and Special Meeting Minutes, Motions, and related documentation are produced and distributed in an orderly, accurate, and timely fashion;
• Ensures that meeting packages are completed in a timely fashion for advanced distribution to the Board of Directors (Chiefs);
• Maintain confidentiality of information and files;
• Filing and administrative records management;
• Attends public forums, meetings, etc., as directed;
• Assists in the coordination of Tribal Council special events (AGA, Special Assembly, etc.);
• Coordinates travel advances and reconciles expenditures in accordance with the financial regulations of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council;
• Provides support/vacation coverage to other Administration staff as required
• Other related duties, as requested by General Manager.

Working Conditions:

Hours of work are to be from 8:30am-4:30pm, Monday to Friday.
Minimum weekend and evening work, but will be given sufficient notice if required. Some travel will be required.

Qualifications

The Executive Assistant position requires post-secondary education in a relevant field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience. In addition, knowledge of traditions, values, and language of the Carrier Sekani people is required, along with an understanding and appreciation of relevant local, provincial, and national issues and concerns, as they relate to Aboriginal people.

Must have a valid Class 5 driver’s license.

If you are interested in this term position submit a cover letter and resume by August 15, 2021, to:

Carrier Sekani Tribal Council
Attention: General Manager
Suite 200 1460 6th Ave, Prince George, BC V2L 3N2
Email: generalmanager@cstc.bc.ca

We thank all applicants for their interest in this position; however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Preference will be given to those of Aboriginal Ancestry per Section 16 of the Canadian Human Rights Act. People of Carrier Sekani are encouraged to apply.

Stellat’en First Nation, Nadleh Whut’en and Ts’il Kaz Koh jointly developed the app for Android users with funding from the Pathways Forward Agreement, an agreement made between the provincial government and the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council to increase economic opportunities for Carrier Sekani First Nations while addressing decision-making, management and revenue sharing of lands and resources, and healing communities through socio-cultural work.

“Your language is your sense of belonging and identity,” says Eleanor Nooski, Nadleh Whut’en Language and Culture Coordinator. “Once the children start learning, there’s so much pride when the elders see it, and there’s a ripple effect in the whole community.”

The app is called ‘Dakelh nekhunik yats’ulhduk,’ which translates to English to mean ‘we will speak like our ancestors.’ It interfaces users with recorded pronunciations of the words spoken in a regional dialect of Dakelh. Traditional learning through oral history has been easily incorporated into the app.

A previous version of the app was developed strictly for iPhone, but was cost prohibitive for community members who cannot afford Apple products. The new app includes over 900 newly recorded words in a shared dialect between the three nations and is fully owned and copyrighted by the communities.

“Our language was never recorded and never written,” says Stellat’en First Nation Language Assistant Dennis Patrick. “It’s been a generation that’s lost virtually everything, and it’s important to know that when we learn this language, we’re learning about the land and who we are.”

Development of the app began in 2014, when elders and youth stayed in a hotel together to record Dakelh words for things like body parts, animals and phrases. In 2018, the three First Nations began collaboration on building the app for Android.

Collaboration between the three communities was key because the number of fluent speakers in each community varies, with Nadleh Whut’en having such low numbers, developing the app independently would have been very difficult.

Ts’il Kaz Koh Language Program and Culture Coordinator Sherry Tibbetts believes this app is an important part of healing through language and cultural activities. She is happy to be a part of the collaborative approach to teaching language in new ways.

“We live in a time when we have to be creative and innovative in everything we do,” says Tibbetts, who credits her close colleague for empowering her to take bold action to help her community. “I’ve been inspired by Karen Sharp. She taught me that everything you want to do, think beyond the impossible. When opportunity’s thrown at you, you take it.”

‘Dakelh nekhunik yats’ulhduk’ is available for download on Android.

CONTACT:

Audrey McKinnon
Communications Coordinator
250-617-3862
communicationsofficer@cstc.bc.ca

This day falls in the midst of two other important cultural markers; National Indigenous History Month and Pride Month. Given the cultural reverence of this time and in respect for Two-Spirited and other LGBTQIA+ people, we have much to celebrate. Our shared culture of acceptance, engagement and understanding is worthy of recognition on its own. As we honour National Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the midst of both National Indigenous History Month and Pride Month, we have three wonderful reasons to celebrate.

While it’s important to acknowledge our Peoples on this day, we cannot forget how much work there is still to do towards reconciliation. While this is a 25th anniversary, we as the Dakelh people have been celebrating our history since time immemorial. Every day, we can be proud of our history, our culture, our tenacity and our strength. Today is an important reminder of that fact.