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LOWER MAINLAND AND FRASER VALLEY |
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Jake Archie |
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Fraser Valley Urban Update (August 8, 2006) Hello from the Fraser Valley Urban Office! My name is Jake Archie and I am the coordinator for the urban office responsible for community members living in the Fraser Valley, Vancouver and Vancouver Island. My office is run out of my home in Abbotsford and I also spend one or two weeks each month in the main office of the Northern Shuswap Treaty Society in Williams Lake. I sit in on all of the Side Table Working groups, which are the face-to-face negotiations between the Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw (consisting of the Canoe Creek Band, Canim Lake Band, Xat’sull First Nations and the Williams Lake Band) and the Provincial and Federal governments. This allows me to voice any concerns or questions from the urban membership directly to the negotiation table. One of my major goals for the office is to facilitate the effective flow of information both from the urban members to the treaty team, and ensure that the urban members are adequately informed of the progress in treaty. To make this possible, I need to know where all of our members are located. I have a list that I am working with although I’m certain that there are many members of our four communities that are eluding me! If you know of anyone that may be interested in the treaty process please have him or her contact me either through e-mail at fraservalleyurban@shaw.ca or toll free at 1.888.392.7361. I try to hold meetings in the evening so that members that work or go to school may have a better opportunity to attend. Although this seems to work for the most part, I know this may conflict with some people’s schedules. Therefore, I would like to invite anyone to contact me that cannot attend the meetings, and we can make arrangements to meet for coffee and talk treaty! I hold a meeting at least once per month and am working closely with Donna Dixon who is the other Urban Office Coordinator, and is responsible for the B.C. interior urban members. We attempt to present the same information to all members, regardless of location, and we also attempt to time the urban meetings in such a way that we can present the chapters that are being negotiated that month. This approach will allow for the urban membership to have a direct voice that can have an immediate impact at the negotiation table. The treaty team has been very helpful in participating in the Urban meetings; there is usually at least one treaty team member in attendance to field any questions that may arise. We are approaching the deadline for the signing the Agreement-in-Principle (AIP), which is March 31st 2007. There is much to completed in this time and maximum participation from the urban members will be crucial to ensure that this treaty provides for our needs. We do, after all, represent half of the total Northern Secwepemc te Qelmucw membership. Jake Archie's Bio My mother is Trudy Archie and my father is Percy Archie, both from Canim Lake. My grandparents are Jacob and Alice Archie, both from Canim Lake as well. I’ve spent some time at Canim Lake in my early years and my teens, but spent most of my youth and early adult life in the Chilliwack, White Rock and Abbotsford area. I currently live in Abbotsford. For the last five years I’ve worked in retail management and recently joined the Northern Shuswap Treaty Society team as the Fraser Valley Urban Office Coordinator. I have also worked as the Urban Office Coordinator in a part time capacity in the past. I will be working closely with Donna Dixon who is the Urban Regional Coordinator for the B.C. interior. I routinely hold meetings for the Urban members from Canoe/Dog Creek, Canim Lake Band, Williams Lake Band and Xat’sull First Nation. These meetings are open to all members of these communities, and are focused on treaty related business specifically as is pertains to urban members. Anyone who would like to be involved in the treaty process and that is from one of these communities, please contact me at fraservalleyurban@shaw.ca or toll free at 1.888.392.7361. |
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