CHIPPEWAS OF THE THAMES COMMUNITY STORY - Cottfn

CHIPPEWAS OF THE THAMES COMMUNITY 

STORY 

Prepared for: 

Chippewas of the Thames First 

Nations 

October 2011 

2011-2012 

Prepared by: 

Four Worlds Centre for Development Learning 

Box 395, Cochrane, Alberta Canada T4C 1A6 

Ph. 403-932-0882; Fax 403-932-0883 

www.fourworlds.ca; anyone@fourworlds.ca

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Children (Aged 0 to 12) ....................................................................................... 3. 

1. What is life like now for children? .............................................................................. 3. 

2. What can we learn from the past? ............................................................................ 8. 

3. What will things be like for children in a positive future? ........................................... 9. 

4. What has to happen and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to 

where we want to go? ............................................................................................. 10. 

Youth (Aged 13 To 15) ...................................................................................... 12. 

1. What is life like now for children? ............................................................................ 13. 

2. What can we learn from the past? .......................................................................... 18. 

3. What will things be like for children in a positive future? ......................................... 20. 



Women (Aged 26 to 55) ..................................................................................... 23. 

1. What is life like now for women? ............................................................................. 24. 


3. What will things be like for women in a positive future? .......................................... 28. 



Men (Aged 26 to 55) .......................................................................................... 33. 

1. What is life like now for men? ................................................................................. 34. 


3. What will things be like for men in a positive future? ............................................... 36. 



Elders (Aged 55 plus) 39. 

1. What is life like now for elders?............................................................................... 40. 


3. What will things be like for elders in a positive future? ............................................ 43. 



Governance and Political Life .......................................................................... 46. 

1. What is political life in the community like now? ...................................................... 47. 

Chippewas of the Thames Community Story 

October 2011 

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ii 


3. What will things be like politically in a positive future? ............................................. 49. 



Economic Life .................................................................................................... 52. 

1. What is economic life in the community like now?................................................... 53. 


3. What will things be like economically in a positive future? ....................................... 58. 



Community Health and Social Life .................................................................. 60. 

1. What is social life in the community like now? ......................................................... 61. 


3. What will things be like socially in a positive future? ............................................... 65. 



Cultural and Spiritual Life ................................................................................. 67. 

1. What is the cultural and spiritual life in the community like now? ............................ 68. 


3. What will things be like culturally and spiritually in a positive future? ...................... 73. 



Land Selection and Natural Resource Management ...................................... 75. 

1. What is the current situation with respect to the management of the community‘s 

lands? ..................................................................................................................... 76. 

2. What can we learn from the past about land and natural resource management? .. 78. 

3. How would we management land and natural resources in a positive future? ......... 79. 




October 2011

CHILDREN (AGES 0 TO 12) 

The following questions guided discussion about the children of the Chippewas of 

the Thames First Nation: 

1. What is life like now for children? 

Are they healthy (mentally, emotionally, physically & spiritually)? 

Are they safe? 

Are they learning what they need to? 

What needs do they have that are not being met? 

What are their assets and strengths? 

Is life different for girls than it is for boys? If yes, how? 

2. How were things different for children in the past? 

What was expected of children then? 

What can we learn from about the way that children were raised in the past? 

What can we learn from the past that can help COTT children have a good life and 

grow up into adults who live well and make a contribution to their communities and 

to society in general? 

3. What will things be like for children in a positive future? 

What would a truly healthy child be like (mentally, emotionally, socially, physically, 

spiritually)? 

What would it be like to be a child in a healthy family and community? 

What would have to change in order to achieve a healthy future for all children? 

Who has to be involved in making these changes? 

What parts of the needed changes can the COTT community do on its own, with 

little or no help from the outside? What actions are needed? 

What sorts of help are needed from outside the community to support the process 

of making these changes? 

What sorts of learning are needed? Who needs to learn? 

4. What are the main goals to be achieved to improve the future of our children: 

In the next 1 to 2 years? 

In the next 5 years? 


The discussion sparked by these questions among the participants of the 

Chippewas of the Thames First Nation Community Story consultation process is 

summarizes in the material below. 

1. What is life like now for children? 

Children are very much in the centre of many people‘s thinking about what is most 

important in the development of the best of all possible futures for the community of the 

Chippewas of the Thames (COTT). On the one hand, it is very clear that the children of 

the community are deeply loved and that many people are making daily efforts, 


October 2011 

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sometimes at considerable personal sacrifice, to ensure that children have their basic 

needs met, that they are safe, well educated, and receive the guidance and support of 

family and community as they develop their many gifts and talents. 

4 

On the other hand, participants in the COTT Community Story process shared very 

serious concerns about the current conditions under which many of the community‘s 

children are living, and about the impact of these conditions are having on child 

development, well-being, safety, character development, identity and happiness. 

Living Conditions at Home 

a. Basic needs – Participants pointed out that some 75% of the community‘s children 

are ―living in poverty‖, according to any measure in Canada today. 1 What this means 

is that many children‘s families are unable to meet basic needs at least some of the 

time for lack of family income. As a result, many children are also forced to go without 

recreation and education opportunities, (for lack of transportation or money for entry 

fees) and sometimes even basic nutritional or medical requirements. The collapse of 

the economy in the region is having a huge impact as costs go up and jobs are 

scarce, making it even harder for our families. 

b. Have’s and Have not’s – a smaller percentage of families are materially well off, and 

the children of these families have all their material comforts and needs met. These 

children set the bar very high for the children of the community from ―have not‖ 

families. Peer pressure about having more is replacing positive encouragement to be 

more. 

c. Family wellness – participants estimate (conservatively) that 80% of the 

community‘s children are living in a home in which alcohol and drug abuse is enough 

of a problem to present a clear and present danger to child safety and well being. As 

well, the role modeling many children are internalizing is very likely to ensure that the 

cycle of addictions will continue for yet another generation. 

d. Domestic violence and abuse – participants are very concerned about high levels of 

domestic violence and abuse, both in terms children themselves being violent, and in 

terms of the traumatizing impact that witnessing violence is known to have on child 

development, particularly in the early years. 

1 Such as ―LICO‖ (Low Income cut off) 


October 2011

e. Low Expectation – In many homes parents have low expectations of their children. 

Children are not well supervised, are not asked to do chores, are not encouraged to 

participate in family conversations but are given many material benefits (like an x-box) 

without having to work for them. Some parents don‘t know how to express love to 

their children except by giving them ―things‖. 

f. Cocooning – In some families children cocoon inside their own little world of 

technology (x-box, internet, cell phone) and are not really brought into the life of the 

family. Some (even very young) kids are out on the roads all hours of the night. Then 

they go home in the morning and sleep all day. 

g. Healthy eating – Many children in COTT are overweight or obese (more than half). 

This means that many homes are providing children with unhealthy eating choices. 

As well children are consuming a steady diet of junk and fast foods when out of the 

home. As a result, a huge percentage of COTT children are having the foundations of 

their life-long health undermined at an early age. Children are developing diabetes, 

high blood pressure, hypertension, asthma and many other fully preventable (and 

potentially deadly) diseases at younger and younger ages than ever before. 

h. Caretakers – In a significant number of COTT families, single parents, and 

grandparents are looking after children because parents are either not available or 

estranged from the family unit. Kids are leaving kids, and grandparents end up having 

to take care of there little ones. 

i. Language and culture – In many homes children are not learning their Ojibwe 

language, culture, or history and the spiritual teachings that go with them. 

j. Spiritual and Moral Guidance – In far too many homes, children are not exposed to 

any spiritual or moral teachings. Children in these homes are growing up without a 

moral compass or any sense of purpose or direction outside their own impulses. 

k. Role model healthy families – participants also pointed out that there are many 

strong and healthy COTT families (about 30%). Some are well off, others are not, but 

all of them provide safe, healthy environments for children that nurture high self- 

esteem, development of good character and positive identity (as an Ojibwe person), 

as well as success in school. These households provide excellent role models for the 

next generation. They expect children to do chores and accept responsibilities as well 

as to orient their lives to the service of others rather than simply filling up their days 


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and nights with entertainment and distractions. In these households parents give a lot 

of time to their children, engage them in conversations regularly, and maintain a 

relationship of trust and caring that children know they can rely on. 

l. Discipline – is harder to administer these days, kids are aware of child welfare laws 

and threaten their parents with involvement from the authorities (CAS, Police, 911). 

This is stressful for parents, as a result there is no discipline, and kids get wilder and 

wilder. 

m. Impact of Residential Schools – We were raised in the past like one big family. 

Residential schools resulted in our grandparents not showing their children emotion 

and love and giving out too much discipline, which is why the current generation of 

parents don‘t want to give out any discipline and in general don‘t know. 

The Influence of schools 

a. The early childhood programs in COTT provide a positive and supportive environment 

for small children to grow. These programs also put considerable effort into 

supporting parents to be effective in fostering healthy child development. 

b. Something happens in the transition from early childhood to grades one and two. By 

the time our children reach grade two, many of them are already in trouble, both in 

terms of academics and in terms of social development and behaviour. 

c. Many children in the Antler River School are testing (academically) below grade level. 

By the time they leave Antler River and go on to High School, many are already 2-3 

grade levels behind. 

d. School officials report ―we watch the children coming off the buses in the morning and 

many of their little faces are already angry or sad. Our children are coming to school 

hurting.‖ The school currently has no wellness or healing programs for children and 

staff have not been trained or oriented to work with children that are hurting. 

Participants in the Community Story process say that at least some of the barriers to 

academic progress as well as many of the behaviour problems the school is 

experiencing are rooted in unresolved wellness issues children are carrying from 

home. 

e. ―There is no real discipline at the school‖, remarked a group of high school 

participants. ―Kids run the school‖ and ―the teachers don‘t know what to do‖. A parent 


October 2011

of a high school student reported, ―my daughter told me ‗that place I dumb. I came out 

of a dumb place and now I am dumb.‘‖ The child‘s frustration was about being 

academically behind her classmates in grade nine. The school has no budget for 

remedial or special education. 

f. Bullying is a huge problem in the community. Adults are bullying children; older, 

stronger children are bullying younger or weaker ones, and a significant number of 

children suffer a great deal from almost daily fear, anxious worry and emotional and 

physical abuse they receive from bullying. For some children, every time they have to 

go where there are other children is traumatic and hurtful. For them, school is a 

frightening and dangerous place. 

Community Conditions 

a. Recreation and social activities – everyone who participated in the Community 

Story consultations agreed that there is not enough recreation or social activities for 

children, and especially for younger children. The most frequently mentioned barriers 

preventing children from accessing healthy recreation opportunities included: i) lack of 

transportation which children needed to get to and from the activities; ii) lack of funds 

to pay for activities that have fees attached and equipment required, such as hockey 

or some off reserve recreation programs; and iii)the absence of a variety of recreation 

programs geared toward younger children and a wide variety of interests. 

b. Safety – As mentioned in ―f‖ above bullying is a very serious problem in the COTT 

community, and it can happen almost anywhere (in homes, on the roads, at school, in 

recreation programs, on the school bus etc,). The absence of any serious 

consequences for bullying and the lack of an organized anti-bullying program, as well 

as what both young people and adults repeatedly describe as ―ineffective‖ or 

―completely absent‖ policing leaves many children vulnerable to bully, violence, and 

intimidation. Many younger children ―walk around‖ during the night on the roads of the 

community (even younger children) because the lack of ―something to do‖ and also 

the lack of adequate supervision. This exposes them to the risk of being hit by an 

impaired driver or being violated by bullies, or worse. 


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The Community Program Picture 

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There are of course community programs and initiatives in COTT that target children 

with at least some of their resources. Participants in the Community Story consultation 

pointed out that what is missing is that these programs typically don‘t talk to each other, 

don‘t work together, don‘t share resources, and in general remain isolated from one 

another, when exactly the opposite is needed. The example of children‘s wellness was 

given, and participants pointed out that the school, health department programs, and 

Mnaasged do not now have any kind of integrated plan or shared initiative to deal with 

the fact that ―children are coming to school hurting‖. 

2. What can we learn from the past? 

In the traditional past, every child lived and grew up in the loving embrace and under 

the watchful eye of family, clan and community. No child was left alone, and every 

child learned that they had responsibilities to the Creator, themselves, to their 

families, and to their community. 

Children grew up knowing who they were and how they fit into the rest of the 

community. Their place in the scheme of things was defined by the kinship 

relationships between themselves, their elders and the community, but also in terms 

of the Seven Grandfather teachings and key transition ceremonies marking a persons 

progress towards manhood or womanhood, and full adult membership as a valued 

contributor to the well being of the whole community. No one was allowed to be idle 

or to focus only on themselves. Everyone was raised to see themselves as part of a 

greater whole. 

Even in times of our living elders people kept their children close, raised them to be 

disciplined and hard workers, and made sure they knew that they were loved and 

valued members of their family and community. 

One participant gave the example that ―Grandma taught us how to quilt, chalk the 

lines, and sew. None of the kids today know how to do this‖. 

People used to donate their time to teach children and young people things like 

sewing, beadwork, pottery, woodwork, leather making, rug or vest making, etc. We 

had lots of talented people who shared their knowledge and time with young people. 


October 2011

They recognized back then that kids need structure in order to flourish. That‘s how a 

whole generation of us discovered our talents. 

Lots of adults volunteered to spend time with kids in all sorts of activities, both work 

and play (hockey, farming, hunting, fishing etc.). 

Our families were close. We held each other close. If you were a child you couldn‘t 

wander far before someone was there beside you. 

Children had to use their imaginations to play. We didn‘t have television, x-box‘s, etc. 

We had each other and our imaginations. We were never bored. Today‘s kids don‘t 

really know how to play. Maybe the little ones, but the bigger ones forget because of 

technology. 

Everyone worked. No one could remain idle. No work, no eat. No free handouts, even 

in the family. We grew up learning that it‘s normal to work for what you get. 

3. What will things be like in a positive future? 

The positive future we want will combine the best of the past with the expanded 

possibilities of learning from the whole world around us. Children will grow up with the 

loving, healthy, spiritually grounded and prosperous family that will include engaged and 

dedicated parents and grandparents, uncles and aunts, cousins and other extended 

family members. Children will grow up knowing who they are as Ojibwe people, free 

from violence, abuse and addictions, with a strong sense of purpose and direction, a 

well-developed moral compass, and with the orientation of being a net contributor (not a 

taker) from their family, clan, community, and society of large. 

Home life 

Our families will be free from the intergenerational impact of residential schools and 

other historical trauma, and especially free from addictions, violence, and abuse. 

Families will provide every child with the nurturing, love, guidance and discipline they 

need to develop their gifts and talents. Our children learn will learn to practice the seven 

grandfather and other wisdom teachings of our culture, and to follow the spiritual 

guidance of whatever spiritual path our families follow. Our families will no longer be 

trapped in poverty, so our children will grow up having their basic needs met. At the 

same time, we will not teach our children dependency or learned helplessness. Rather, 

they will learn to work hard, to be self-reliant, to do their best, and to contribute to the 


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wellbeing of their families, their community, and to the world at large. They will also be 

expected to learn and follow a code of conduct and morality that leads to a healthy and 

productive life for themselves and those around them. 

Education 

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Our children will be provided with life-long learning opportunities that stimulate and 

support their mental, emotional, physical and spiritual development as balanced and 

healthy human beings. In addition to excellence in academic pursuits, children‘s 

education will focus on learning for life, and will include such areas as Ojibwe language, 

cultural teachings and history, life skills, connection to nature, information technology, 

music, arts, physical education, crafts, trade skills and exposure to the people‘s and 

cultures of the world and to the responsibilities of a global citizenship. 

Community life 

Children will be at the center of a vibrant and healthy community life. They will be 

expected to contribute, and they will have a voice in helping to guide ongoing community 

development. Bullying and all forms of violence and intimidation against children will be 

virtually eliminated, replaced by the use of collaborative strategies to heal differences 

and resolve conflicts. 

A well-rounded recreational program that is fully integrated with those of nearby 

communities and supported by easy access to transportation will make it possible for all 

of our children, no matter what their abilities or interests, to participate in a rich array of 

recreational options. 

Community programs 

Community programs that are geared to serving the needs of children will be 

seamlessly integrated, so that from the point of view of the child and the family, there will 

be one point of contact (perhaps the school) through which all needs and opportunities 

that can be addressed through programs are addressed. 

4. What has to happen and what do we have to do to get from where we 

are, to where we want to go? 

The participants in the COTT Community Story process offered the following ideas 

and recommendations for the next steps towards the future we want for our children. 


October 2011

a. Family healing and development has to become a high priority. We specifically need 

to address the challenge that 150 of 260 of our families on reserves have been ―red 

flagged‖ by child protective services as being families ―at risk‖ in terms of child safety 

and well being, and that an estimated 80% of the community‘s children are living in 

homes where alcohol and drug abuse poses a serious risk to their safety and well 

being. Parent training and support, family healing, and many other elements need to 

be built into such a venture. 

b. The community needs to arise from the grassroots to support a broad range of 

recreational, social, and cultural activities that effectively engage the full spectrum of 

interests and needs (sports, music, culture, art, travel, computers, etc.) for children of 

all ages, with special attention to the gap that now exists for younger children. 

c. The school program needs to be expanded to address the social, healing and 

personal development needs of children. School needs to become a safe place to 

learn and to heal 

d. Also through the school, as well as through other avenues, children need to be 

exposed to their own cultural history, Ojibwe language, traditional knowledge (i.e., 

medicine, traditional foods, etc.), stories, and wisdom teachings, with a focus on 

securing a strong identity foundation. 

e. An intervention is needed to address the low academic achievement; poor school 

success, and high drop out rates. 

f. Some children are living in families that are either extremely poor or too unhealthy to 

ensure that their basic needs (food, clothing, shelter, medicine, etc.) are being met. A 

systematic initiative is needed to ensure that every Chippewas child has their basic 

needs met so they have a choice to grow up healthy. This should be a clan and 

community based initiative and not one that is left to a few program workers. 

g. Bullying needs to be targeted as ―totally unacceptable‖ behaviour. Both victims and 

bullies need healing, and a community campaign to end bullying will need the active 

involvement and support of everyone to ensure success. 


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YOUTH (AGES 13 TO 25) 

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The following questions guided the discussion about the youth of the Chippewas of 

the Thames First Nation. 

1. What is life like now for our youth? 

How healthy are they: mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually? 

Are they safe? 

Are they learning what they need to learn? 

What problems/obstacles do youth face? 

Is it different for girls than it is for boys? If yes, how? 

What needs to youth have in order to be healthy or balanced? What are their 

assets and strengths? 

2. What can we learn from the past about life for youth? 

How were things different for youth in the past? What was expected of youth 

then? 

What can we learn from the way that youth were raised in the past? 

What can we learn from the past that can help COTT youth have a good live and 

grow into adults who live well and make a contribution to their communities and 

to society in general 

3. What will thing be like for youth in a positive future? 

What would a truly healthy youth be like (mentally, emotionally, socially, 

physically, spiritually)? 

What would it be like to be a young person in a healthy family and community? 

What would have to change in order to achieve a healthy future for all youth? 


What parts of the needed changes can the COTT community do on its own, with 

little or no help from the outside? What actions are needed? 

What sorts of help are needed from outside the community to support the 

process of making these changes? 


4. What are the main goals to be achieved to improve the future for today's 

youth and for the next generations of youth coming up? 




Many of the same problems and challenges described in the previous section on 

children continue to be important issues in the lives of COTT youth, with the added 

complications that come with going to school in town, increased mobility, peer pressure 

around alcohol and drugs, raging hormones, lateral violence, low social and economic 

status and the search for self identity, purpose and belonging. Grade nine marks a major 

transition in the lives of the community‘s youth, because that‘s when they have to leave 


October 2011

elative safety and security of the community and travel off Reserve to attend High 

School. In that world, they suddenly find themselves to be ―outsiders‖ subjected to 

racism and many kinds of unhealthy peer pressure, as well as academically 

disadvantaged (often several grade levels behind in core subjects). Acute feeling of 

inadequacy and shame are reported by some youth, and many are not even able to 

successfully make this transition, so they drop out. 

Another very difficult period for many COTT young people occurs when they leave 

school (whether they have graduated or not). If they are not continuing in some post- 

secondary programs, many end up unemployed, on welfare and without real aim or 

direction in their lives. This age group often becomes immersed in an extended 

adolescent lifestyle involving alcohol and drug use, partying, unprotected sex and 

irresponsible and sometimes dangerous behaviour patterns. Many babies are born from 

parents of this age group, who are really not ready or even willing to act as parents. The 

insights and observations of Community Story participants shed light on these 

challenges and suggest pathways for change. 

1. What is life like now for youth? 

Home Life 

a. Many of the youth of Chippewas of the Thames have grown up and are still living in 

homes in which poverty, alcohol and drug abuse, and intergenerational trauma and 

abuse colours every aspect of life. 

b. Poverty affects many things in terms of youth well-being. It affects access to 

transportation and therefore to recreation and a positive social life, involvements in 

extra-circular activities in school, as well as the ability youth have to maintain healthy 

peer relations. Poverty also contributes to the expectations families communicate to 

young people about for what a person can or should even try to achieve in life. In 

other words, the culture of poverty becomes the only reality a young person grows up 

knowing, and contributes to the development of thinking and life long habits that may 

well lead a young person into the being the next generation of families living in 

poverty. 

c. Low levels of family wellness (i.e. addictions, dysfunctional thinking, low levels of 

family support for their children, violence, abuse, the prevalence of chronic 

depression or anger), and a family culture of dependency and learned helplessness 


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all contribute to similar low levels of wellness. As one youth put it, ―if you think there is 

a youth problem, where do you think we came from? If there is a youth problem, 

that‘s because there‘s an adult problem‖. 

d. Many youth have lost respect for themselves or for anyone else. They feel 

themselves to be in a no win situation. They believe they cannot succeed in school or 

in life that they won‘t be able to get decent jobs, and so they wonder why they should 

even try. Since everyone they know is collecting welfare, they conclude that adult 

expectations that they should/could achieve something greater in their lives are just a 

―pipe dreams‖. 

e. The absence of parental discipline and community expectations that youth will work 

hard to develop themselves and contribute to family and community life seems to 

translate into an absence of any kind of will or drive for self improvement in many 

youth, who instead tend to the path of ―least resistance‖, whether this path is healthy 

or not. 

f. A very high proportion of the community‘s youth (at least 85%) are engaged in 

harmful and unhealthy behaviours and choices such as alcohol and drug abuse, 

lateral violence, petty crime, sexual promiscuity and abuse, and hard living (poor diet, 

poor sleep habits etc.) with a focus on self gratification at the expense of self 

development. This lifestyle impacts their families in many ways, including contributing 

to chaos in family life, bringing violence and criminal elements into the family, 

presenting terrible role models to younger siblings and all to often bringing tragedy 

and loss into the family (in the form of accidents, suicides, imprisonment, etc.) 

g. This dismal picture is true for some, but certainly not all youth in Chippewas. Some 

youth grow up in very strong and healthy families. Even many of these youth 

experiment with alcohol and drugs and other negative behaviour, but most do not 

become trapped in it. These young people tend to leave such choices behind as they 

pursue their dreams, get their education, and develop their careers and their families. 

Community estimates vary, but this seems to be true for roughly 25% of young 

people. 

h. Family supports for their children in school tend to drop off dramatically at grade nine. 

Also at this age many youth spend very little time with their families or receive much 

support from parents or extended family members. 


October 2011

School 

a. By the time COTT youth transfer from Antler River School to area High Schools for 

grade nine, many (if not most) are two-three grade levels behind in many academic 

subjects. This puts a terrible burden on their shoulders to catch up or to live with the 

labels ―dumb‖ or ―backwards‖. Many young people tend to drop out rather than face 

this challenge (4 out of 9 dropped out in the 2011-2012 school year). 

b. Because many young people grew up without any spiritual or moral foundation in 

their lives, without connection to their Ojibwe language, history and teachings, and 

without a developed sense of purpose and direction, they are now lost and confused 

about who they are, what is right and wrong, and what they should do with their life. 

Furthermore, because they grew up relatively undisciplined, they now lack the internal 

strength to make healthy choices and to stick to a path that will lead them to 

fulfillment of their true potential. 

c. Since much of the focus of schooling at every level is to prepare people for the next 

academic level (rather than prepare them for life), there is a huge gap in meeting the 

real educational needs of the majority of COTT young people. Not only are the 

cultural, moral and spiritual foundations of life not adequately addressed, but also 

basic life skills and knowledge for living (about health, parenting, budgeting, job 

market preparation, trades skills, arts and music), as well as huge gap in 

understanding about Aboriginal history (treaties, residential schools, the current 

realities of Aboriginal community governance and community development) – all of 

this is missing, leaving our young people poorly prepared for family and community 

life within our Aboriginal community context. 

Community Life 

a. Many youth say they often feel sad, angry and lost. 

b. For this age group online social media is a very real extension of the community they 

live within, (in some ways) making the youth generation more connected to each 

other than their parents ever were. On the other hand, the nature of this 

communication tends to be relatively empty of emotion and heart to heart connection, 

leaving many youth relatively alone with their personal pain and needs. So when 

COTT youth share (as they did) that many of them lack ―anyone to talk to‖ related to 


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hurts and upheavals in their lives, it is clear there is important work to be done in 

building authentic family and community support for the age group. 

c. Conflict between families and key individuals is affecting our ability to work together to 

support our young people, and now our youth are fighting among each other. We 

need to heal our relationships. 

d. Some adults are working very hard to provide COTT youth with recreation, learning, 

cultural and social development opportunities, and some youth are benefiting a great 

deal from these initiatives. However, the majority of youth are not connecting to these 

opportunities. 

e. As with younger children, many youth experience ―social and economic bullying‖ and 

discrimination because they can‘t measure up in terms of having the right clothes or 

having money to do ―the right things‖. 

f. Students who do participate in extracurricular activities are often made fun of (by 

whom? Why?). 

What Youth Say 

a. Lots of youth say they do not feel safe a lot of the time. Now there is violence, 

bullying, drug dealing, impaired driving, many more unsafe homes and conflict 

between youth (both our own and with neighboring communities). Many don‘t ever 

feel safe in their own homes, either because of chaos at home or because of bad 

infrastructure (i.e., mold, poor heating or electrical, etc.). 

b. Across COTT, many kids say they face similar problems: drugs and drug dealers, 

addictions, lots of grief, no employment for youth and lack of transportation. 

c. Lots of youth say, ―My friends don‘t really care what happens to me.‖ Many feel 

unsafe, unhappy, sad and alone a lot of the time. 

d. Youth have to get on the school bus at 6:30 am, and they arrive far to early (7:40am). 

This means they are always tired and they are wasting their time. 

e. Lots of youth say, ―kick the drug dealers off the rez, they are hurting their own 

people‖. 

f. They also say that effective drug and alcohol programs for youth are badly needed. 


October 2011

g. Many youth are bitter about the Antler River School. ―We need better academics at 

Antler River Elementary,‖ they say. ―We are only 40% prepared for High School.‖ 

h. There are ―definitely more opportunities for boys to get work than girls. This is not fair. 

Boys can get jobs in landscaping, road crews, construction… employers think women 

cannot do these things.‖ 

i. Male youth say that young men need a program on how to care for a woman. 

j. Many youth don‘t show up for youth meetings and activities, but then they complain 

because there is nothing to do or that no one listens to us. 

k. Us youth need our ―dreams supported‖. Many of us need healing and we all need to 

learn about the hardships of the past, so we are more respectful and stronger in 

knowing who we are. 

l. We need to overcome dependency on alcohol and drugs. 

m. Youth need more jobs, and not just summer jobs. 

n. We need more training, coaching and role models to help us become the best we can 

be. 

o. Emotionally, lots of youth need a good support person and support groups to help 

them with their problems. 

p. Some teachers stereotype Native youth because they have a inaccurate knowledge 

of Natives. They need to be better educated and go beyond their textbooks from 

years ago. 

q. There‘s inequality and unfairness in who gets how much help for sports. It‘s not a fair 

process and we all know it. 

r. We need more of us to graduate. A lot of us don‘t make it. 

s. Education should have more options such as choir, arts, Native language, etc. Some 

schools have these things, however some do not. 

t. If our community were healthy, we would quit the abuse of our women. There would 

be fewer drugs and drug dealers, more jobs, enough homes for everyone who needs 

them, and it would make the younger generation feel safe. 


October 2011 

17

Community Programs 

a. As with children‘s programming, the programs funded to serve the health, social, 

18 

educational, and employment needs of youth are not working together to create an 

integrated and seamless web of programs and services within a coordinated plan. As 

a result, many youth needs (for example related to personal healing and wellness), go 

unmet even though program resources have been allocated to address those needs. 

b. The expectation is that if my family is on welfare, I will also be on welfare. Some 

young women view welfare as a ―cash cow‖, i.e., a way to get a cheque. Having 

babies is a way of getting even more money. 

c. The community no longer tends to see as its responsibility to raise all the children (i.e. 

―it takes a village to raise a child‖). This lack is certainly affecting our children and 

youth, and a few paid program workers can never replace it. The community itself 

needs to be engaged in making life better for our young people. Engaging the 

community in this work needs to become a major strategy of community 

development. 

d. There are youth recreation programs that reach some, but there are many who are 

still left out. There are no effective programs to address the healing and recovery 

needs of youth, and there are cultural learning opportunities, but many young people 

are disconnected from these. 

2. What can we learn from the past about life for youth? 

a. Families were close, and we kept our children close. We were respectful to each 

other. Parents were much more strict back then. Children and youth were not allowed 

to skip school. Parents enforced curfews and there were consequences if we broke 

the rules or did bad things. Children listened to their parents and would seldom do 

anything unusual without first obtaining permission. Relatives and neighbors would 

readily step in and discipline children that needed it. Mothers would stay home and 

raise the children (unlike today when many mothers have to work to make ends 

meet). 

b. ―Family‖ meant large extended family. It included grandparents, aunts and uncles, 

cousins, and lots of kids. We helped each other, did things together, celebrated and 

mourned the loss of loved ones together, and often we worked together to ensure 


October 2011

everyone had what they needed. If one of us was ―down‖, the rest would always help 

out. 

c. We were very affectionate in our families, lots of hugs and encouragement and warm 

feelings. 

d. We had traditional knowledge and teachings that were taught in the home. Our young 

people grew up knowing where they came from, and they learned to see themselves 

as valued and contributory members of a larger whole. From these teachings they got 

a code to live by and wisdom to deal with life‘s challenges. Most of all we felt deeply 

connected to each other. We also had a sense of purpose and direction for our life, 

and we felt responsible to our families. We were willing to sacrifice and work hard for 

our families. 

e. We had a traditional knowledge of medicine available to use for healing. Healing was 

a normal part of living. 

f. We lived close to the land. Our livelihood depended on a deep and continuous 

relationship with nature. We had to listen and learn from nature from our earliest 

years. What we learned from nature becomes part of out spiritual life, we well as the 

means to our survival. 

g. Residential schools broke up our strong families, cultural connections, and forced us 

to become disconnected from nature. When these disconnections occurred, bad 

things started happening. Our people forgot about who they were. We began hurting 

each other and ourselves. We forgot how to live a healthy life. We lost the knowledge 

on how to effectively parent our children. These things are not permanently lost, but 

they are hidden, and we need to get them back. 

h. Life for young people (unmarried young men and women) was very structured and 

disciplined. Everyone had their work to do everyday, and no one was allowed to stray 

far from the watchful eye of elder family or community members. Behaviour was 

strictly monitored, and young people were expected to be respectful, truthful, 

courteous and kind to everyone (i.e., to follow the sacred teachings). As a result, our 

young people remained much more a part of our families then they are today, and 

they had far less trouble in their lives. 

i. Many adult volunteers gave lots of time to teach youth a wide range of knowledge, 

talents and skills, ranging from arts and crafts (such as sewing, beading, weaving, 


October 2011 

19

20 

regalia and drum making), to on the land skills (hunting, trapping, fishing, farming, 

berry picking, medicine gathering, canoeing, snowshoe making, bush navigation), to 

sports and games (hockey, basketball, lacrosse), to life path knowledge shared in 

sacred lodges and meetings and ceremonies and church activities. In the past, 

people invested a great deal into children and youth, but those investments paid off. 

Our young people consistently grew into responsible and capable adults and 

community members. 

3. What will life be like for youth in a positive future? 

a. In the future every child and youth will be a part of a close-knit group of young people 

and adults that are focused on nurturing the safety, well-being, personal growth and 

development of every young person. No child or youth will be left alone to fend for 

themselves. 

b. Every child and youth will grow up in healthy, loving prosperous families that are able 

to meet their basic needs for healthy foods, shelter, clothing, transportation, love and 

belonging. No one will have any need to be ashamed of being poor, or ashamed of 

the behaviour of his or her families. 

c. Youth will feel a sense of hope and purpose for their own futures, and will be 

motivated to work on developing their true potential and gifts. There will be lots of 

support all around them to encourage and nurture this growth. 

d. Youth will be engaged as active community members who are contributing their 

leadership, creativity and energy to community development. 

e. Youth will have a voice in community affairs through their own youth council and will 

be able to participate in the governance and decision making of the community. 

f. Young people will be free to choose their own spiritual path in terms of practices and 

guidance, but will respect all paths, and will be very comfortable in accepting the good 

things all paths have to offer. 

g. At the same time our Chippewas youth will be strongly rooted in their own cultural 

identity. They will know our Ojibwe history and will be steeped in our traditional 

teachings and values. They will be comfortable and proud of who they are and where 

they come from. 


October 2011

h. Our youth will be able to successfully complete their grade 12 education and beyond, 

either on Reserve or off. They will be comfortable and well-adapted in the wider 

society, and will be able to share their Ojibwe heritage with anyone who cares to 

know about it. 

i. The examples of healthy role models and their own deeply engrained sense of values 

and purpose will keep our youth free from alcohol and drugs, violence, abuse and 

other unhealthy choices. As well, our youth will be in excellent physical health. They 

will eat healthy food, exercise, get enough sleep and be adept at effectively managing 

day-to-day stress. 

j. Our young people will be among the best and the brightest lights of their generation. 

No matter where they go in the world, they will achieve excellence in all they pursue, 

be it arts, crafts, trades, professions, politics or community service. For this to occur 

they will need to have ready access to the best in education and mentoring 

opportunities, and will need unconditional support from family and community, all of 

which they will receive in abundance. 

4. What has to happen and what do we have to do in order to get from 

where we are now to where we want to go? 

For this positive future to come about, important steps need to be taken in the 

months and years ahead. 

a. A comprehensive youth development initiative that integrates all programs and 

services targeting youth will need to create a web of opportunities that link together 

education, healing and wellness, justice, recreation, transportation, employment 

development, cultural foundations and family support into one seamless and 

integrated initiative that engages every child and youth 12 years and older in a life 

path planning and development journey. 

b. The roots of the current ―youth problem‖ are adult and family problems. Personal and 

family healing has to become a very high priority. As mentioned in the previous 

section on children, the reduction of alcohol and drug use within households where 

children and youth reside needs to become a primary community development 

objective. This will require a vigorous and sustained family healing and development 

program. 


October 2011 

21

c. Many COTT youth are already in deep trouble, and need there own healing, 

22 

recovering and personal development program geared to youth. This would be fully 

integrated with the life path development initiative mentioned in #1 above. 

d. Education has failed many COTT children and youth. Much of ―youth recovery‖ is an 

educational journey. A targeted life path education initiative which brings together 

healing, cultural re-connection, life skills learning, deepening family and community 

support networks, trades and job skills, employment opportunities and opportunities 

for participation in community development and governance (i.e. preparations for 

COTT citizenship) will be indispensible components of the COTT youth challenge. 

Since no such educational program now exists in the COTT region, the community 

will need to make this path by walking it. 

e. A much broader range of recreation opportunities will be readily accessible to all 

COTT youth that meet the diverse preferences and needs of the many different types 

of young people (i.e., for sports, crafts, outdoor activities, music and arts, travel, etc.). 

Transportation and cost (i.e., due to poverty) are the main barriers, and ways of 

ensuring equality of access and opportunities will need to be developed. 


October 2011

WOMEN (AGED 20 TO 55) 

The following four sets of questions guided the discussion of the groups focusing on 

the theme of women. 

1. What is life like now for women? 

Are they healthy (mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually), 

How does family life affect them? What about the community‘s social, economic, 

political and cultural life? 

What are the main issues/problems/challenges women are facing today in our 

communities? 

What are the main needs women have in order to be healthy and balanced? Are 

these needs being met? What are the obstacles? What are their strengths and 

assets? 

Which groups/categories of women are having the hardest time getting their needs 

met? Why? 

2. How was it different for women in the past? 

What was life like for women in the past? What was expected of them? 

What can we learn from the past that can help COTT women have a healthy and 

balanced life, to be able to develop their full potential, and to fulfill their 

professional, family and community roles? 

3. What would life for women be like in a positive future? 

What would life be like for women in a healthy family and community? What would 

a healthy woman be like? 

What are the key things that would have to change in the ways things are now in 

order to achieve a healthy future for our women? 

- Personal level (i.e. the self of the woman)? 

- Interpersonal level (i.e., the significant relationships the woman is involved in)? 

- Organizational level (i.e., what the agencies do)? 

- Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates and organizes itself)? 


What parts of the changes needed can communities do on their own, with little or 

not help from the outside? What actions are needed? 



What has to happen and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to 

where we want to go? 

What sorts of learning are needed in order for these changes to occur? Who 

needs to learn? 

4. What are the main goals to be achieved to heal, transform, and improve the 

lives and conditions of women? 




What follows is a summary of the insights and ideas shared by the participants in 

the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation Community Story process. 


October 2011 

23

1. What is life like now for women? 

24 

The participants of the Community Story consultation meeting discussed the life of 

women in terms of: a) the vital role they play in the community; b) the many challenges 

they face on a day-to-day basis and as they struggle to improve life for themselves, their 

families and the community as a whole; c) the tremendous resilience women display in 

the face of these challenges; and d) the resources available in the community to support 

women. 

The Women of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation make a Significant 

Contribution to their Families and the Community 

Women play a vital role in the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation. The 

participants of the Community Story meeting said that women are doing 80 to 90 percent 

of the work. For example, more women than men are holding down jobs. These women 

are ensuring that their households can pay the bills. As well, they continue to carry the 

largest share of household work. They are the primary caregivers of the children and 

also do most of the cooking and cleaning. Women are also contributing a great deal 

through volunteer work in the community. The women at the Community Story meeting 

expressed their hope that men would begin becoming more involved in community 

events. As the women expressed it, ―We need men to step up to the plate. We feel like 

we are being left with all the work.‖ 

COTT Women face many Challenges 

Life is not easy for many women in the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation. 

Some of their challenges include the following. 

a. Poverty – It is not easy for many women to meet their basic needs and those of their 

children. They really have to sacrifice to ensure that their children have food and 

clothing, as well as toys and the opportunity to participate in social and recreational 

activities. Some women really struggle to even have adequate food and shelter. 

b. Teen pregnancy and single parenting – Too many girls are getting pregnant in their 

teens. Kids having kids is becoming accepted as normal because they know their 

parents also had children in their teens. The COTT First Nation has many households 

headed by women who are single parents. This makes it even more difficult for them 

to meet the family‘s basic needs, and also adds the stress of being the sole parent to 

guide and care for the children. 


October 2011

c. Abuse – The participants of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation Community 

Story process reported that domestic violence is only too common. It has sadly come 

to be accepted as normal. Women also experience other types of abuse, including 

sexual, psychological and spiritual. The prevalence of these issues stem from the fact 

that some men use control and domination as a common way to express themselves 

in relationships. They also use jealousy as a means of control. 

d. Role confusion – Gender roles have changed a great deal in the last few generations. 

Women used to primarily work within the household and men were the breadwinners. 

Now, with so many women working outside the home and so many women raising 

their children on their own, mistrust has become a common feature of relationships 

between men and women. The Community Story participants argued that men and 

women are different in many ways and can have very different views about what is 

important when it comes to household chores and managing money. Women, they 

said, are more well-rounded, while men are more interested in gadgets. 

e. Substance abuse – Some women are not living healthy and productive lives because 

they are abusing alcohol and other drugs. In some instances they became hooked on 

drugs when they were young and have never been able to move past this 

dysfunctional life pattern. 

f Educational and other life goals – It is difficult for women to pursue their educational 

and life goals when they face the types of barriers listed above. It is hard to study or 

hold a job when the home situation is bad and you are living in fear. 

g. Stress – Conditions such as those described above create a lot of stress for women. 

The combination of so many responsibilities and so little support is taking its toll on 

the emotional wellbeing of women. 

h. Grandmothers – It is not uncommon for female elders in the COTT First Nation to be 

raising their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. This is a sign that 

many family relationships are breaking down and that some mothers are struggling 

with addictions and other personal development challenges. 

Chippewas of the Thames First Natio n Women are Resilient 

As mentioned above, many of the working women of the Chippewas of the Thames 

First Nation are empowering themselves. They are holding down jobs, getting more 

education and carrying for their children and managing their households. They are 


October 2011 

25

making big efforts to improve their own lives and that of their children—making sure their 

kids are happy, have clothes on their backs and can excel in sports. These women are 

strong and independent. They persist despite many obstacles. They have learned 

organizational skills and how to budget their resources. Those that have chosen to 

pursue their life dreams by going back to school are gaining strength and self- 

confidence. Other women lack self-esteem even though they are educated and have 

good leadership potential. They just need more encouragement and support to blossom. 

Resources and Support for the Women of the Chippewas of the Thames First 

Nation 

26 

The community has a number of resources that can support the women of the 

Chippewas of the Thames First Nation as they fulfill their many responsibilities and work 

toward a better future. These include the following. 

a. Annual feast – The COTT First Nation holds an annual feast to celebrate the women 

of the community. This was recognized by the participants of the Community Story 

consultation process as a very positive and important event, and they expressed the 

hope that it would become even bigger. 

b. Recreation – There are women‘s recreational activities such as softball. 

c. Personal development – Women‘s groups have an important role in helping women 

gain confidence and achieve their potential in many aspects of their lives. 

d. Health programs – There is a sense that women are not taking full advantage of the 

health programs in the community. Maybe this is partly because they do not have 

access to transportation (e.g. no vehicle or gas money). Young women especially 

need to be reached. The rate of teen pregnancies could be reduced if they were more 

aware of their choices. 

e. Educational opportunities – Again, women have barriers to taking full advantage of 

educational opportunities (such as the lack of child care). It is important that more 

educational opportunities are based right in the community. 

f. Support from men – Some men are very supportive of women and their activities 

and the women appreciate this very much. Women expressed the wish that men 

would come out more to events. 


October 2011

g. The COTT First Nation school – The school recognizes the importance of students 

excelling in math (e.g. so that they will understand the meaning of money and the 

importance of budgeting) and the apprehension that many adults in the community 

have about this subject. For this reason, the school is willing to offer a refresher for 

community members so they will be more confident themselves and will be able to 

encourage and support their children. The school also needs to encourage more 

mothers to come to the school, speak with the teachers, and learn how to encourage 

and support their children toward success in school. 


The participants of the Chippewas of the Thames Community Story consultation 

meeting raised the following issues related to how life for women has changed from the 

past. 

Abuse was more accepted in the recent past 

In some ways, things are better for women than they were in the recent past. 

Domestic violence and other types of abuse against women are not now considered 

acceptable. Before, people turned a blind eye to abuse, but now it‘s more common to 

speak out against abuse and to call the police when it occurs. 

The impact of residential schools 

Most members of the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation now recognize that 

physical, mental and sexual abuse stem in large part from the intergenerational trauma 

associated with residential schools and are also exacerbated by widespread alcohol 

abuse, which also has its roots in residential schooling. 

Mutual respect based on the Seven Grandfather Teachings 

In the longer ago past, both men and women had a voice in decision-making. 

Grandmothers were more respected. When families and the community operated 

according to the Seven Grandfather Teachings, both men and women were respected. 

Now values have changed. 

Women had clear roles and worked hard 

Women often had to work hard from morning to night. Most commonly, women 

worked within the household and men worked for cash outside the family. Women were 

responsible for caring for the children and making meals. Food was home cooked, 

without the convenience of fast food. Laundry was hung on the lines outside to try. 


October 2011 

27

Households relied on gardens for a big part of the diet and the whole family helped to 

tend it. Men also contributed to the family‘s food through hunting and fishing. 

Life was simpler 

28 

In some ways, life was simpler in the past. People had time to communicate, to 

listen to each other. 

Some skills and arts have been lost 

Women have lost the knowledge about how to do some the traditional handwork 

that was part of their lives in the past, as well as some of the household skills involved 

with healthy eating. 

Stricter discipline 

A great deal more about how children are raised now and how current parenting 

differs from the past has been included under the section of this document about 

children. The fact that discipline was stricter in the past was mentioned in discussions 

about the role of women as well, however. 

Some aspects of the past are coming back 

Concerns about nutrition and chronic conditions such as diabetes and obesity are 

causing people to look to the past for help with ways to live in a healthier way. For 

example, gardening is again being seen as a way to improve nutrition. 

3. What will life be like for women in a positive future? 

The participants of the COTT Community Story consultation meeting talked about a 

future in which women would be respected and be able to achieve their full potential in 

every aspect of their lives. The specific topics that were addressed include the following. 

The contribution of women will be recognized 

Traditionally, women were acknowledged as being a force that held everything 

together—within the family and the community, and also in a larger ecological sense. In 

a healthy future, women will be acknowledged by their partners and by the community 

as a whole for the contribution they make as caregivers within their families, as 

breadwinners and as leaders and workers in the community. 


October 2011

Women will be empowered and have opportunities to develop their potential 

Not only will women be supported to pursue their educational and career goals, they 

will also encouraged and given the opportunity to achieve their potential in all aspects of 

their lives—mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. 

Women will play strong leadership roles 

Women will be an inspiration to those around them, including young people (and 

especially girls and young women), their peers and other members of their families and 

the community as a whole. For some women this will mean taking on formal roles such 

as being the Chief, for others it will mean becoming a visible role model of health and 

success in whatever field of endeavour they pursue. The community context will inspire 

women to see a wide range of options that they can pursue. 

Women’s lives will be free from abuse 

Women will be treated with respect and dignity. No matter what their circumstances, 

women will not experience abuse of any kind, whether sexual, physical, psychological or 

spiritual. 

Women will live according to the values of the Seven Grandfather Teachings 

On the whole, Chippewa women continue to be very caring, strong, compassionate 

and loving. These strengths are a foundation for building a vibrant future, in which the 

lives of women will be guided by life-preserving, life-enhancing values and choices. They 

will be free from harmful life patterns such as alcohol and other drug abuse. They will 

feel empowered to choose the opportunities they wish to pursue rather than pressured 

into specific roles or ways of living that are harmful to themselves or others. 

Women will be wise and effective mothers 

The transmission of harmful life patterns from one generation to another will stop. 

Children will be healthy, well nourished, receive the education they need to become 

productive and healthy adults, and grow up in a climate that fosters healthy values and 

morals. Boys will grow up understanding how to respect their mothers, sisters, aunts and 

grandmothers and as adults will become respectful fathers, uncles and grandfathers. 

Since both men and women are responsible for raising children, they both need to play 

their roles respectfully, just like a bird can only fly if both wings are equally strong. 


October 2011 

29



30 

The participants of the COTT Community Story consultation process recommended 

eight program or activity streams to help build the future described above: a) a peer 

support circle program, b) a program to build role model leadership, c) a healthy eating 

and physical activity program, d) an incentive program to encourage healthy life choices, 

e) many opportunities for life-long learning, f) a parenting support program, g) drawing 

on the strengths of traditional culture, and h) a women‘s auxiliary program to raise funds 

to reduce the barriers women having in developing their full potential. 

Peer support program 

Women need to share their stories with other women. Every woman should have 

the opportunity to sit in a circle with others. These circles will build trust so that women 

can talk about issues and to speak openly about what is going on so that the truth will 

come out. In these circles, women will learn from others about how they overcame 

challenges to choosing a healthy life path. Like the Home Makers group of the past, 

these sharing circles help women carry out their important roles in their families and the 

community. For many women‘s circles to get started and to continue for a long time as a 

safe and nurturing place, it is likely that they will need to be supported by facilitators who 

can use trust building and healthy communication exercises to build a solid foundation 

for peer support. 

Role model program 

This program could profile and honour women who have made a remarkable 

contribution to the community, and it could also encourage every women to be come an 

active role model to children and youth. By reaching out to younger girls especially, 

women will be able to guide them as they go through the challenges of teen and young 

adult life. The role model program could provide capacity building, encouragement and 

other types of support for women role models of many walks of life. As the participants of 

the COTT Community Story consultation process explained, ―Where do you learn to be 

women? Our children learn from what we show them. Women hold everything together. 

Love needs to keep going strong. When we keep giving love, it will come back.‖ 


October 2011

Healthy eating and exercise program 

This program could have many components such as community gardens, 

encouragement and support for people to grow kitchen gardens and have fruit trees, and 

a food bank that provides supplemental healthy food for families with limited resources. 

Gardens and fruit trees can help families reduce their costs, an important consideration 

in these stressful economic times. My big fat diet was cited as a good program related to 

diabetes awareness. Re-connecting with a traditional diet has been proven to bring great 

results. As well, women need safe and supportive programs to encourage them to 

become more physically active. A wide range of recreational programs is an important 

part of helping women to be more fit. Many women will need education about healthy 

eating and the benefits of physical activity for them to make the necessary life style 

choices. 

Positive living incentives 

This program could provide leadership training and build the knowledge and skills of 

women related to making healthy life choices. Incentives (such as a graduation bonus 

for use toward the next step in developing a career path or some type of 

acknowledgement) and support for women who have achieved important milestones 

(such as stages of the healing journey or fitness levels) could be an important tool for 

encouraging healthy life choices. 

Life-long learning 

Women need many learning options, delivered in the community, to help them with 

personal and career development, as well as to nurture their many interests and talents. 

Many women also want to learn more about using computers for many different 

purposes, including staying in touch with friends and family, enhancing work skills and 

just learning about anything that interests them. 

Family life 

Because life has changed so dramatically in the last two generations, many families 

need support with raising their children. Because women have ended up carrying the 

major burden of caring for the home and the children, they have to learn to delegate 

some of these responsibilities to their partners and children. One big challenge is giving 

children and youth a real role in family life through appropriate chores and for adults to 

find the time to have meaningful involvement with children and youth on a daily basis 


October 2011 

31

ather than relying on ―gadgets‖ such as computer games, television and the Internet for 

leisure time activities. Families need to participate together in recreational and social 

activities in the community. Parents also need to find effective ways to educate their 

children about expressing feelings in an appropriate way, sexuality and alcohol and 

other drugs. 

Traditional culture 

32 

Re-connecting with traditional culture can happen in many ways—through learning 

lost crafts and arts, through maintaining language and spiritual practices, through 

maintaining a more healthy lifestyle with respect to diet and physical activity and de- 

stressing and achieving greater harmony and balance in life through reliance on the 

Seven Grandfather Teachings. 

Voluntary women’s auxiliary 

This group would do crafts and other activities to raise funds that would be used to 

reduce the barriers that women experience in their efforts to develop their full potential. 

Such barriers as transportation and child care costs and availability are preventing 

women from furthering their education and participating in programs like those described 

above. 


October 2011

MEN (AGED 26 TO 55) 

The following four sets of questions guided the discussion of the groups discussing 

the theme of men. 

1. What is life like now for men? 

Are they healthy (mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually), 

How does family life affect them? What about the community‘s social, economic, 

political and cultural life? 

What are the main issues/problems/challenges men are facing today in our 

communities? 

What are the main needs men have in order to be healthy and balanced? Are 


assets? 

Which groups/categories of men are having the hardest time getting their needs 

met? Why? 

2. How was it different for men in the past? 

What was life like for men in the past? What was expected of them? 

What can we learn from the past that can help COTT men have a healthy and 

balanced life, to be able to develop their full potential, and to fulfill their 

professional, family and community roles? 

3. What would life for men be like in a positive future? 

What would life be like for men in a healthy family and community? What would a 

healthy man be like? 

What are the key things that would have to change in the ways things are now in 

order to achieve a healthy future for our men? 

- Personal level (i.e. the self of the man)? 

- Interpersonal level (i.e. the significant relationships the man is involved in)? 








What has to happen and what do we have to do to get from where we are now to 

where we want to go? 




lives and conditions of men? 




The role of Chippewas‘ men has changed and 

changed again as early Reserve life in which farming 


October 2011 

33

and working away from home to support the family gave way to the post-residential 

school generations, in which many men stayed home, but also became absorbed in 

chronic addictions, unemployment and welfare dependency. The quiet reawakening of 

Indigenous spirituality and identity that emerged in the 1960s across North America and 

grew to become a continental movement has helped to generate an Aboriginal healing 

movement, and with it an emerging resolve to rebuild strong, healthy, prosperous 

communities. This challenge is calling out to the men of Chippewas of the Thames, and 

they are already responding. 

1. What is life like now for men? 

a. Many COTT men feel demoralized and useless because they see so few employment 

34 

opportunities for themselves. Women seem to be able to succeed in education and 

get jobs much more readily than men. If you can‘t support your family, who are you? 

What is your role? Many men are chronically depressed, with low self-esteem and 

bubbling anger issues. 

b. Many men have responded to their situation by immersing themselves in alcohol, 

drugs and partying, or resorting to criminal behaviours such as drug-dealing and theft. 

Some become self-absorbed, caring little for anyone else. In the worst cases, some 

men don‘t care who they hurt. They will steal from their families, from elders or even 

sell drugs to children in order to feed their own habits. 

c. At the same time, there is an emerging group of men, many of them younger (25-29) 

who are trying very hard to be good fathers and husbands. They spend a lot of time 

with their children, contribute a significant amount of energy to keeping a clean, 

orderly household and ensuring a nurturing family life, and are regularly involved in 

school and community events related to their children. Many of these men also feel 

the burden of not being able to provide well for their children, or of not having land 

and a house. 

d. As many of us men grew up we saw lots of drug and alcohol. Many of our fathers 

drank or used drugs. They would disappear (away working) and when they came 

back there were a lot of drinking, drugs and violence. We learned that lifestyle by 

watching our parents. In such families, distrust is deeply engraved. Kids who are 

traumatized from this lifestyle grow up living that same lifestyle in their own adult life, 

and when they see their own kids doing it, they don‘t know how to stop it. 


October 2011

e. Today we‘ve got pills and perks, and these things can hurt our unborn children. I‘m 

sure those who abuse never intended or planned to be addicted. Some of them could 

be dealing with trauma from growth. 

f. Many men keep on doing drugs to maintain their relationships with their peers. When 

someone stops using, none of their old friends come by anymore. 

g. Even men who have post-secondary education can‘t get jobs. It seems that more 

women than men go to post-secondary programs, and many of them get jobs. Where 

is the motivation for men to get more education? 

h. Many men have a long history of drugs as well as drinking and driving that has led to 

a loss of driving privileges. Others have criminal records and for some, criminal 

behaviour has become ―normal‖. These things are obstacles to employment. Many 

blame their issues on the past (such as residential schools or family upbringing), but 

often these men are also self-absorbed and egocentric. 

i. A huge number of men are basically idle. They don‘t work, and they don‘t contribute 

to the well-being of their households or to the community. Many men depend on their 

women to support them. 

j. There are very few visible supports for anyone who tries to stop addictions. 

k. Not only have many men lost their own self-respect, but some are not even respected 

by their children because they are seen as letting the family down, or worse, as 

someone who is creating chaos and hurt in the family. Middle-aged men are having 

the hardest time. Expectations on them are much greater now then when these same 

men were younger. 

l. Underneath all these behaviours, our men are dealing with a lot of pain. People like 

to blame the bootleggers, but this is how men were taught to be ―men‖ i.e., to hold 

your feelings in and do what you‘ve been shown by your elders. Many men were 

themselves physically and sexually abused in their early years, and these hurts have 

never been resolved. 

m. We know that all of us have gifts, but many of us men have never discovered or 

developed ours. 

n. The roles of women and men are meshing and mixing up. Some men are staying 

home and caring for children, while women work outside the home. Sometimes both 


October 2011 

35

36 

men and women are working outside the home and both are contributing to 

housework. Traditional roles are changing, and this is confusing for many men. 


a. In our traditional past every man had an important role to play as a protector and 

provider for his children, family and community. A boy grew up knowing he must 

work hard to prepare himself to assume these scared responsibilities. 

b. In the past, men worked very hard to provide for their families. Often they had to 

travel to get work, but they did it. Although children often didn‘t see their fathers for 

long stretches of time they still loved and respected them. 

c. In the past, men respected women more than today. There was more balance and 

equality between women and men. 

d. Men used to do useful things around the house or community like fix tools or broken 

things, or repair the house or the car, brining in the firewood, hunting, fishing, 

gardening, building—men were always busy. 

e. In the past, men grew up with their Ojibwe language and values, which gave them a 

strong sense of identity, purpose and direction. 

f. It was common for men to be very involved with their children. 

g. In the near past there was lots of alcohol, drugs, violence and abuse brought home by 

men. 

h. In the traditional past men banded together in scared lodges, societies and 

ceremonies to support one another in their life journey, and to promote the thinking, 

values and behaviours that help men to have healthy outcomes in their personal, 

family and community life. 

3. What will things look like for men in a positive future? 

In the future COTT men will have regained their sense of purpose as providers and 

protectors of their children and families and as active contributors to a strong and 

healthy community life. Our men will have traveled far down the path of their own 

healing and recovery. Alcohol and drugs, domestic violence, and the self-sabotaging 

ways of thinking and behaviour many men seem trapped in today will be lessons and 

stories from the past. New generations of boys becoming men will grow up with a deep 


October 2011

espect for women, and will be prepared to be good husbands, fathers and family 

members. 

As well the future will provide many opportunities for men to develop their gifts and 

true potential as human beings and to pursue education and training that will enable 

them to fully participate in a vibrant economy. Young men will no longer see collecting 

welfare as a reasonable choice. The possibilities of real prosperity and deep satisfaction 

in being able to contribute their gifts and skills will be far more attractive than a life of idle 

dependency could ever be. 

Men will also play strong roles in community life as volunteers and as active 

participants in community development and governance processes. All of this progress 

will be rooted in a strong re-connection of our men to the cultural knowledge and wisdom 

that is our heritage and birth right. Through a revitalization of our identity and heritage 

as Ojibwe men, our spirits will be healed and reconnected to the spirit of all life, and that 

scared connection will provide the energy and the guidance needed to make the journey 

that is required. 

4. What has to happen and what do we have to do to get from where we are 

now to where we want to go? 

a. I‘m learning to become a man…learning to protect the women and children of this 

community. Today is the day that we make a stand; to stand up and acknowledge 

that we need to do more in order to become better men. 

―I call on all my brothers here to stand with me. I invite you to join me in creating a 

strong circle of men. In that circle, we will work together to heal ourselves and give 

our very best to our families and our community. 

I invite all the men to give their names and numbers and to help me to coordinate our 

men‘s group, so we can learn together how we are as men, and what we need to do 

to fulfill our obligations.‖ [This call when put on in these words during the Community 

Story consultation meeting.] 

b. We should have a feast for the men to honour them and their responsibilities. 

c. In order to heal, a man needs support to admit that he is unhealthy, and needs help. 

Humility and courage are required to be able to do this. 


October 2011 

37

d. The healing process (for men, and everyone) is a long, long journey. Even seven 

38 

years isn‘t realistic. We need to be looking to future generations. 

e. Communication is a critical element of what needs to happen now. We need to open 

up the flow of communication between us. We need to start talking about stuff we 

can do. 

f. Community resources dedicated to healing and recovery need to earn back the trust 

of COTT men. Right now, many regard these resources as unreliable due to past 

breaches of confidentiality. 

g. Healing of family relationships needs to be a key focus for men‘s development. Men 

need to heal and develop their family relationships in order to find their true roles and 

strengths. 

h. The men of COTT need the experience of working as a collective on a shared project 

in which we all feel good about what we accomplish together. 

i. Some young people come out of families that had an awful environment and still they 

come out okay. How does this happen? Was it self-esteem? Spirit? Confidence? 

Perhaps a role model? We need to study the success stories among us to identify 

what it is that makes young people resilient. 

j. Have our role models success stories—people who have ―been through it‖ and are 

doing good now, to talk to people, to get out and share their story. 

k. The approach we need has to get away form the negative and blaming. Ask what is 

good in our families and try to share that with others. If we just talk about the stuff we 

are not doing, everyone just shuts down because they don‘t want to hear it. 

l. Identify what families with successful children are doing. Often these families 

themselves don‘t even know what they are doing right. For example, when families 

are unified, kids see it. 

m. Provide support (especially friendship, social support) to those who are trying to stop 

addictions. 

n. Many more visible, available and trustworthy healing and recovery opportunities are 

needed for men who want to go on a healing journey. 

o. Personal growth and healing needs to be linked directly and immediately to economic 

opportunities. 


October 2011

ELDERS (AGED 55 PLUS) 

The following four sets of questions guided the discussion of the groups focusing on 

the theme of elders. 

1. What is life like now for elders? 

Are they healthy (mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually)? 

What are the main issues/problems/challenges elders are facing today in our 

communities? 

What are the main needs elders have in order to be healthy and balanced? Are 


assets? 

2. How was it different for elders in the past? 

What was life like for elders in the past? How have things changed for today‘s 

elders? 

What can we learn from the past that can help COTT elders have a healthy and 

balanced life, to be able to develop their full potential, and to fulfill their family and 

community roles? 

3. What would life for elders be like in a positive future? 

What would a truly healthy elder person be like (mentally, emotionally, socially, 

physically, spiritually)? 

What would life be like for elders in a healthy family and community? 

What would have to change in the ways things are now in order to achieve a 

healthy future for our elders? 

- Personal level (i.e. the self of the elder)? 

- Interpersonal level (i.e. the significant relationships the elder is involved in)? 











lives and conditions of elders? 




What follows is a summary of the insights and ideas shared by the participants in 

the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation Community Story process. 


October 2011 

39

1. What is life like now? 

40 

The participants of the COTT Community Story consultation meeting described a 

number of factors that make life more challenging for elders than it was in the past. They 

mentioned the fragmentation of the extended family structure and the physical and 

psychological stress that this causes elders. They talked about the fact that the role 

elders traditionally played in the community is disappearing, as well as about the types 

of services and supports that elders need at this stage in their life. What follows is a 

summary of this discussion. 

Extended family structure is breaking down 

Not so long ago, elders were an important part of extended families. All family 

members (children, youth, men, women and elders) had responsibilities, but they were 

also cared for in their turn. One of the major forces that contributed to this breakdown of 

traditional family life was residential schooling. Now many people live in smaller nuclear 

families, and elders feel lonely and left out. Family members also spend much more time 

now ―plugged in‖ to technology (television, Internet, computer games, videos) rather than 

relating to each other. Now elders often feel neglected as their children and 

grandchildren are very involved in their own busy lives and have little time for them. You 

could say that in some cases it is the needs and wants of children that are running the 

family. 

Elder abuse 

This family breakdown reflects a larger breakdown within the community of the 

traditional values and cultural practices that created healthy life patterns on all levels 

(personal, family and community). This has resulted in elders sometimes being abused 

by community members, even by their own children and grandchildren. This abuse can 

take the form of physical harm as well as theft of their money, their medications, their 

food, and their other possessions. As a result, elders are afraid of living alone. These 

problems would not have happened thirty years ago. 

Traditional role of elders 

Not only are elders feeling neglected and, even in some cases abused, but families 

and communities are no longer benefiting as much from the role that elders played in 

traditional society. Elders are not always being invited to contribute their gifts, which 

included being the guardians and transmitters of traditional values to the next 


October 2011

generations. For example, medicine plants are still being used to some extent and are 

able to contribute to physical healing, but in many cases, people have lost connection to 

the spiritual meaning of traditional medicines and healing practices. People are not 

coming to elders as much to ask for advice, and many elders will no longer identify 

themselves by their spirit name. This erosion of respect and support for elders is a result 

of the influences described in #1 and 2 above, and also due to the influence of Canadian 

society at large. 

Program support needs 

The participants of the COTT Community Story consultation process spoke about 

challenges around ensuring that elders have access to the resources and supports they 

need to live with dignity, respect and fulfillment. Some of the current challenges include: 

i) having enough venues and funding for seniors groups and complexes; ii) enhancing 

social inclusion for elders, including especially mutually satisfying relationships between 

elders and youth; iii) removing red tape and other barriers to the full range of health care 

services; iv) ensuring that the basic needs of all elders are met (including adequate 

income); v) transportation for seniors to participate in community life and meet the 

mental, emotional, physical and spiritual needs; and vi) ensuring that elders are safe and 

respected no matter whether they are living alone, with family members or in some kind 

of seniors complex. Elders have barriers to reaching out for help, including the fact that 

they are too proud to ask and we need to create the conditions that will allow them to 

feel secure and supported enough to talk about their needs. 

Support for healing 

The participants of the COTT Community Story consultation process talked about 

the impact of residential schooling on the wellness level of the community‘s elders. 

Residential school disrupted the development and expression of emotions, especially in 

the context of personal relationships. Some elders are trying to relearn this capacity, but 

the residential experience has had a ripple effect that has resulted in some of the issues 

that face communities today such as high rates of youth crime, substance abuse, 

chronic disease, school drop outs and mental health challenges. As one of the speakers 

at the meeting that produced this report said, ―One thing we can do for our elders is to 

help them get a better life and support them through justice. Why should we let what 

happened to them through residential schooling burn inside of them when we can bring it 

out and help our people get past this?‖ Elder support groups were described as one 


October 2011 

41

avenue to promote healing, but they need to be sustained rather than being a short-term 

program. 

Link to other community issues 

42 

The distressing circumstances that face many elders are linked to many other 

broader issues in the community such as high crime rates (break-ins, stolen cars, the 

theft of anything that can be pawned) and high rates of sexual and physical abuse. 

Gossip is another harmful facet of life in the community. Addictions have become a way 

for people to self-medicate the pain related to the intergenerational trauma of residential 

schooling and other forms of colonization. The community has adopted the unspoken 

rule of remaining silent about sexual abuse. Victims and other community members are 

not willing to testify against abusers and offenders are free to offend again. People are 

hesitant to get involved. We have lost the value of caring about each other. 

Building on existing strengths 

Community members involved in the COTT Community Story meetings noted that 

some things have gotten better in recent years. People are will to help and share once 

they are engaged. You can‘t change the past, but you do need to acknowledge what has 

happened and to begin that healing journey. ―We still have our togetherness in us‖, was 

one comment. ―We can get back to kindness and caring. The community can be a 

comfortable and welcoming place.‖ 


The past was not discussed in as much detail as the present during the COTT 

Community Story process. However, many of the comments made in the section above 

related to the current life of seniors were discussed in terms of their contrast with a 

healthier past. It is clear from these comments that reflecting on traditional life presents 

many valuable lessons about living in harmony and balance with the natural world and 

with other members of your family and the community. In the past, elders played a very 

important role in maintaining that harmony and in ensuring that people had the survival 

skills they needed to live well. Elders were respected for that role and in turn knew that 

they were making a valuable contribution. 


October 2011

3. What will life be like for elders in a positive future? 

Finding ways to draw restore a strong role for elders in today‘s society and to create 

the family and community conditions that will ensure that elders live well was the goal of 

the discussion about a healthy future. Here is a brief summary of how that future will 

look. 

Mutual respect 

In a healthy future, everyone will be able to freely choose their spiritual beliefs and 

practices and will be respected for that choice, whether it is based on traditional 

practices or some church-based group. Similarly, people will not be discriminated 

against regardless of the language they choose to use. 

Mutual support 

A community climate of mutual support will be expressed through the fact that 

everyone in the community will lend a helping hand to others (for example, in building 

bees), as well as through the opportunity that community members will have to 

participate in support circles. Elders will have the opportunity to contribute their wisdom 

and gifts in many different types of situations (including school classrooms) and will also 

benefit from sharing their stories and guidance in these support groups. In this way, 

elders would feel appreciated and needed. 

Chronic disease 

The incidence of chronic diseases, such as diabetes, that affects so many elders will 

be greatly decreased as people have the skills, knowledge, resources and motivation to 

eat healthy foods, exercise and make other positive life choices. People will remain 

strong and vital in their elder years. 

Effective community services 

Community services will be very effective at supporting families to care for their 

elders, for elders to live full and active lives and for the community to be an inclusive and 

compassionate place for elders. A key to achieving this goal will be removing the 

barriers that elders face in being involved in the community, such as a lack of 

transportation. It also means that the community as a whole. and those individuals and 

services (such as the police) who are charged with guarding the security of the 


October 2011 

43

community, will fulfill their roles in such a way that elders will never again have to fear for 

their safety. 

Elders and youth 

44 

The vital link between youth and elders will be restored such that children receive 

the loving guidance they lead to fulfill their full mental, emotional, physical and spiritual 

potential and choose a life path that brings wellbeing and fulfillment. 



The participants of the COTT Community Story consultation process offered 

suggestions for creating a better future for the elders. 

Elders in the school 

One important way for elders to play their traditional role in today‘s world is to have 

them become an integrated part of the school curriculum. Not only can they contribute 

valuable knowledge and skills to the content of school subjects, but they can also help 

build a school climate that is based on the values foundation of the Seven Grandfather 

Teachings. 

Elder healing and support groups 

As described in previous sections, today‘s elders are still suffering from the trauma 

of residential schooling and other colonial processes that occurred in the history of the 

COTT First Nation. But, as participants of the Community Story meeting stated, it is not 

too late to offer them support on their healing journeys. One strategy for doing this is to 

initiate elder support groups that meet over the long run to give elders the opportunity to 

share their stories and the achievement and struggles they have experienced throughout 

their lives. Such groups also provide a platform for elders to learn about 

intergenerational trauma and all the harmful behaviours such as substance abuse that 

have been its legacy, so that they can move into a more positive future with confidence. 

Another part of this program could be leadership and peer support training for elders to 

give them additional tools for becoming healthier in a supportive environment. 

Elder safety 

Part of the community‘s larger focus on creating safety through a neighbourhood 

watch (Eagle Watch) and other community justice programs needs to be geared toward 


October 2011

ensuring that no elder suffers any type of abuse. Community workers need training in 

effective intervention when instances of abuse occur. Community members need to 

know what they should do to report abuse when they see it (e.g. police and/or crime 

stoppers) and should be able to volunteer for community-based abuse prevention 

programs. Only a concerted effort on the part of all community members and of police 

and justice programs to tackle this issue will be sufficient. 

Inclusive community 

Special measures need to be introduced to ensure that elders are not isolated 

because of the barriers they face in participating fully in community life. One aspect of 

this is to offer seniors transportation through a bus service or a cadre of volunteers who 

will make sure that elders can access all the services they need and also attend 

community functions and access social and recreational activities. 

Traditional gatherings 

Community feasts and other types of traditional gatherings benefit the whole 

community and give elders a wonderful opportunity to contribute their wisdom and 

knowledge. These gatherings are also a time to celebrate and acknowledge the role and 

contribution of elders. 

Elder health 

A program dedicated to improving the physical, mental and psychological health of 

elders that has many components (including a healthy diet, appropriate exercise, 

traditional crafts and other cultural practices, and opportunities to keep learning 

whatever interests them) is very important. 

Customary practices for choosing leaders 

By investigating how customary practice related to choosing community leaders can 

be adapted to today‘s world, the COTT First Nation can create another avenue for elders 

to play a valuable role, and also ensure that the community remains focused on issues 

that contribute meaningfully to the prosperity and wellbeing of the Nation. 


October 2011 

45

GOVERNANCE AND POLITICAL LIFE 

The small groups that worked on the governance and political life of the community 

used the following four sets of questions to guide their discussion. 

1. What is political life in the community like now? 

What is the current political reality we live with inside our communities, between 

ourselves and outsiders, in the world, or on and off reserve? 

How is the current political reality affecting the human and community 

development of our people? 

What is the quality of ordinary people's participation in shaping what happens in 

the community? 

- Who has the power inside our communities? 

- Who decides about money and important things? 

- Does everyone have a meaningful voice in shaping decisions that affect them? 

Who does not? 

- To what extent do the people being "helped" or "served" by programs get asked to 

help design, implement and evaluate those programs? 

To what extent do people control the processes of development in their own 

communities? 

Are their tensions between the culture of the community and the culture of 

government systems and programs? 

2. How was our political system different in the past? 

What can we learn from the way our political systems were organized in the past 

that can help us move forward into a prosperous and healthy future? 

3. What would political life be like in a positive future? 

What would a truly healthy community be like politically? (Please list its 

features.) What is the difference for individuals living on or off the reserve? 

What will have to change in order to bring about this politically healthy future? 

- Personal level (i.e., personal growth)? 

- Interpersonal level (i.e., the quality of our relationships)? 

- Organizational level (i.e., what the government and agencies do)? 

- Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates and organizes itself and 

how it relates to the outside world)? 

What parts of the changes needed can/must community do on their own with little 

or no help from the outside? What actions are needed? 

What sorts of help are required from outside the community to support the 

processes of making the changes that are needed? 


4. What are the main goals to be achieved to create a politically healthy future? 




46 


October 2011

Participants in the COTT Community Story had a very animated and thoughtful 

discussion about community politics. Their insights and suggestions are summarized 

below. 

1. What is political life like now? 

a. The style of political life has changed significantly since the Spring election of 2011. 

Everything is opening up. 

b. Community members are being engaged to become part of the decision making 

process and this has not happened in many years. The Bear Creek meetings and the 

COTT Community Story consultations are examples. 

c. Political interference in program operations has decreased dramatically. It used to be 

that politicians routinely forced managers to give benefits to certain people, even 

when doing so was a direct violation of established politics, procedures and 

standards. 

d. Until recently, politicians also routinely took sides in human resources cases, in which 

employees wanted to go around managers because they didn‘t like the manager‘s 

decisions. If an employee claimed a grievance against a manager, there was no due 

process. The manager was assumed to be in the wrong and ordered to give the 

employee what they wanted. Employees who had special ties to politicians were 

used to getting their way like this. This type of political interference severely 

demoralized the management and staff, and weakened the effectiveness of 

programs. 

e. We don‘t actually control very much in our community government. Federal 

Legislation and Policy (based on the Indian Act) provides for outside control by 

bureaucrats who dictate to us how much money we get and what to spend it on. 

Even the standards for what programs should be doing is dictated from outside. 

f. We are on a 2-year election cycle, which is actually too short a period of time for a 

new Chief and Council to address community goals and objectives. 

g. It‘s very tough to be a Counselor because community members put many demands 

on them. Many want ―special‖ treatment, money, or favours. It‘s understood that your 

future success in the next election depends on your ability to give voters what they 

want. That‘s why politicians in the past were so ready to override established rules 

and standards. 


October 2011 

47

h. The current trend of engaging community members and asking their advice as 

48 

important plans and decisions are being made needs to become normalized in our 

governance practices. Until recently most politics in COTT happened behind closed 

doors. There was no transparency. We are now having open meetings, but we need 

to develop our political system so that this becomes our normal way of doing thing, 

and so, no matter who gets elected, we never revert back to the way it was. 

i. We have been managing poverty for years. We have been thinking small in terms of 

trying to hold onto what we have, to protect it and keep it from eroding away. It‘s been 

a losing battle. Our rights and benefits are in fact shrinking and eroding away. The 

writing is on the wall. We need to grow. We need to expand our thinking and our 

strategies. We need to start managing our wealth, and moving into our potential. 

j. Many of our people are long past believing that their participation in community 

affairs, matters, or that anybody wants to hear what they have to say. In the past, 

leadership and staff felt that if people don‘t bother to come to meetings or answer 

surveys they just weren‘t interested, and there is really not much that can be done 

about it. Right now we are still only reaching selected pockets of our population. 

k. The priority issues the community wants it‘s political leaders to address are 1) the 

quality of education and education rights, 2) water, 3) health rights, 4) infrastructure 

(especially water, housing and transportation), and 5) equality of opportunity and 

voice for all members (note the order listed do not indicate higher or lower priority). 

l. Most community members are not educated about our treaty rights, governance 

system, and community development or planning, or program management or 

budgeting. In short, we have a very unformed electorate and many of our elected 

leaders come from that pool. 

m. Off-reserve members vote in elections, but are not regularly and systematically 

engaged in governance, planning, decision-making, and community development. 

This is a huge portion (about half) of our community, and we need to establish 

mechanisms and processes to bring their voices fully into the process. 


a. In the traditional past our system of governance was the clan system. Clans met 

together and every clan had a ―speaker‖ who took the views of the clan to a 


October 2011

community council where consensus was reached on how to proceed. Chiefs and 

their sub-chiefs (like counselors) didn‘t just decide things their own. They sought 

consensus from the people, and then they acted to implement the decisions required. 

Implementation of decisions meant mobilizing community members to do things (or 

stop doing them) and leadership roles were to coordinate these actions. Spiritual 

leaders provided continuous guidance to the process reminding everyone of the 

teachings, as well as the duties and responsibilities the sacred teachings required of 

everyone. 

b. This system was gradually undermined after contact with Europeans, especially after 

the formation of Canada and the passing of the Indian Act, which imposed a 

municipal manager and council model on Indigenous Reserve communities. Also, the 

Indian agent system carried on into the 1950s, ensuring that a non-native manager 

controlled most real decision-making, especially related to finances. 

c. The current pattern, which really amounts to Indigenous communities serving as local 

managers of federal programs being run in their territories, emerged during the 1960s 

and 70s. That system doesn‘t understand or even respect our cultural way of doing 

things. 

d. The historical changes in our governance and community systems made us more and 

more dependant in our thinking. We began to see this system itself as our ―treaty 

right‖, instead of focusing on our community development process and creating our 

own governance system. 

3. What will things be like politically in a positive future? 

In a positive future, COTT will have its own election code and legislation that are in 

line with its traditions. We will be self-governed and sovereign, without having every 

aspect of life controlled by external rules and conditions. This will mean that we will 

have sufficient own-source income to allow us to implement the programs and initiatives 

that are most important to us without interference from outside governments. The elders 

will give advice to the leaders, and leaders will take that advice seriously. 

Leaders will think of themselves as servants of the people. They will set an example 

and make sure that people who need support are looked after, but at the same time they 

will not use their positions to keep people dependent. They will work toward self-reliance 

for all. Leadership will have their own job descriptions, and will be accountable (just as 

staff is now) before the community. 


October 2011 

49

50 

They will let voters know they don‘t have to fight over who gets in. Everyone will 

respect whoever wins an election, even if you didn‘t vote for that person. Political 

leaders will follow the policies and procedures that have been established for the 

wellbeing of the community. Band departments and program staff will have the 

autonomy to manage resources with which they have been entrusted for the benefit of 

all members of the community. 

Our people will be unified. There will be many opportunities to participate in 

planning and decision-making. We will stick together and work together. When we see 

each other, we will shake hands and say hello. We will stop gossiping and blaming. 

There will be fairness and equality. Everyone will have a voice in the decisions that are 

made about the development of the community. Everyone will receive equal benefits 

and opportunities regardless of who they voted for, or what family they belong to, and 

there will be open community involvement and transparency in the process of making 

budgets and reporting in spending. 

In general, our system of government will again be based on consensus, trust and 

collaboration between all of us. 


are now to where we want to go? 

The following proposals for political development flow from the community story 

consultation. 

a. Hold at least quarterly community development and governance forums to engage 

community members in ongoing analysis regarding community needs and conditions, 

evaluation of ongoing efforts to bring positive change, and refinement of plans for 

future action. These forums would have a clear focus on moving beyond Chief and 

Council and programs as the answer to everything. This process would engage 

community members as planners and implementers of collective actions in which they 

themselves are active collaborators. 

b. Develop a new constitution for COTT that includes 1) vision and values, and 2) a 

governance code that sets out the rules and processes of community governance 

including a new election codes and procedures for creating new legislation. 

c. Utilizing ―customary law‖ clauses in the Indian Act, move immediately to establish 

election and governance policy that is more in accord with community norms, needs 

and expectations. 


October 2011

d. Specific policies are needed prohibiting elected leadership from circumventing 

established public policy and program rules without due process. 

e. Establish an administration and program management system that brings down the 

silos now preventing community programs from working together effectively on 

common themes and initiatives. 

f. Develop community engagement mechanisms and processes to ensure that all 

pockets of the community are engaged, and their voices are heard in community 

governance and community development. Special attention will be required to include 

off-reserve members, youth and other voices not often heard in this process. 

g. Hold an annual series of community education seminars on various aspects of 

community governance and management. 

h. Develop and implement a community complaints and grievances procedure that is at 

arms-length from the political process. 

i. Establish a rigorous Human Resource (HR) policy that ensures that people are hired 

on the basis of experience and qualifications (i.e., merit) not because of who they 

know or who they are related to. 

j. Hold a series of community consultation forums (like the community story) on the five 

key issues the community wants its leadership to address namely, 1) equality of 

opportunity and voice for all, 2) education rights and the quality of education, 3) water, 

4) health rights, and 5) infrastructure challenges especially water, housing and 

transportation. 

k. Establish a COTT Youth Council (junior and senior youth) and engage them in 

community development processes. 


October 2011 

51

ECONOMIC LIFE 

The small groups that worked on the economic life of the community used the 

following four sets of questions to guide their discussion. 

1. What is the economic life of the community like now? 

How are people getting what they need to live (to meet their basic needs)? Is 

there a difference between people living on and off reserve? 

How are the people's personal, social, spiritual and other kinds of development 

being affected by the way they are obtaining money and the material things they 

need to live? 

How well off are people in the communities today? Do people have what they 

need in order to live a healthy, balanced life? Can people afford the basic 

necessities? Are things different in this regard for people who live on or off the 

reserve? 

What are the main economic barriers, obstacles and problems faced by the 

community? What are the assets and strengths the community has that can 

contribute to a sound economic foundation? 

Who are the worst off economically in our communities? Why? 

How is the way people are earning a living affecting the natural environment (air, 

water, earth, plants, animals)? How is the environment influencing the people's 

economy? What is happening with the people's relationship with the natural 

environment? 

2. What can we learn from the past about economic life? 

How is what is happening today different from the way it was in the past? What, 

if anything, was lost that we need today? 

3. What would economic life be like in a positive future? 

What would a truly healthy community be like economically? 

What are the key things that will have to change in order to achieve a healthy 

economic future for our communities: 

- Personal level (i.e., the individual members of the community)? 

- Interpersonal level (i.e. significant relationships among community members)? 

- Organizational level (i.e., what the government, agencies and businesses do)? 


What other personal and community development issues 

must be addressed in order to effectively address the 

challenge of economic development, both on and off 

reserve? 

What do we have as people and as a community that we 

can build on for a better economic future? 

Who has to be involved in making the changes that are 

needed? 

What part of the needed changes can communities do on 

their own, with little or no help from the outside? What 

actions are needed? 

What sorts of help are required from outside the 

community to support the process of making the needed 

changes? 

52 


October 2011


4. What are the main goals to be achieved to create a future that is economically 

healthy? 




1. What is the economic life of the Community like now? 

The ultimate source of all wealth and prosperity is the earth. In the traditional past, 

Ojibwe people gathered what the earth produced (game, fish, berries, fruits, nuts, 

medicines, wood, stones, etc.). It took a lot of hard work and creative ingenuity, but from 

the basic gifts the earth provided, our ancestors were able to develop a civilization and 

earn a living. 

The economic challenges of today are very different, but the basic problem is the 

same. How can COTT people earn a living by what they can harvest from the earth, 

produce or manufacture, sell or barter, or by providing needed services to others? 

Participants in the Community Story consultation provided the following analysis and 

ideas related to the challenges of moving the COTT community towards sustainable 

prosperity. 

High Levels of Unemployment 

a. Roughly 70% of COTT households receive all or part of their income from Ontario 

works (i.e. welfare). 

b. Approximately 30% of those who are able to work actually have jobs or are engaged 

in a business. 

c. 95% of all employment on Reserve are jobs with the Band. There are a few small 

businesses such as smoke shops and convenient stores. A small handful of people 

work off Reserve. The rest of us stay home and collect Ontario Works. 

The Human Resource Challenge 

a. Too many of our people believe that the ―poverty trap‖ so many of our people are 

stuck in cannot be broken. ―My parents were on welfare, so why not me?‖ Even 

people who work for the Band in jobs related to employment development say, 


October 2011 

53

54 

―Working towards prosperity is not realistic‖. They substantiate this view by arguing 

that ―we live in a depressed area where huge numbers of people are out of work‖. 

b. Many of our people have an ―entitlement mentality‖. Its ―my right‖ to not work and to 

collect welfare. 

c. Even when good paying jobs off Reserve are offered to people, many do not stick 

with them. Transportation are big issues for some, but many just don‘t want to work 

off Reserve, and some don‘t want to work at all. 

d. Currently there are 47 people with grade 12 diplomas on welfare. What‘s wrong with 

this picture? 

e. We have internal mental blocks. We don‘t feel confident enough or comfortable to 

work off Reserve, many of us think very small. The only world we know is the postage 

stamp sized piece of land that we call Reserve. We can‘t imagine our world including 

the city of London or beyond. We‘re like birds that are scared to fly out of the cage, 

even when the door is wide open. 

f. We think it‘s normal to be dependent. Many of us live off other people, especially 

many of us men. 

g. Both the welfare system and Reserve politics reinforce our dependency thinking. We 

get free handouts from our politicians in exchange for our votes, and we are never 

challenged by the welfare system to get off welfare. It‘s all too easy. 

h. The high rates of alcohol and drug problems, and low levels of educational success 

are major barriers for our people in the job market. 

i. If we build a factory right here on Reserve, 5-10 people out of 100 workers would be 

our own people in a few years. Why? Cause that‘s the way we roll. 

The Cost of Poverty 

a. At current social assistance levels, between 65-70% of COTT people are living below 

the Canada low-income cut-off (LICO)-(i.e. the official poverty line). Experts generally 

agree that the ―official‖ poverty line is set roughly 30% too low for most families to 

meet basic needs for nutrition, health, transportation and other basic requirements for 

a healthy life. 


October 2011

. This problem has been made even worse by sharp rises in food and fuel costs, and 

by government cuts in insured health benefits. This has meant that many people 

living with health problems or with disabilities are now made to bare the burden of 

additional costs or go without. The result is that some COTT people (including 

children and elders) are forced to suffer for lack of needed medical treatment, 

medicines, dental care, hearing or eye care and needed equipment such as wheel 

chairs, canes, crutches and walkers. 

c. Along with physical deprivation comes the stigma of poverty. This impacts children 

and youth the most, and especially that‘s who have to go off Reserve for school. 

d. The poverty is also impacting access to recreation and social opportunities (i.e. 

library, educational events, music and arts events, movies etc.) 

e. Poverty itself contributes to deepening poverty in that low income means no money 

for transportation that could get you to job interviews, to the job site or for training 

opportunities. Lack of transportation is one of the most often mentioned barriers in 

many people‘s lives to full economic participation. 

f. Participants in the Community Story consultations also pointed out that the culture 

and mentality of poverty pervades many households and families, one in which the 

expectation is that ―we have been poor for generations and there‘s no use trying. We 

will be poor for many generations more‖ – this amounts to a kind of shared family 

depression, with feelings of hopelessness and low expectations being ―normal‖. 

Economic Development Realities 

a. Our traditional territory is the greater London area and also quite a lot of land both 

east and north of us. Many of us are thinking much smaller than that. Our 

imaginations stop at the boundaries of the Reserve. If we want to be prosperous, we 

have to learn to think bigger. Why shouldn‘t we have a big economic presence in the 

centre of the city of London? 

b. The idea that we have to go it alone is another one of our thinking traps. To grow a 

big enough economic base of activities, we are going to have to make strategic 

partnerships that will help us to lever access to needed capitol, skills, technical 

capacity and markets. 


October 2011 

55

c. There are very few small businesses on Reserve, but there could be more. We have 

56 

the advantage of being a tax haven, and we are located relatively close to many small 

population centres, as well as to the city of London. We haven‘t begun to leverage our 

own advantages. 


October 2011

Barriers to business development 

Barriers to business development in our area includes risk factors such as perceived 

lawlessness on Indian reserves, which scares away both business investors and 

insurers, the difficulty we have as First Nations people to get bank loans because our 

First Nations land cannot be used as collateral, the absence of any clear land 

management plan on the Reserve, the lack of local markets due to poverty, lack of local 

housing for business owners to live in, along with bad water and poor roads, a work 

force that is perceived to be ―lazy‖, ―unskilled‖, poorly educated and generally 

unavailable for work, as well as a lack of infrastructure such as serviced buildings which 

businesses could occupy. Because of these risks and lacks, getting a loan or insurance 

for a business is almost impossible. First Nations are perceived as having no laws and 

therefore are too great of risk, and prospects of business success seem to be low. 

Dangers and opportunities on the horizon 

a. The Bear Creek settlement will provide (a relatively small) source of investment 

dollars we can use to build an economic engine that will drive prosperity 

development. If we squander that money by handing it out to members, we will have 

nothing in a few years, just as we have now. 

b. We need to assert our claims to the tax dollars that have been collected over the 

years on our traditional lands by other governments that come onto the Bear Creek 

claim. 

c. New lands purchased as a result of the Bear Creek settlement could provide us with 

huge business opportunities, especially within the city of London and along the 401 

and 402 corridors. Again, some people want the money divided up and passed out to 

everyone (i.e. dividends). This is understandable because our people are living poor, 

however if we are smart about this, we will not give away large portions of our 

heritage in handouts. Rather, we will invest that money wisely as a catalyst for 

change. It‘s too small to live on. We have to use it to create the change we need. We 

could become very prosperous, but to get there we have some real changing, 

learning, growing and hard work to do. We need that money to fuel that growth and 

change. 


October 2011 

57

2. What can we learn from the past about economic life? 

a. In the past everybody worked hard except very young children, the old or the sick. 

58 

There was always a lot to do in every season. We had to work hard in order to 

survive. 

b. In the long ago days, our people hunted and fished, trapped, and made everything we 

used from tools, canoes, snowshoes, bows and arrows to clothing and shelter. We 

gathered fresh greens, berries, nuts and medicine plants in their proper season. We 

had to know the land and everything that grew and lived there in every season. We 

knew every stream and lake, where each kind of animal lived and made its home, and 

how to hunt, trap and gather what we needed. Our people only took what they 

needed, and we never wasted anything. 

c. Later on, when our traditional territory was taken away, and our economic base 

shrunk to a tiny fraction of what it once was, our people learned to farm and build. We 

still worked very hard and we got by. In those days everyone had skills and we all 

contributed to our family and community. 

d. Our ability to earn a living was greatly impeded by residential schools. Children came 

back damaged emotionally and spiritually and not knowing how to work the way we 

had in the past. Many of them felt disconnected from family and community. 

e. By the time alcohol and welfare was introduced in the 1950‘s, our people were nearly 

broken by loss and grief. Many (though not all of us) became dependent on both. We 

accepted self-medication in order to block out our pain and our shame and 

dependency because we felt we had no other choice. 

f. With these changes, our values of sharing and caring began to slip away. We forgot 

that the Creator gave us a responsibility to care for each other (i.e., family and 

community), as well as to keep ourselves healing and strong. Mistrust and fear grew 

between us and we found it harder and harder to work together for the common good. 

We found ourselves fighting and arguing a lot. The more separate we became, the 

more our traditional strengths as a community and as a people were weakened. That 

strength (some call ―social capital‖) where is the social connection between us like 

trust was the foundation of our people‘s economic strength in the past. 


October 2011

g. Before 1950, when there was very little alcohol and we rarely had much cash. We 

had enough to eat, and everybody helped each other. No one was idle. We all worked 

hard. 

h. During the 1940‘s, 1950‘s, and 1960‘s, some of our men worked off Reserve (on steel 

construction, tobacco farms, in factories, in the forest industry, fishing etc.). 

3. What would life be like in a positive future? 

a. Poverty reduction – No family would be living in poverty. A strong social safety net 

would be there for those who needed it. There would be meaningful employment for 

everyone capable of working, and everyone would be making some contribution to 

community life (i.e. the social economy). 

b. Business – COTT will have many private member-owned and operated businesses. 

Some of these (large and small) will be on Reserve, but many (if not most), will be in 

London or along the 401-402 highway corridors. 

c. Band Level Enterprises – Currently at the Band level, COTT has very little own 

source revenue (OSW). Yet, without our own sources of income besides government 

transfer payments, we can never be truly sovereign. Band operations and programs 

(including the school, health department, public works, and Ontario Works dollars – 

all of it) cost roughly $20 million per year, but that is government controlled funding 

over which we have very little say as to how the money is actually spent. In the future, 

we will create enterprises that bring income for the Band, while at the same time 

providing employment for our people. 

d. Community Infrastructure – Community infrastructure will be of the highest quality, 

beautifully designed, built to be sustainable and environmentally friendly (grey water 

management, solar or geothermal heat and power etc.) We will have a sports 

complex and swimming pool, an adult education and training college, ample housing 

for all and many stores, restaurants and businesses. Chippewas will be prosperous 

small town that is a comfortable pleasant place to live. Our roads will be safe and well 

lit, and we will have a safe and secure supply of drinking water. 

e. Business Ideas – Following are some of the business ideas shared during the 

Community Story consultation process. 

- Online marketing and sales 


October 2011 

59

60 

- Flea market 

- Build on local skills and talents 

- Regalia making, pageant dresses, beading, quilting 

- ―Stone world‖ like tourist attraction 

- Used car dealership (tax advantage) 

- High end gated community 

- Cultural tourism 

- First Nations mortuary 

- Car detailing 

f. We will have our own financial institutions (bank, credit union) that will be able to 

provide both capital and financial services to our members and our businesses and 

enterprises. 



The Community Story participants who worked on the topic of economic 

development made the following suggestions for next steps. 

a. Human resource development – A massive human resources development 

campaign is needed. We need to invest in our people—in personal growth, healing, 

life skills, basic education, cultural identity, job skills, entrepreneurial training, and 

business development. We need to start with our young people. To do all of this we 

need our own college. 

b. Dependency and entitlement thinking – We need to address dependency and 

entitlement thinking head on through public education, incentives and a gradual 

reform of our social welfare system. Part of this solution is ensuring that built in 

safeguards, standards and incentives are not undermined by politics. 

c. Investing Bear Creek Settlement Funds – The Bear Creek settlement money needs 

to be invested wisely and carefully so that the lands we purchased and investments 

we make bring us real and lasting social and economic benefits, not only for this 

generation but also for generations to come. 

d. Intensive small and medium sized business development campaign – Whether it 

be private businesses or Band run enterprises, many and varied profitable initiatives 

are needed, both on and off Reserve (especially in the greater London area) that 

provides employment, and gives our people opportunities to learn and grow 

economically. 


October 2011

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND SOCIAL LIFE 

The small groups that worked on the economic life of the community used the 

following four sets of questions to guide their discussion. 

1. What is the social life of the community like now? 

What is the current realty of social wellbeing in our communities? Remember to 

consider the difference between life on and off the reserve when you consider the 

following aspects of this question: family wellbeing/health; levels of substance 

abuse; levels of communal violence; levels of crime against property and people; 

levels of physical and sexual abuse; levels of mutual support and a climate of 

encouragement; levels of gossip and backbiting; levels of cooperation and 

volunteering; how the community responds to emergencies or crises; how the 

community accepts outsiders; how the community forgives those who break the 

rules or offend people; how the community deals with diversity, minority views, 

and those who are different; etc. 

Is the community unified or divided (common vision, shared plans, sense of 

identity, feelings of belonging, mutual support and love)? How does the fact that 

people live both on and off the reserve affect unity? 

Does the community have control over those things that lead to health (mental, 

emotional, physical, spiritual, environmental, etc.)? 

- Is there a strong sense of collective awareness, decision-making and action 

related to health? 

- Is there a strong emphasis on the promotion of human wellness (mental, 

emotional, physical, spiritual) and the prevention of sickness or injury, or is most 

"health" money and energy focused on the medical mission of sick care? 

Is education as it is now meeting the learning needs of the people? 

- Are kids dropping out of school? 

- Are school leavers able to contribute usefully to their own (economic) upkeep 

and to community development? 

- Is their a portion of the population that education is not serving well? 

- Does the community provide opportunities for life-long learning for its 

members? 

- What needs to change about the educational system? 

Are current social welfare and child protection programs effective? Why or why 

not? What needs to change? 

Is the justice system (i.e. the police and the courts) working? If not, what changes 

are needed? 

Do health, education, welfare or justice program 

initiatives address the people's real social 

development needs? What should change in the 

way these programs work? 

2. What can we learn from the past about social 

life? 

How is what is happening today different from the 

way it was in the past? What, if anything, was lost 

that we need today? 


October 2011 

61

3. What would social life be like in a positive future? 

What would a socially healthy community be like? 

What will have a change in the way we live and carry on our community life in 

order to create socially healthy and viable communities? 

- Personal level (i.e. personal growth, healing, learning)? 

- Interpersonal level (i.e. the way we relate to one another)? 

- Organizational level (i.e. what the agencies, programs and community 

organizations do)? 

- Community level (i.e. how the community organizes itself, interacts and relates 

to the outside world)? 

What can/must the communities do for themselves without much outside help? 


4. What are the main goals to be achieved to create a future that is socially 

healthy? 




62 

Social life refers to community wellbeing and health, to how the community cares for 

those in need, and to prevailing patterns of social interaction, community solidarity and 

unity. Western society has organized social development into two main categories of 

work: 1) health, and 2) helping the needy (welfare). The questions above touched on 

those two areas, but also on the more basic issues such as unity, caring, sharing and 

community identity. The participants of the Community Story process in Chippewas of 

the Thames put forward the following observations and suggestions related to the social 

life of the community. 

1. What is community life like now? 

Community Wellbeing and Health 

a. Even though our health services are far better than they used to be, our people are 

not actually as healthy as we were 20-30 years ago. There is a lot more cancer, heart 

disease, respiratory disease, diabetes, overweight and obesity, even in very young 

people. We also have a lot of mental health issues like depression, physical and 

sexual abuse, addictions and gambling. 

b. Our most concerning issues are related to mental health and addictions. A very high 

proportion (estimated to be near 80%) of our households are struggling with the 

impact of addictions, abuse, chronic disease and other impacts of intergenerational 

trauma. 


October 2011

c. Physical and sexual abuse is a serious issue, but no one wants to talk about it. 

Violence against women and children is only now starting to be recognized as an 

issue. 

d. Our people go to methadone clinics, but there has been no success in getting to the 

root causes of addictions related to past trauma. 

e. Other health challenges we face include: 1) a very high incidence in overweight and 

obesity in children; 2) high incidences in diabetes and related illnesses; 3) increasing 

hypertension, high blood pressure and heart disease; and 4) increasing incidence of 

asthma and other lung disease. 

f. Poverty is impacting people‘s health due to the lack of healthy foods, access to 

recreation and the depressive criteria of poverty, which promotes dependency and 

feelings of being trapped with no hope. People are living under huge stress. 

g. Our health services are working very hard, but they are underfunded and they keep 

getting cut back. Our insured health benefits are also cut back and this is causing 

real hardship for families living with chronic disease or injury. Now people who are 

living way below the poverty line are expected to pay for some of their own 

medications, for most dental and eye care, and for equipment like wheelchairs, 

walkers, canes and crutches. 

h. Mnaasged child and family protection services have ―red flagged‖ 150 of 256 

households in the COTT community, where children are ―at risk‖ —i.e., in which there 

is a good reason to believe that children are not safe due to circumstances in the 

home. 

Although Mnaasged has a mandate to do prevention and family development work, 

they have ―no budget, no staff, and no time‖ to actually do that work and they are now 

not receiving the support or guidance from Mnaasged central office to move in that 

direction. 

i. Current mental health, addictions and social welfare services all focus on getting 

people through a crisis, but none of them are effective at engaging people in long- 

term healing and recovery work that is needed to prevent recurring crises in the 

future. 


October 2011 

63

j. In the physical health area, we now have access to better doctors and better health 

64 

services, as well as, better ambulance services than ever before. 

k. The root causes of the severe mental health and addictions crisis we face as a 

community are related to the loss of our extended families, the impact of residential 

schools, the loss of our traditional belief system which provided so much strength and 

stability to many people‘s lives in the past, the loss of memory related to traditional 

healing and medicines, and the general loss of a sense of identity, purpose, direction 

and a moral compass, particularly in our young people. The recovery of our family 

units and effective parenting is part of the picture, but the foundations of our lives 

together as people require a recovery of spirituality. 

l. Participants in the Community Story consultations estimated that 75-80% of our 

community‘s households have someone living in the home who is abusing alcohol or 

drugs, and that somewhere around 80% of children are living in households in which 

alcohol and drug abuse is putting them at risk for harm. 

m. Many children are being neglected because those who are supposed to care for them 

are absorbed in other things (addictions, partying, bingo, etc.). 

Social Capital (the ties that bind) 

a. There are deep and ongoing diversions and splits within the Chippewas of the 

Thames community. These diversions are manifesting themselves in arguments and 

fights between youth and certain families, between the followers of different spiritual 

paths, and sometimes between prominent leaders. This lack of unity is weakening 

the community‘s ability to come together to deal with its primary community 

development challenges. 

b. Young people report that on the one hand they are ―more connected‖ to each other 

through social media (facebook, twitter, texting, etc.), but on the other hand that many 

of them feel isolated, alone with their pain and fears, and with nobody to talk to. 

Similarly, families are very busy. Everyone is absorbed in a faster and faster pace of 

life. There‘s ―no time‖ to socialize. Many families rarely, if ever, sit down together 

and have a family meal. Therefore, people are feeling isolated and cut-off even in 

their own families. 


October 2011

c. Neighbours seldom visit and until recently, the community almost never sat down 

together to talk about things that matter. 

d. The CSI team has been concentrating on building connections between people and 

supporting families in order to move the community toward greater health and 

wellbeing. These social gatherings are well appreciated and increasingly well 

attended. The idea that connections and relationships matter is catching on again. 

e. There are still many people who are isolated and are feeling cut-off. This is an 

especially serious issue for some children and youth, single mothers and some 

elders. 

f. Mutual caring and support is always strongest at funerals when the whole community 

comes out to support a grieving family. This capacity to demonstrate mutual support 

at those times proves that we still have it in us to be a strong and mutually supportive 

community. 

g. The separation between off-Reserve people and us is hurtful to the off-Reserve 

people, who often feel that they are isolated or not accepted as ―real‖ community 

members. 


a. Our elders had strong teachings about unity. They observed from nature that if the 

different parts of living things became separated from one another, death was not far 

away. If a family or group of hunters and gatherers stopped cooperating with one 

another, that group could not survive a single winter. They taught us that whenever a 

circle of the community is broken, an empty space is left. through which disease can 

enter into the community. They understood that everyone is related to everyone else, 

and that we are all connected through blood and spirit. They believed that separation 

and disunity was a dangerous sickness, and that when it occurred, extreme measures 

should be taken to heal the problem and prevent it from reoccurring. 

b. In the past, people visited each other and we always had lots of activities that we did 

together, such as gardening, quilting, putting up food for the winter, cutting firewood, 

hunting and fishing traps, helping someone build their house or a barn…we really did 

help each other, and no one was left out. We also had bonfires, wiener roasts, card 

games and lots of times where we just sat and talked about many things including 

community life. 


October 2011 

65

c. People lived a much healthier lifestyle 40-50 years ago than we do now. Everyone 

66 

worked hard, walked a lot, and got lots of exercise. We only ate healthy foods— we 

grew vegetables, beef, pork and chickens we raised, wild meat and fish we hunted, 

and we gathered berries. We didn‘t have money for store bought food. There was 

very little alcohol compared to today, and no drugs. Our people got fewer sicknesses 

and many lived a long time. 

d. In the traditional ways of our people, we had the Seven Grandfather teachings 

(wisdom, love, respect, courage, honesty, humility, truth) and our elders made sure 

every person knew how we are connected to the spirit of all life, to our mother earth 

and to each other. We had ceremonies at important passages in life such as the birth 

of a child, coming of age, first kill, marriage, death, and also for healing, and finding 

your spiritual path through life. 

These things are not so different in the teachings of churches. We all believe that 

love, forgiveness, kindness and honesty are important, and that we need to turn our 

hearts and spirits to the Creator everyday in order to be healthy and happy in our 

lives. 

e. Healing was a normal part of life. We knew a lot about traditional medicines and 

ways of helping a person recover from sickness or injury. Our traditional lodges and 

ceremonies helped people to recover their spirit if they became lost or if they 

experienced a severe trauma. 

f. We considered the unity and strength of our families to be of the utmost importance. 

If something was wrong in a family, we all came together to talk in order to decide 

what we could do to repair what had been broken. Children‘s wellbeing and safety 

was always a prominent concern. 

3. What will community health and social life be like in a positive future? 

a. We will have healed the differences that now divide us. While our people will always 

have strong views, and we won‘t ever all agree on everything, we will be able to 

consult together as a community, listen respectfully to each other, and weave 

together solutions and plans that are win-win for all of us. We will never again allow 

deep divisions to go unresolved between us, nor will we leave individuals isolated, 

alone and without support. 


October 2011

. Our people will live and work together guided by a code of conduct that is respected 

and practiced by all of us, something like the Seven Grandfather teachings. It will not 

be acceptable for anyone to use violence, put-downs, backbiting, and personal 

attacks in order to win a political or religious point. We will guard and protect the 

sacredness of our unity. 

c. Our people will be much healthier than we are now. We will eat fresh and healthy 

foods, have many different choices for physical activity, and our personal and 

community wellness will be an example to other communities of what is possible. We 

will gradually and steadily reduce alcohol and drugs and other kinds of abuse, and 

our people will be well along the paths of individual and community healing. 

d. We will provide our families with strong support so they can be healthy and effective 

in caring for their children and youth. Chippewas will be the living example of the 

saying ―it takes a whole community to raise a child‖. 

4. What has to happen and what do we have to do to get from where we are 

now to where we want to go? 

Participants in the Community Story made many suggestions for next steps. They 

are summarized as follows. A major part of COTT community development has to be 

community healing, this will entail: 

i. A comprehensive child and youth development initiative. 

ii. A family healing and recovery program. 

iii. The development of a mental health and addictions team and recovery strategy 

using a combination of professionals and volunteers. 

iv. Engagement of traditional ceremonial leaders and wisdom keepers in supporting 

and guiding the process and in providing an alternative (to western medicine) 

approach to those who want to go that route. 

v. A large consultation on expanding the work of CSI in community building efforts to 

reach all pockets of the community. 

vi. The development of a comprehensive community health development plan, that 

takes into account the root causes of physical ill-health (such as diabetes, obesity, etc.) 

as well as mental, emotional and spiritual health, and pulls together professionals and 

volunteers to implement the plan. (The community healing in the outline described 

above would have to be part of this plan, but will need its own ―engine‖ and ―legs‖ in 

terms of resources and volunteer. 


October 2011 

67

SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL LIFE 

The small groups that worked on the spiritual and cultural life of the community used 

the following four sets of questions to guide their discussion. 

1. What is the spiritual and cultural life of the community like now? 

Do we have a healthy sense of who we are as human beings and do our 

communities have a sense of their identity? 

What is the current condition of our traditional culture (such as language; spiritual 

knowledge and practices; healing arts and knowledge; survival technologies and 

knowledge; music, arts and stories)? 

Do our young people respect and learn about the old ways from the elders? 

What is the relationship like between our traditional ways and the churches? 

What impact are the churches having on life today? What is good and what 

needs to change about the way the churches work in our communities? 

Do our people have a shared/common vision of what kind of communities we 

want to build and of who we want to be in a healthy future? Do we have a clear 

idea of what moral and philosophical principles we need to live by in order to 

develop our potential as human beings? In short, do we know where we need to 

go (as human beings and as communities) and how to get there? 

2. What can we learn from the past about cultural and spiritual life? 

To what extent are we drawing on the cultural knowledge, wisdom and resources 

from the past to help us solve critical problems of today? 

Is it useful or important to do so? 

3. What would spiritual and cultural life be like in a positive future? 

What would a community be like if it were truly healthy and strong in the area of 

culture and spirituality? 

What will have to change in order to achieve this ideal? 

- Personal level (i.e., personal growth, healing, learning)? 

- Interpersonal level (i.e., the nature and quality of our relationships)? 

- Organizational level (i.e., what the agencies, community organizations and 

churches do)? 

- Community level (i.e., how the community inter-relates and organizes itself and 

how it relates with the outside world)? 

What parts of the needed changes can/must communities do on their own with 

little or no help from outside? What actions are needed? 


4. What are the main goals to be achieved to create a future that is 

culturally and spiritually healthy? 




68 

This area refers to the general pattern of life by which people live. It 

includes their sense of identity, their customs, beliefs, values, morals, 

ideals, ceremonies and spiritual practices, as well as their traditional 

language, ways of knowing, technologies, arts, crafts and sciences. 


October 2011

At the individual level, culture and spirituality is about our sense of identity and 

purpose; about who we think we are, where we came from and what our purpose and 

responsibilities are. It‘s also about a code to live by, values, moral guidelines and the 

choices we make that lead to a good and healthy life for ourselves and those around us 

in our families and community. 

We refer to "culture" and "spirituality" within development mostly to talk about the 

"software" of development; i.e., the guiding principles and the vision which call us to a 

possible and desirable future, and which shape how we go about the processes of 

change. 

For many peoples, conflict between the dominant culture (European capitalism, 

materialism and commercialism) and Indigenous or "traditional" cultural ways is an 

important part of the struggle for health and balance. 

When we talk about "spirituality" we're not talking about any particular religion. 

Rather, we are talking about our human capacity to know and love 

the Creator, and to choose ways of living that are life-promoting and 

life enhancing. We talk about spirituality together with culture 

because spirit animates the heart of all living culture, and because 

without spirit, cultures, like individuals, become dead things, unable 

to grow and change. 

The participants in the Community Story process from COTT offered the following 

observations and suggestions related to the spiritual and cultural life of their community. 

1. What is the spiritual and cultural life of the community like now? 

The following themes can be used to summarize the discussions on this topic. 

Importance of Spirituality 

It is impossible to separate spirituality and culture. Both of these are forces for 

positive individual, family and community development. They help people live according 

to values such as courtesy, sharing, kindness, courage, honesty and perseverance. 

They promote equity, unity and justice. They provide focus and meaning for life, as well 

as hope and patience when times are tough. Cultural knowledge covered all aspects of 

daily life, including what to do when people were sick or injured. People knew how to 

recognize and collect medicines, and how to care for one another. At the heart of all 

religious paths is the teaching, to love one another, to forgive and to be united. 


October 2011 

Spirit animates the 

heart of all living 

culture. Spirituality is 

the capacity to know 

and love the Creator 

and to choose a life 

path that leads to 

wellbeing and unity. 

69

Loss of Spirituality 

70 

It seems that many people today have lost a connection to the Creator and to the 

life-preserving, life-enhancing values listed above. Today‘s life is so busy with work, 

family and leisure activities (for some) or filled up with unhealthy pursuits, that many 

people do not find the time to practice basic spiritual disciplines such as daily prayer, or 

weekly church services or seasonal ceremonies. Other people have become cynical 

about spiritual groups of all kinds because of the way that they criticize each other, and 

they have even turned away from their own spiritual disciplines and inner voice. 

Cultural and Spiritual revival 

At the same time, like many other First Nations people, COTT is experiencing a 

cultural revival. The traditional teachings and ceremonial practices that were suppressed 

during past times are being revived. There is a growing interest in learning our Ojibwe 

language and in learning traditional skills and practices. Some people are also regaining 

their understanding about natural medicines and are making the proper collection and 

preservation of medicine plants a part of their family life. A big concern is that some of 

this rich cultural history and knowledge will be lost if it is not passed on orally and 

documented, since the elders who still remember the traditional ways are passing on. 

There is a real need, for example, to write down the old stories and an in depth 

description of what the Seven Grandfather teachings really mean. 

Religious Divisions 

a. A very troubling aspect of this topic to all the participants is the observation that the 

community is divided between those individuals and families who practice 

traditional spirituality and Christians. At times, this division can be quite 

harsh, with people on both sides deeply hurt by the things that are being 

said about them. During the Community Story process, there was a very 

strong call for people to find a way to heal these wounds and to 

recognize the fundamental unity of all religions and to express that truth 

through fellowship and respect. ―We are a community of various cultures 

and we need to recognize the diversity and respect each others choices in regards to 

religion and way of life.‖ 

b. Regardless of what religion you believe in (if you believe in any), Creator or God is 

the ultimate judge. Should members choose not to believe in Ojibwe spirituality or any 


October 2011 

No matter how 

we pray, it goes 

to the same 

God. Everyone 

needs to have 

the freedom to 

choose his or 

her own spiritual 

path.

particular church, nothing should be forced on them and no one should put them 

down for their choice. You have to look at the bigger picture of creation and request 

people‘s values. 

c. When we look closely at the teachings in the bible about who we are and how we 

should all live together, there is much in common between our traditional teachings 

and Christian bible teachings. 

Both paths teach there is only one ―God‖ or ―Creator‖ who made us all, who loves 

us and who gives us social teachings to follow so we can have a good life. 

Both paths teach us to be loving, forgiving, kind, honest and trustworthy, and to 

be willing to sacrifice our own interests (even our lives if necessary) in the service 

of others (family, neighbor, community, fellow human being). 

Both paths teach us that all human beings, no matter of what race or nation, are 

all children of the same God. 

Both teach us to humble ourselves in prayer and fasting and to do good works. 

Both teach us that love and forgiveness are more powerful then hate, separation 

and division. 

Both teach us to call on the power of God (i.e., Creator, Grandfather, Holy Spirit) 

to aid us in overcoming difficulties. 

Both teach us to be thankful, and grateful for the continuous outpourings of gifts 

(or grace) the Creator (i.e. God) provides for us. 

Both paths tell us to turn first to the Creator and ―the Kingdom of God‖ whenever 

we are beginning some important work or are in need or are having difficult 

problems, and from that foundation, the solution to all of our problems will be 

found. 

Both tell us that if we stray too far from these spiritual teachings, our lives will 

become filled with pain, chaos and misery. 

We have a lot in common. We need to build on that common heritage and drive on 

the richness of all of our sacred teachings as we work together as one people to 

develop our future for our children and grandchildren. 

Other Issues and Challenges 

a. Many families are raising their children today without the benefit of any spiritual or 

moral teachings. Many of these kids are coming out lost, very self-absorbed and 

already trapped in dangerous or negative life styles. 

b. Our school only scratches the surface of providing spiritual, moral and cultural 

teachings. 

c. There are groups within the community (the alternative school, lodge keepers, 

churches) who are reaching out to fill this gap, but many children and youth are not 

connecting to what is available. 


October 2011 

71

d. Our community is divided over the usefulness and value of cultural and spiritual 

72 

teachings. Many see these two (cultural and spiritual) as separate, and are opposed 

to one or the other. Some others don‘t believe any of it has value. 

e. Today we have pow-wows, drumming and singing classes, and language classes and 

there is a growing interest among some to learn these things. However, the majority 

doesn‘t understand how these things are connected to our community health and 

development. 

f. Christian‘s believe in ―the Devil‖ who tries to draw people into bad choices, and 

ultimately punishes them for these choices. Ojibwe teachings tell us about the ―Little 

people‖ who try to guide us to guide us to give but also who taunt and tease us ―if we 

fall astray‖. Whether you believe these stories are literally true or are metaphors and 

teachings, they are a powerful tool for teaching our children about morality. 

g. We could build a good community with the teachings we have in common if they are 

actually practiced by our members. 

h. We went through a period of our history when we tried to become white people. We 

put our language and culture behind us and tried to assimilate. It didn‘t work. Now we 

are going back and trying to relearn our traditions. This is not because we want to live 

in past centuries, it‘s because we need the knowledge and wisdom of the past to build 

a healthy and sustainable future. 

i. The process of assimilation wasn‘t just superficial. It penetrated deep into our minds 

and spirits. We learned to doubt ourselves and even to be ashamed of our past and 

our Ojibwe identity. As we struggle to recover our traditional heritage, we have to 

understand what happened to us. ―Decolonizing‖ our thinking and our spirit is a deep 

but necessary part of the process. 

j. Our traditional culture is rooted in a way of life that is now gone. We were hunters and 

gatherers and extremely self reliant and proud. Much of that way of life isn‘t here 

anymore, and so we are going to have to learn what it means to be 21 st century 

Ojibwe people. What can we learn from the past as we re-invent ourselves, not only 

socially but also economically and politically? What of our traditional past is universal 

and true for all times? For sure honesty, hard work, respect, kindness, humility, 

caring, sharing – these things are basic. We need a process for putting collective 

values, spirituality in the center of community development and nation building. 


October 2011

2. What can we learn from the past about cultural and spiritual life? 

a. In the past, spirituality and culture were not separate. Cultural wisdom and practices 

dealt with all aspects of life, from honouring the Creator, to solving interpersonal 

conflicts, harvesting food from a generous earth, and healing sickness when it 

occurred. Spirituality had to do with how you lived your life by practicing the Seven 

Grandfather Teachings. Elders had a huge responsibility for ensuring that the next 

generations received the knowledge and skills that they needed for life. 

b. In the recent past, some COTT people joined Christian churches and found the same 

basic teachings about how to live in that circle. At the same time, some of these 

churches brought disunity when they condemned traditional spirituality and also 

perpetrated very serious abuses in the context of residential schooling. This part of 

the past still haunts our families. It‘s also true that some of our people experienced 

abuse at the hands of corrupt professional practitioners that came to our area. The 

intergenerational trauma of this part of the past continues to be felt in the daily lives of 

some residential school survivors, their families and their children, and many have 

been torn apart by this pain. While the awful things that happened in residential 

schools to many of our people who in no way condoned or supported the Christian 

teachings, it‘s still hard for some people to separate the two, and not blame the 

churches. Healing and reconciliation is needed. 

c. Our traditional past was very much connected to our economy and our relationship 

with the land. 

d. In more recent generations (especially after residential schools), people began 

turning away from their traditional Ojibwe identity, language and culture. They tried to 

assimilate. The government wanted to ―take the Indian out of the child‖. It sort of 

worked for a while, but in the end, it didn‘t. 

The history of our people is not told correctly in the education system and we now 

very much need that history to be known and understood by all of us. 

e. There is much in our traditional cultural teachings and in our churches that we need 

for building our future. 


October 2011 

73

3. What will spiritual and cultural life be like in a positive future? 

74 

In the positive future, every individual and every family will be free to make their 

choice of a spiritual path. Everyone will have a positive connection to a belief and value 

system that gives meaning and purpose to their lives. Spirituality will be a source of joy 

and solace. The wounds of the community‘s history of residential schooling and other 

forms of colonialization will be healed and the people will be able to move into the future 

with hope and harmony. Elders will be healthy and respected as they fulfill their role as 

educators of the next generation. COTT will be proud of its unique cultural heritage and 

will share that wealth with others, from other First Nations and other cultural groups. 

An on-going cultural research process will help COTT apply cultural knowledge to all 

aspects of its development—economic, political, social, and natural resource 

management. 



Some concrete suggestions for positive steps in the cultural and spiritual life of the 

community were made during the Community Story process. 

Cultural and spiritual reconciliation - A cultural and spiritual reconciliation 

process is urgently needed to bring together people of good will from both the Traditional 

and the Christian spiritual paths. People of vision who have chosen both these ways 

need to forge strong bonds of respect and to demonstrate their commitment to unity 

through visible collaboration in the community. 

Cultural research and preservation process – Attention urgently needs to be 

given to researching and documenting the cultural heritage of the COTT First Nation. 

This includes knowledge and skills related to a broad range of topics, including 

language, wisdom teachings, ceremonies, healing, family life, child rearing, decision 

making, dispute resolution, and the selection of leaders. 

Cultural history and teachings curriculum development – A focused project on 

developing resource and learning materials that can be used to teach people of all ages 

(both members and those who come from the outside) will greatly strengthen our efforts 

to apply our Traditional values to community development, healing, and nation building. 

Specifically, we need material that tells our story of what we were like in the traditional 

past, what happened to us through processes of missionization, colonization, the loss of 


October 2011

our traditional lands and resources, the Indian Act, residential schools …and how all of 

this have impacted our lives, families and our community. 

We also need materials, which collect and retell traditional teaching stories and 

wisdom teachings, including an in-depth presentation of what the Seven Grandfather 

teachings really mean. 


October 2011 

75

LAND SELECTION AND NATURAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT 

The small groups that worked on the topic of land selection and natural resource 

management used the following four sets of questions to guide their discussion. 

1. What is the current situation with respect to the management of the 

community’s lands? 

What are our current assets in terms of land and natural resources? 

How are these assets benefiting COTT members-living on reserve, living off the 

reserve? 

How are our land and natural resources being managed? Who makes these 

decisions? Who is left out of these decisions? 

What is working and what is not working about how our land and natural 

resources are being managed? What are our major challenges with respect to 

land and natural resource management? What are our greatest opportunities and 

assets? 

What are our needs in terms of acquisition of new land? How are these needs 

different for COTT members living on and off reserve? 

2. What can we learn from the past about land and natural resource 

management? 

What can we learn from how we managed our lands and natural resources in the 

past? 

How have the decisions of the past shaped our current situation in terms of land 

and resource management (e.g., economic development, environmental 

considerations, etc.)? 

3. How would we manage land and natural resources in a positive future? 

What would the future be like if COTT had the land it needed? What would this 

land be used for? How would the acquisition of new land have changed the 

community? 

How will COTT manage its natural resources in a healthy and balanced future? 

What will have to change in the way the community operates in order to create a 

future in which land and natural resources are managed in such a way as to bring 

prosperity and health to the community? 

What can the community do without much outside help to bring about this future? 


4. What are the main goals to be achieved with respect to land selection and 

natural resource management? 




5. What is the current infrastructure in 

the community like? 

What are our current assets in 

terms of infrastructure? 

How are these assets benefiting 

COTT members-living on reserve, 

living off the reserve? 

76 


October 2011

How is our infrastructure being developed and managed? Who makes these 

decisions? Who is left out of these decisions? 

What is working and what is not working about the community‘s infrastructure 

and how it is being managed? What are our major challenges with respect to the 

development and management of infrastructure? What are our greatest 

opportunities and assets? 

What are our needs in terms of the development of new infrastructure? How are 

these needs different for COTT members living on and off reserve? 

6. What can we learn from the past about infrastructure development and 

management in the community? 

What can we learn from how we developed and managed infrastructure in the 

past? 

How have the decisions of the past shaped our current situation in terms of 

community infrastructure (e.g., housing, recreation, Band programs and services, 

etc.)? 

7. What would the community’s infrastructure be like in a positive future? 

What would the future be like if COTT had the infrastructure it needed? What 

would this infrastructure be used for? How would the development of new 

infrastructure have changed the community? 

What will have to change in the way the community operates in order to create a 

future in which infrastructure is developed and managed in such a way as to 

bring prosperity and health to the community? 

What can the community do without much outside help to bring about this future? 


8. What are the main goals to be achieved with respect to infrastructure 

development and management? 




1. What is the current situation with respect to the management of the 

community’s lands? 

Land and Resources 

a. We don‘t have enough land to live on for the population of our community. We don‘t 

have land to build houses, infrastructure such as, a recreation complex, a college and 

trade school, a commercial zone and an industrial area and we certainly don‘t have 

enough farmland to be self-sufficient in food. 

b. We need to think of ―our lands‖ beyond the boundaries of the Reserve to include our 

entire traditional territory. Many of us don‘t know our history regarding what that 

territory even consists of, what we agreed to in treaties, and what our rights are 

concerning land use. For example, exposed resource extraction or land use in our 


October 2011 

77

78 

traditional territory should be presented to the consultation and accommodation office 

of the First Nations affected, and a resource benefit agreement worked out. 

c. We have no comprehensive land management plan, nor do we have an assessment 

of land use needs, environmentally sensitive areas (like wet lands), burial grounds, 

historically important sites, or areas where there are land management issues or 

disputes that need to be resolved. 

d. The lack of knowledge over traditional territories and our treaty rights, and the 

absence of a land use plan makes it almost impossible for our leadership to make 

informed decisions, to legislate. 

e. People are dumping illegally in our landfill (outsiders) and all around us people are 

using pesticides and other chemicals that are really bad for the environment. We 

don‘t even know what is being used, we have no inspection, no legislation to protect 

our lands, and no plan or program to carry out our responsibility as stewards of our 

land. Bulrushes are disappearing. We need to plan with a 50-100 year horizon. 

f. We‘re not alone in the world. We have neighbours all around us and they have their 

own ideas about land use that affects us. We need to engage them, and to work 

toward developing common land use principles, plans, and regulations, and common 

enforcement strategies. Now, none of this exists and we‘re all doing whatever. 

Infrastructure 

a. We are on a permanent bail water advocacy. Our water is not safe to drink and 

probably not even to bathe in. 

b. Our water treatment plant is outdated and dysfunctional. 

c. Our water supply is insufficient to meet our basic needs. 

d. At least 25% of our homes are infested with mould, and there is no plan or resources 

to address this serious health hazard. 

e. A significant proportion of our homes are in poor shape because those living in them 

are not taking good care of them. Some families (trapped in addictions) are actively 

abusing their homes. 

f. Transportation is a huge social, but also infrastructure issue. Lack of transportation is 

putting our youth at risk for lack of social, recreational and educational opportunities. 

It is putting our adult population at a serious economic disadvantage. It isolates our 


October 2011

services, our people living in poverty. This is a problem we need to use our creativity 

to solve. 

g. We need a long-term capital plan that addresses the following infrastructure needs. 

Housing for almost twice the population. We now house on reserve and in 

London. 

Commercial space so we can truly become engaged in small businesses, onreserve, 

along the 401-402 corridors, our surrounding areas and in London. 

Serviced industrial/manufacturing sites, so investors can help us develop 

enterprises and jobs can be created. 

A college/trade school/adult training facility. 

A recreation complex, including hockey rink, ball fields, gyms, meeting rooms, 

swimming pool, that we can use, but also to serve as an attraction for neighbouring 

community markets. 

A high school in collaboration with neighbouring First Nations. 

h. There are many de-commissioned wells that have not been properly sealed. 

i. Our roads are narrow, poorly lit and traffic laws are not enforced, making them very 

dangerous to pedestrians (lots of kids walk around at night) and vehicle traffic. This is 

a solvable problem. We need to put our heads together and make a plan. 

2. What can we learn from the past about land, natural resources and 

infrastructure management? 

In the past, the land represented the way of life and provided us with all that we 

needed-food, heat, and shelter. What we built or needed we took great care to respect 

and protect, as it cost us a lot in time, energy and resources, and because we needed 

our ―infrastructure‖ (like canoes, tools, sheds). We depended on it and we knew 

because we were self-reliant, that if we broke or lost something it was we that would 

have to pay the cost in hard work to replace it. Also we understood that we humans are 

a part of the natural world, not separate from it. That is why we had respect for the land 

and for all living things. We had mechanisms for sharing the bounty of the land. For 

example, hunters would share their meat with other community members when the 

community gathered for pow-wows. 

The elders and other adult members of the community made sure that youth learned 

the skills for living from the land-hunting, trapping, gathering berries, and preparing and 

preserving food. Gathering and using medicines and making clothing and shelter were 

also necessary skills. The practical aspects of these skills were very important, but 


October 2011 

79

equally essential was passing on the attitudes and values that ensured the sustainable 

use of the land, and that taught respect for the sacred nature of all forms of life. 

80 

The community was more cohesive. We have agreements between us about who 

used what and for what. Everyone respected these rules. When important decisions had 

to be made, we would come together to talk things out. We had more community events 

that created a sense of community and that helped us to get to know each other—what 

our needs and concerns were. We worked together on community projects. 

3. How would we manage land and natural resources in a positive future? 

In a positive future, land use will be managed very conscientiously to ensure that 

COTT is a good steward of the environment. The water and soil will be protected from 

overuse and contamination. Animal and plant life will be used with respect and with and 

awareness of the need to preserve the future for generations to come. Young people 

will learn good stewardship through spending time with elders and other knowledgeable 

adults, as well as both those who live in the community and those who return home from 

time to time. 

COTT will have a comprehensive plan for the ethical use of natural resources in our 

traditional territories and current land such as water, timber, minerals, and medicinal and 

food plants. Partnerships with outside businesses will ensure that COTT received fair 

value, both in terms of employment opportunities and royalties or other sources of 

revenue. Land will also be set aside for traditional activities, which could include spiritual 

and healing camps as well as hunting and gathering activities, as well as open 

community consultation processes. 

COTT will use Bear Creek Settlement funds to expand COTT‘s land base, both for 

the use of its members (e.g., making sure that all members have land) as well as for 

economic activity. COTT‘s land base will be diversified to include urban land for housing 

and economic ventures (which could include retail properties or manufacturing for 

businesses, for example). COTT will be an ethical steward of land used for 

entrepreneurial activities, treating its partners with fairness and ensuring that the land is 

not degraded by the use to which it is put. 

COTT members will have adequate and good quality land and water for the use of 

families; residential, agricultural and entrepreneurial ventures. The distribution of this 

land will occur in a just way regardless of political or family affiliation. The needs of 


October 2011

COTT members who live off-reserve will receive careful attention, in terms of equitable 

benefits sharing from lands and resources. 

In the positive future, the community will be operating in a sustainable way. It will be 

self-sufficient. New infrastructure will be planned for and developed according to the 

Band‘s own assessment of needs. All infrastructure will be built and maintained at a 

high standard. The community will be beautiful and functional. There will be many 

different types of recreational, social and cultural facilities. Roads, water treatment, 

drainage, sewage and waste management, electrical generation and healing systems 

will be state-of-the-art. The people will have adequate, affordable and comfortable 

housing. The community‘s infrastructure will accommodate a wide range of economic 

activities without harming the environment. Community members will have the skills and 

knowledge to be able to carry out all aspects of the work involved in building and 

maintaining community infrastructure. 



The idea and suggestions of Community Story participants were far ranging, but 

many of the important strategies and ideas expressed can be summarized as follows: 

Land use management planning and public education – A comprehensive land 

and natural resource management plan needs to be developed that will be able to guide 

COTT into a prosperous and sustainable future. At the same time that this plan is being 

developed, a public education campaign is needed to ensure that all COTT members 

understand our history related to our traditional lands, and our treaty rights, the basic 

principles of sustainable resource management, as well as the options available to the 

community for using our land and resources to achieve greater prosperity and wellbeing 

for all. This process will enable members to participate more effectively in decision- 

making processes. 

Policies, legislation and enforcement mechanisms as well as to preserve land 

and natural resources – Policies and legislation need to be developed and/or enforced 

that ensure sustainability. Not only must the natural resources be protected, but also 

historical sites and important community use lands. 

Land use policies to promote economic development – The economy of the 

community needs to be expanded through the development of many new businesses, 

both on reserve and in London and elsewhere. For this to happen, land acquisition and 


October 2011 

81

use policies that support this type of activity are needed, and a fundraising plan must be 

put in place to zone, acquire and develop lands for the uses for when the community 

needs them. 

82 

Infrastructure development needs to be guided by a comprehensive capital plan that 

takes into account all the infrastructure needs, both on and off the reserve, and which 

gives priority to urgent needs, including housing, drinking water and transportation, and 

anticipates economic development needs so that infrastructure is in place as economic 

potential is developed to utilize it. 


October 2011

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