DORENE A. BERNARD, CANDIDATE FOR SIPEKNE’KATIK BAND COUNCIL Kwe, My name is Dorene Bernard and I am the daughter of Nancy Howe Lutz and the Late John Andrew Bernard. My grandparents were the Late Ernest and Bridget Howe, Sipekne’katik. I am a candidate for the Sipekne’katik Band Council in the up-coming election on November 2, 2014. My family and I have lived in Indian Brook for most of our lives. I am a single mother of 4 children and a proud grandmother of five grandchildren. I am a residential school survivor and a grassroots grandmother, traditional herbalist and cultural teacher. I work to promote cultural awareness, wholistic healing and wellness. Many band members know what I stand for through my concerns and advocacy and activism for Aboriginal women, children and youth, social justice and environment and recognition of our Treaty Rights. My educational background is in the field of Social Work and I recently earned my Master of Social Work Degree from Sir Wilfrid Laurier University, 2013. I have practiced Social Work in N.S. for almost 25 years, working with Mi’kmaq families and children, youth and Elders, and with Residential School survivors and their descendants. My work experience and life experiences, are what I will bring to this position as a council member, to work together to help our band to develop and implement positive policies to promote prosperity for all our people. As a grassroots grandmother I have advocated for band members to raise issues of Elder abuse, severe poverty, poor housing conditions, child welfare, and social justice issues and Treaty Rights, before several of our Band Councils in the past, with some limited success in having these issues addressed. Although, I am more the advocate than a politician, I have given careful consideration of my decision to be a candidate for council and I am committed to working as a part of a team for positive change. I welcome the opportunity to help to build on the positive aspects of our community; our current Chief and Council have made positive strides in accountability and transparency in establishing policies and procedures that have helped to regain control over our band services and fiscal responsibility which are essential to sound business practices. Even positive change is challenging when it goes against the status quo, and hard decisions are made that will benefit the majority of band members. We have many caring, determined and committed people that are working to unite our community and promote community spirit and wellness. The role of leadership is to serve and represent our people, as a part of a working team, that will help to create more positive actions and prosperity that will benefit all band members. Make your vote count! Please take the time to consider your choices for who you want to represent you on council and choose those who you feel will lead with integrity, compassion, fairness, and honesty and work together to build up our communities and help to make it a better place to live and raise our families, keeping in mind our future generations. I am humbly asking for your support and for your vote, your grassroots representative on the Sipekne’katik Band Council! Wela’lioq Dorene Bernard
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 21:22:24 +0000
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