Good evening everyone, my name is Jennifer Jewell. I am a member of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation and I am running for Council. I want to say miigwetch to my nominators, Winona Snache, Raven Noganosh, Dawn Noganosh and Sharon Barkley. When casting your ballots, I ask that you please note that I withdrew from running for Chief. My name will be on the ballot but I am no longer running for that position. I have decided to focus my energies on running for Council only. Being away for the past couple of years, I have had lots of time to reflect and see what off-reserve members see and don’t see. I have also seen how other First Nations view Rama. Both of these areas need improvement. With any relationship, you need good communication. The more information exchange you have, the better chance you have of getting along. Our members living on-reserve also need to have good communications and be involved in the major decision making process. I have been sitting in Council meeting rooms for almost 15 years now, and I know what being a Councillor entails. I have worked as Executive Assistant to Chief and Council for Rama for 13.5 years and I currently work as a Council Executive for the Munsee-Delaware Nation which is located just south of London. If elected for Councillor, I will be on call 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. I will have integrity and work for every band member. I will be able to tell you in layman’s terms what government documents mean for us. I am capable of doing this work and I’ll do it at a rate that members find reasonable. The funds in the First Nation accounts belongs to all the members and our future generations, not just a few members. As your Councillor, I would like to help protect our water and land for our future generations. As your Council member, I will be your voice to help protect what is ours and help our First Nation live up to our slogan which is a proud, progressive First Nation! If elected, I will move my family back to Rama. In closing, I would like to leave you with two final thoughts: 1. Let us take care of our vulnerable ones, especially our young ones and our elders. The young ones need to know compassion and be groomed to become our future leaders. And our elders need our help because they often have health concerns and they hold great wisdom. 2. We need to get along with each other and work together towards the changes we want to see. By working together, we are stronger at dealing with the government and the community issues we are facing. I wish good things for everyone here this evening and for your families. Let us not forget our missing women and may our Creator bless us all. If time permits, I wish to mention these areas that need attention (time did not permit): • government budget cuts • Protecting our Education rights • Williams Treaty negotiations • Matrimonial real property laws geared towards our needs • Missing native women • Casino Rama land lease • Preservation of our healing plants • Access to natural healing remedies • Housing concerns • Dry social events • A membership code and an election code, land code, do each piece until we have our own constitution • Employment opportunities, some members are not working • Annual $4000 trust distribution continue every year • Economic development, marina restaurant needs to come back. • Diverse cultural events, play games which develop skills, • Radio station geared for our youth, music is universal language • Big membership chart in the band office like Wausauksing has • Seniors advising Chief and Council • Getting prescriptions away from generic brands
Posted on: Sun, 17 Aug 2014 04:16:09 +0000
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