Our Vision > Directors & Staff

The Aseniwuche Winewak
Nation: Our staff embodies the Nation
spirit, bringing warmth and a
sense of community into every
aspect of their jobs.

Directors & Staff: The Board of Directors consists of one President and six directors. Each director is from one of the six Cooperatives and Enterprises they elected from general memberships. The purpose of the Board is to oversee Nation affairs and ensure it works towards the goals of the Nation and for the Aboriginal rights of our members.

The Nation Staff are the core of our organization. They are responsible for the organization and execution of the steps that move us closer to achieving our goals. The staff is comprised of many different positions, each filled by a dedicated individual. Although to positions are unique, the staff function as a cohesive team. Our staff embodies the Nation spirit bringing warmth and a sense of community into every aspect of their jobs.

: VIEW Staff Interview24.3 mb | read transcript

Transcription to Tom McDonalds Video

My name is Tom McDonald. I work for Aseniwuche Winewak Nation in Grande Cache as their Consultation Coordinator. I am also one of the six community leaders for AWN. I represent Kamisak Development Company Ltd. or sometimes referred to as Grande Cache Lake enterprise. I grew up in the Grande Cache area long before the Town was developed in the late 1960's and seen a lot of changes. Since the Town came into our area I have seen some really significant lifestyle changes, from living a simple, basic way of life living off the land and when the Town came we had to make this transition from living off the land to mainstream stream society which meant having to go to school and after school going to work. Since then I have always worked in and around town. The way of life has changed a lot. My beliefs about my way of life have not changed too much. I think my values have changed though because I do have a family now where I have to support my family to live now and as a result I think my values have changed slightly in regards to a way of life and having to integrate into the mainstream. I think culture is very important to me. I think we should try to retain and maintain as much as we can. I am attempting to pass my aboriginal traditional knowledge onto my children now and hopefully they will carry on with their families, with their children and so on. Also at the same time, it is also important that we integrate into mainstream society and be a contributing member whether be holding a job or doing something good for the community. I think that's important as well. I believe we are kind of fortunate living in two different cultures, two different societies. I think it best to take the best out of both worlds and apply it to everyday life. I still speak Cree and I try to teach my children to speak the language but it is challenging when the world is moving so fast. There are a lot of obstacles. It is difficult to make the time now to teach your children what you want to teach them. It just seems like there is so much going on and it takes so much time to teach the children about the traditional way of life. In saying that it is important that you have to make the time to pass that traditional knowledge onto our children whether we're busy or not. I still engage in traditional activities. I like to hunt. I also guide for big game as well. That allows me to get out on the land and just understand that you are part of a complex system and that everything is connected when you out there. From a holistic perspective you are a part of nature. To me I enjoy being out there because I like that lifestyle and it also gets me to be out there and about and learn about not just about the land but the animals as well. I enjoy that type of activity just interacting with others out there or by myself it doesn't matter. I learn my most of my culture of course from my parents, family and relatives, extended family, and community elders. Prior to coming to work for AWN, I spent 17 years working for Correctional Services of Canada, in provincial and federal corrections. While I was there, I worked with a lot of different elders from a lot of different communities and learned a lot from them. About 20 years ago or so, I travelled extensively throughout the area to seek elders to learn about the traditional ways. I've learned from a lot of people, some from inside the community and some from outside the community. I think the elders are extremely important. It's the elders that possess traditional knowledge that us as a younger generation don't have so I think it's critical that we learn from them as much from them as we can while they are here. I think it's important we take that opportunity to know as much about the land, the environment a different way of life from their perspective from the 20th century or the 6th century it doesn't matter. I think elders have a place in our society because they possess this traditional knowledge and they are the people that hold our communities together.

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