Meeting for the kids
There is always a first time for everything but the first Cree Child and Family Services Forum has been a long time coming.
Over 400 Crees who work in different capacities for Child and Family Services descended upon the Delta Hotel in Montreal from June 25-27 to share, plan, network, brainstorm and recognize achievements in their field.
“This is a dream come true for us,” said Angel N. Saganash, the current interim director of Child and Family Services.
Previously teams had gone to Quebec City for management training sessions but this was an option that had never been open to the actual childcare workers. According to Saganash, the kinds of management training sessions she had attended previously became the inspiration for the forum.
Unlike the sessions she had attended in Quebec City, the goal of this forum was to provide workshops and discussion forums for educators, janitors, managers and the whole team for the childcare centres. At the forum were employees from the 16 facilities that span throughout the nine Cree Nations.
Representatives from Public Health, the Cree Health Board and a number of facilitators from Montreal and across Canada came in to run sessions at the forums and workshops. At times there were 300 educators to one facilitator in the workshops.
One of the major goals at the forum was to give everyone a voice, something that many of the childcare workers had never had the opportunity to do publicly before.
“We have had concerns and yes they came here to learn and to express what is going on within their own communities to try and come up with solutions. They shared ideas on what has worked for them and what hasn’t,” said Saganash.
The managers had their own separate workshops on how to improve their management style and become more efficient in their positions.
At the end of each day, the facilitators running the forums handed over lists to the CRA of the different concerns the employees had. The members of the CRA would then review the lists and try and address the concerns of the employees.
“What came out of this is that I now know a lot of employees feel as though they are not being heard. This was an opportunity for them to voice their concerns. Our main focus is the quality of services that they have been providing. This has been our goal to have it all complete, to reach our goals and find out where we want to head in terms of different areas of childcare,” Saganash stated.
Saganash also explained that the forum was ideal because many of the managers got to spend more individual time with their staff. This is more difficult back in the communities because their time is frequently divided between the parents, families, janitors, cooks and everyone else.
After three days of workshops and training sessions, the event culminated with a large banquet where awards were handed out to recognize various employees and pioneers in the industry. The event also marked several anniversaries for the childcare centres, the launching of two Cree children’s books and the graduation of Louise Gilpin from the Cégep Manager’s training program, a first in the Cree Nation.
“The major thing here has been the many awards in recognizing our employees because this has not been done in a while. Yes, we do have ‘employee of the month’ but a major event like this will empower them more,” said Saganash.
Grand Chief Matthew Mukash was present to hand out some of the awards as well as participate in some of the events at the three-day forum. He was quick to congratulate the accomplishments of those recognized.
“There is so much work that has been put into this program and now we have more than 15 centres serving the children. All the effort, energy and dedication that is put into this by these people is amazing. There is a huge number of people here who are working for our children in the Cree world,” said Mukash.
Saganash herself took particular pride in the banquet as it was she and her sister who had authored the children’s books in conjunction with a Health Canada program. Together they worked with artists, translators and many others to bring the project to fruition.
The books had come as a request from the Cree School Board and the CRA since both wanted more Cree culture and values implemented into the childcare centres.
Currently the books are available in English and Cree syllabics, and Saganash said that Health Canada has requested copies in French. There are also different versions available for the inland and coastal communities. So far 300 copies have been printed for the Cree Nation childcare centres.
“The stories are about what happens in childcare. We have this book on a child interacting with different animals, having a snack or napping with them, which is not what children do each day. The other book is on a child’s day as they get up in the morning, brush their teeth, dress themselves and go to daycare,” Saganash said.
For her, Saganash said, the most important thing at the event was that they would be honouring the two people who have been the most instrumental in supporting and guiding the department over the years: Tina Petawabano and Louise Bergeron.
Saganash took over Petawabano’s position in January as interim Director as Petawabano has become the Deputy Director General of the CRA.
Petawabano said that she began as the Director of Child and Family Services in 2005 when the department had just been created. She said since then the position has evolved dramatically to meet the needs of the community.
“It was a great learning experience with a lot of great women who were truly dedicated to what they do. On a daily basis, we were dealing with parents and children and delivering quality services all of the time and reminding ourselves why we are here. It is basically for the children in our communities, to make sure that they have a place to attend where there are educational programs, activities, security and ensuring that the service is there overall,” said Petawabano.
In Petawabano’s mind, working for Child and Family Services was truly a labour of love as everyone employed in that industry within the Cree Nation was working with a common goal: providing the best services possible to the children. This kind of work however is not just about ensuring that there is a safe place for small children to be when their parents are at work, it’s also about ensuring that they are stimulated whether it be through education or activities.
Petawabano was also delighted to see the forum come to fruition as it has something that the educators, parents, administrators and many others throughout the communities have been discussing since she took the position in 2005.
“Everyone said that we should have something where all the educators of Eeyou Istchee could be brought together so that we could network and attend workshops and make friends while we are learning,” said Petawabano.
Petawabano was particularly proud of Louise Gilpin who donned a graduation cap and gown to accept a special recognition on stage. Gilpin’s graduation was a particular moment to celebrate as she had managed to complete her diploma while working for a childcare centre.
“We are taking the time to recognize her because this is a first and we hope that in the future we can look at having more graduates in this program or something similar to it,” said Petawabano.
On the stage and behind the scenes, Louise Bergeron, who has worked with Child and Family services since the very beginning, was omnipresent at the event.
Bergeron is responsible for starting up all of the Cree community’s childcare centres as she negotiated with the government to get the money transferred to the CRA to create a department. Her current role in the department is that of a consultant but also a mentor for the Child Services Department.
Bergeron was also responsible for much of the negotiations for the three-day conference, negotiating with the hotel for its services and finding the facilitators to run the conference.
What she was most proud of about the event was that she wrote a historical account of the origins for each of the childcare centres within the Cree Nation that were handed out as part of the conference materials.
“Because of this I am now very proud that each community knows its history because very few have been there since the beginning,” said Bergeron.
Though she felt pushed into the spotlight when the CRA recognized her for all her efforts, Bergeron said that she was beaming with pride and happiness for being recognized for her 20 years of service. The CRA also pointed out that Bergeron was being recognized in her present home community of Quebec City for her role as an entrepreneur in starting up childcare centres in Aboriginal communities across the province.
Though she said she has worked with many Aboriginal communities, Bergeron said that her heart will always be with the Crees.
The following individuals were also honoured at the banquet for their efforts throughout their many years in the Cree community childcare centres:
Award Winners for Years of Service for being on the Board of Directors
• Awash Estchees Childcare Centre: Annette Masty, Whapmagoostui
• Awaash ShiishiikunKamik Childcare Centre: Laurie Neeposh, Waswanipi
• Waaseskun Childcare & Family Services Centre: William Hester, Waskaganish
Award Winners for the Number of Years of Service as Director of a Childcare Centre
• Awash Child and Family Services Centre: Caroline Jimikin, 16 years, Mistissini
• Waseyapin Childcare Centre: Wendy Moses, 10 years, Eastmain
• Awaash ShiishiikunKamik Childcare Centre: Angel Saganash, 8 years, Waswanipi
Award Winners for Employees of the Year
• Awash Estchees Childcare Centre: Penny Jones, Louise George, Whapmagoostui
• Anjabowa Child and Family Serivce Centre: Beatrice Napash, Nathalie Orr, Charlene Chiskamish, Marie Jane Chiskamish, Chisasibi
• Kanawhymigoo Childcare Centre: Agnes Hughboy, Linda Kakabat Jolly, Wemindji
• Waseyapin Childcare Centre: Verna Cheezo, Eastmain
• Waaseskun Childcare & Family Services Centre: Gloria Napash, Waskaganish
• She She Guin Childcare Centre: Louise Blacksmith, Joy Meskino, Nemaska
• Awash Child and Family Services Centre: Maggie Iserhoff Shecapio, Charlotte B. Shecapio, Mable Meskino, Mistissini
• Waspshooyan Childcare Centre: Carmen Michel, Ouje Bougoumou
• Awaash ShiishiikunKamik Childcare Centre: Evelyn Dixon, Charlene Gull, Sophia Happyjack, Waswanipi