YUNESITIN

APPRECIATIVE INQUIRY WORKSHOP

November 10 & 11, 2012

Yunesitin Land and Resource Governance Policy Initiative

Facilitated by Herb Hammond and John Lerner

Table of Contents
Summary 1 2 3 4 5 11 12 13 14

Workshop Poster

Workshop Backgrounder Workshop Agenda

Appreciate Inquiry Questions and Responses Yunesitin Vision Statement Revised Project Objectives Workplan

Workshop Participant List

Summary
As part of a process to develop land and resource governance policy for the Yunesitin Caretaker Area, an Appreciate Inquiry workshop was hosted on October 10th and 11th , 2012. Nine to nineteen community members attended and participated in the workshop facilitated by Herb Hammond and John Lerner to discuss the positive aspects of the Yunesitin Caretaker Area and Yunesitin community as well as to develop a long-term vision for ecological stewardship in the area. During Day 1 of the workshop, an introduction to the project was provided as well as an introduction to the principles of Appreciative Inquiry. After this presentation, the participants were divided into to two groups to discuss and answer the Discovery and Dream questions of the Appreciate Inquiry process. The purpose of these questions was to generate discussion regarding what is good about the Caretaker Area and Yunesitin community and, based on this, what is a positive long-term vision for the Caretaker Area land base and Yunesitin community. Participation was broad and active, with participants expressing their ideas in words and pictures. After the visioning session, the group produced a long list of ideas and two detailed drawings of the future they envisioned 40 years hence. These ideas and images evoke a great love of the land and of family, and a longing to restore the land to its former state prior to colonization for the sake of the health of people (for this generation and future generations). On Day 2 a very positive and succinct vision statement was distilled from discussions on Day 1. The vision expressed hope for healing through the restoration of the forests and waterways and through cultural education and renewed traditional activities on the land. It also called for greater collective control and responsibility of the Caretaker Area by Yunesitin community. By the end of the second day the objectives of the land and resource governance project were revisited and fine tuned and a work plan was initiated for some of the project objectives. Additional project work planning was still required but was to be sorted out by Chief Russ and Herb Hammond. Notes from the workshop were to be circulated to the community on the Yunesitin Government Facebook page and the vision statement was to be developed into a poster and posted around the community. The pages that follow provide a record of the materials and notes form the October 10 and 11th workshop. They include the original poster for the Appreciative Inquiry workshop (called the Yunesitin Summit), a backgrounder for the workshop, the workshop agenda, the workshop questions and responses, the final vision statement from the process, revisions to the project objectives, initial work planning notes and a participant list. 1

Yunesitin Summit:
Creating a Positive Future for Our Land and Community
Oct 10 &11, 2012 9am to 5pm Yunesitin Community Hall

So shall the next hundred years be the greatest and proudest in the proud history of our tribes and nations. Chief Dan George

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Our land and communities are at a crossroads. We are at the point where we can continue to react to ever increasing use of our ancestral lands: more logging, more mining, more roads, more hunting and more fishing. Or we can begin to develop and assert our voice for what we want to see. We live here. We have lived here for thousands of years. We are therefore entitled to have a major say regarding how our land is used and how we want to benefit from that use. Its time to get together and develop a clear vision for what we want and to speak with one voice. The summit that we are planning on Oct 10th is a beginning of this process, where we can come together as a community and hear from a variety of different perspectives and opinions and begin to describe what we want our land and community to look like for our children and their children and how we wish to share our land with others. The process we will use is called Appreciative Inquiry or AI, which looks for what is good in communities and builds on that to create a vision to make more good stuff happen. One simple way of thinking about AI then is looking for the good stuff. The vision that we come up with for our land and our community will in turn be used to inform a longer-term ecosystem-based land use planning process that we will be launching in the months to come.

Please come to the meeting on Oct 10th if you are interested in being involved in developing a new vision for the Yunesitin community and our traditional territory and in the ecosystem-based planning process.

Objectives:

To discover common values and perspectives about our community and our land To create a shared vision for our land, in order to o Move towards a positive future together o Promote sustainable ecosystems, watersheds, and forest health o Promote balance between a healthy economy and a healthy land

To build community relationships and consensus. To build a team committed to a positive future for our community. 3

AGENDA
Wednesday, October 10 8:00am Registration 9:00am - 5:00pm Summit, Day 1 8:00 Registration and coffee 9:00 Summit Begins Welcomes, introductions and agenda Explanation of the Appreciative Inquiry Process Today Discovering the best of the Yunesitin land and community 9:30 Paired interviews 11:00 Reporting out and Group Discussion 12:00 Lunch 1:00 Dreaming the future for the Yunesitin land and community 1:15 Small group illustration sessions 2:30 Reporting out and choosing images for our future 5:00Adjourn Thursday, October 11 8:00am Registration 9:00am - 5:00pm Summit, Day 2 8:00 Registration and coffee 9:00 Review of Vision 10:00 Workplanning 12:00 Lunch 5:00Adjourn 4

Discovery Questions
These questions are meant to illicit opinions and feelings about what you see as the best about your community and your land. These questions are meant to be asked in groups. When everyone has had an opportunity to speak, we will ask you to report back to the larger group. All of the various responses will then be recorded on a flip chart for all to see and to discuss.

Question 1: Think back to your earliest experiences on the land when you were young. What were some of your best experiences? Describe the circumstance and how it made you feel. What do you most value about that experience(s)? Responses 1. Muskrats, beavers, marten, and foxes were plentiful 2. Clean air, pure water, tall grass in meadows 3. Whole forests with big trees 4. Old forests with multi-layered canopies 5. We could move freely. There were no or few fences. 6. We did things by hand 7. Healthy natural food and water resulted in healthy people 8. We were together as a Nation 9. Being quiet and alone. Listening to the wind. 10. Magical places 11. Used traplines 12. Making birch bark baskets 13. Gathering roots and wild potatoes 14. Quiet...hear and see all of the animals 15. Everything there that you needed 16. Moved aroundtanning hides, fishing, picking berries, drying fish and meat, cutting wood 17. The area was natural. Everything was in its place 18. Not afraid of being on the land 19. Everyone was as onepeople worked together 20. Cut hay where we wantedit is our hayno payment necessary 21. Moving cows across the land for branding 22. Wagon rides to Big Creek 23. Fishing in Chilko River and its tributaries 24. Learning on the landcutting hay, fishing, ranching 25. Medicines were plentiful 26. Family was at the center of activities 27. More lakes and more hay meadows 28. Pure water was more plentiful 29. More animals and more different species 5

30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47.

Question 2: Now think ahead to more recent times when you were on the land, what are some of the key benefits the land provides to you, your family, and your community? Is there one or several benefits that you most value? 1. Berries and medicinesstill depend upon today: strawberry runners, soap berry, blue berries, kinnikinnick, choke cherry, Saskatoon berries, goose berries, raspberries, wild onions, wild potatoes 2. Wild animalsdeer, bear, moose, geeseall depend on plants 3. Pure water, includes fish (salmon and trout) 4. Pure air 5. Moderate climate 6. Healthy, intact forest 7. Diversity of trees 8. It provides us sustenance/healthy food and medicine 9. Allows us to be self-sufficient 10. Big and spacious, makes us proud 11. Sense of belonging/familiar features/home 12. Trips on the land provided a sense of anticipation and stirred imagination as a child 13. 1st time hunting with father was exciting 14. Spiritual connection/in-tune/balance 15. Provides a connection to the past practices of our ancestors 16. Clean and fresh water and air 17. Abundance of wildlife, fish, plants 6

Haying with family in the past Using horses to hay, travel and hunt Fishing with family, exciting to catch your own meal, felt self-sufficient Hunting and fishing could be done nearby (still wild) Able to make bows, clothes and tools Provides resources for arts and crafts Language and land linked Could camp and fish anywhere A sense of freedom and food security Provided wild horses for taming, which could use to hunt, fish, transport, pack Our home Spacious, no fences freedom Elders knew the land well and could pass on their knowledge of the land Picking berries with family Helping elders and learning haying, trapping, fishing ( a resource to learn or teach) Green trees and lush meadows Abundance of food and medicines everywhere Fishing, berry picking and haying brought family together Something for young kids to do and do together with family

18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27.

28.

The land nurtures and sustains the people Provides medicines with a variety of health benefits (strengthens body, cures illnesses, stress) All senses come alive, natural instincts heightened Makes us feel more content, relaxed, serene and balanced Picking berries and providing food for the winter Mental dependability and security, teaches you humility and respect Emotional opens you up, leaves you feeling balanced Spiritual connection with the land and something bigger, tools for sweats (rocks, water, willow) Physcial food, medicine, tools and materials Cultural A place to learn and to teach, name places and source for stories, link to language Health of land is tied to the health of the people

Question 3: Community exists wherever we experience strong ties to one another. It also occurs when we feel connected to a special place. When have you felt most a part of this community? 1. Community dinners with activities 2. Graduation ceremonies 3. Learning from places on the land with family 4. Community projects 5. Community efforts to protect the land 6. Family activities potlucks, story telling, picking berries, camping, hunting, haying 7. What keeps you here or returning? 1. Family roots 2. Natural foodplants and animalsall that was needed 3. Pristine landhave all we need 4. Family connections to ancestors 5. Cooperation to do tasks to meet peoples needs 6. Love for the landa yearning to be here 7. Ceremoniessweat lodges 8. History/ancestral connection 9. Beauty of land 10. Home (urge to return like salmon) 11. Financial security (can depend on family) 12. Security we cant be evicted from our house on the reserve 13. Family relations 14. People know you and look out for you 15. Interest in learning more about tradition and culture 7

16.

More freedom here (kids can play freely, can have a camp fire, hunt, fish)

What is special about Yunesitin land? Why is it special? 1. Our mountains give us snowgives us rivers and streamsgives us plants and animalsto sustain us 2. Our natural forest a. Need to protect what is left b. Need to restore damaged areas 3. Diverse wildlife habitat 4. How many people have been born on the land 5. Beauty of land 6. Abundance of wildlife, fish, plants that provide sustenance for us. 7. Spiritual connection with the land

Dream Questions
These questions are meant to illicit thoughts and images about what you see as the best future for your community and your land. Answers should be put in the present as if you were already 40 years ahead describing what you see. Question 1: Imaging that you have been away from the community for 40 years and when you return, everything you could possibly wish for has happened to the community and the land. What does it look like? Draw in as much detail as possible what it looks like?

1. Abundance of pristine nature (like in the past) 2. Intact forest ecosystem 3. Abundance of medicines, berries, fish and wildlife 4. Fresh water and air 5. Wild horses roam freely 6. Forests and rivers are restored 7. Openness to options for sustainable resource use 8. People are participating in historical uses (the way the elders used the land in the past) 9. Youth involved in traditional education 10. Sharing of stories and traditions 11. Connection to the land & culture 12. Proud of who we are 13. Respect for the land 14. Revival of our songs/ceremonies/language and practical skills 15. Children trained in good horsemanship 16. Sweat lodges more commonly used 17. Move over the land with changing of the seasons 18. More youth on the land doing traditional activities (hunting, fishing, horseback riding, preserving food) 19. Tsilhqotin language is our first language spoken 20. Local museum and archive for historical information 21. Potlaches in our meadow 22. Healthy mothers and women, community honouring and respecting womens important role in the community 23. Dispersed housing like in the old days 24. More self-sufficient, providing more of our own food, shelter and health care) 9

25. Community gardens highly used 26. Everyone family has their own housing, which they building with their own wood 27. Root cellars are widely used 28. Community members are helping each other/sharing 29. Consensus re sustainable land use 30. Local economy is diversified and stable (water factory, sawmill, etc.) 31. Community makes informed choices 32. There is greater community participation and support 33. Families are responsible for family plots 34. More family involvement in community affairs, not just staff and Council 35. Families take greater role in teaching youth about culture 36. Our yards and community is clean 37. Planning and actions look to the long-term health of the land 38. We have taken back what is ours, we are in control of our land 39. We are still here and using the land 40. Self-confident and trusting in our own abilities 41. People are content and happy 42. Foster kids are repatriated to community 43. Community is committed to the same vision 44. We have freedom to move on the land (no fences) 45. We have good relations with other First Nations and we work together as allies

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Yunesitin Vision Statement

Appreciative Inquiry October 11 & 12, 2012 Yunesitin are strong, independent, spiritual, and in control. Our land provides our spiritual and physical needs. We protect the natural integritythe health of our land, water, and air. We are part of the land. The land is part of us. We heal the damage to our land, water, air, and ourselves. We take these actions with respect for all and with power by acting together. We teach Nenqayni ways of living with the land to youth and all who are interested. Teaching our ways provides a better future for our children, future generations, and the land. We move freely across the land. Our home is special. We are the only Tsilhqotin community on this side of the River. Therefore, we have special responsibilities for the forests, water, air, medicines, foods, plants, and animals. Portions of our land are protected for spiritual and cultural reasons. We exercise these responsibilities through our collective commitment to the land, to each other, and through our stories and songs. The wisdom of our Ancestors and Elders guides us. We are moving forward.

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Revised Project Objectives

1. Develop a Vision statement and strategic plan for Land and Resource Governance 2. Prepare and distribute letter to developers to stop work and follow Yunesitin direction (added) 3. Introduce Community to Ecosystem-based Planning 4. Create family plot maps, histories and ideas for future use (edited from original) 5. Develop ecosystem-based and culturally-based plans for Hot Spots 6. Develop a sign for the look-out explaining Yunesitin land and requirements for using the land (added) 7. Develop Governance structure and regulatory framework to support vision and ecosystem-based plan (edited from original) 8. Prepare letter to initiate Community Forest Agreement or First Nations Woodland License (added) 9. Develop a final report on Yunesitin Land and Resource Governance Structure and Regulatory Framework

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Work Plan (incomplete)

1. We want to ask the youth for their vision for the land and water. 2. Actions to protect and heal the land, water, and air: a. Prohibit the use of pesticides and artificial fertilizers b. Educate ranchers, guide outfitters, and recreationists on how to protect soil, water, plants, and animals c. Restrict hunting to follow Yunesitin customs and laws. This will include signage and patrolling the land d. Take control of the range, including protection of wild horses e. Regulate the type of access that occurs on the land and river i. Where motorized access is restricted or prohibited

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Yunesitin Apprecative Inquiry Workshop Participant List

1. Royce Haines 2. Earl Quilt 3. Frank Setah 4. Shirley Myers 5. Ryan Grady 6. Duane Hink 7. Russell Ross 8. Linda Smith 9. Herb Hammond 10. Stanley] Stump 11. John Lerner
12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19.

Randolph (Dixie) Setah Walter Quilt Johnson Quilt Isaac Myers Jerita Elkins Darnell Myers Bernice (Whitey) Hunlin Molly Hink

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