Darrell Greer
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 28/98) - Native women across the North may soon have a new place to turn to for counselling services.

A movement to amend the Society Act of the Native Women's Association to include counselling services highlighted the group's 22nd annual assembly in Hay River last week, says former association president Marilyn Napier.

More than 100 women made it to Hay River for the assembly, which combined the group's annual meeting with a counsellors' workshop.

The association also elected a new president in Fort Good Hope resident Alphonsine McNeely.

Outgoing president Napier said the gathering turned out to be very interesting, with a lot of women showing up from across the Western Arctic and many people addressing the assembly with their own experiences and messages of hope.

"This year we held our Aboriginal Women Counsellors Conference in conjunction with our general assembly," said Napier.

"From that conference, or workshop, we came up with various resolutions which we had to work on and then present during the final day of our assembly on Sunday."

Napier noted the biggest resolution to come out of the workshop centred around aboriginal counsellors looking at adding another arm to the association in the counselling field.

"Right now, we have education, victim services and courses in family violence and related topics in the communities.

"Now they're looking at another arm to be included in our society's Act which would include the aboriginal counsellors of the Western Arctic.

"So that's one of the major highlights of the assembly."

The Native Women's Association of the NWT has members from 34 communities along the western corridor of the Arctic from Fort Smith to the Beaufort Sea.

One representative from each region sits on the association's board with its executive.

"The biggest role of the Native Women's Association has always been education for Northern native women," said Napier.

"I think the mandate coming through to establish the counsellors' arm of the association will be a job in itself.

"It's something that will build substantially upon the number of services we already provide."