Derek Neary
Northern News Services

Fort Simpson (Nov 09/01) - Armed with brochures and background documents, four Deh Cho residents are on a mission to inform people of self-government negotiations and the Deh Cho First Nations' position on a Mackenzie Valley pipeline.

Laureen Nayally-Donaldson, Berna Landry, Margaret Ireland and Michael Cazon have been hired as communications officers by the DCFN.

Last week they were in Fort Simpson and Jean Marie River to meet with people in their work places, schools, homes and on the street.

"This team is going to help the communication flow between communities and leadership and, hopefully, government," said Landry.

She said many people feel more comfortable voicing their opinions one-on-one in their homes than they do at public meetings, which aren't always well attended. In the short time they've been canvassing, Landry said the response has generally been positive.

"(They say) 'We hope you get the feedback you need so we can make decisions for the future,'" she said. Young people's views are crucial since the decisions will affect them most, she said.

Ireland said, "Most of the people that I've talked to said it's important that those four (pipeline) conditions mentioned at the Wrigley assembly are worked on till we're satisfied. What is the hurry?"

The communications team spent their first few weeks on the job reviewing the history of the negotiations process and pipeline issues.

They are now very familiar with the background, but they don't profess to be experts.

"A lot of times we're asked questions and we don't know if we should be answering them, so we bring them to (DCFN chief negotiator) Chris (Reid) and (assistant negotiator) Herb (Norwegian)," Cazon said.

In order to understand all the questions, each communications officer speaks Slavey. However, negotiations jargon doesn't lend itself well to the Dene language. Language specialist Andy Norwegian helped devise a list of translations for terms such as "framework agreement, economic development, comprehensive land claim, resource revenue sharing," and many others.

In addition to canvassing, the communications team plans to use the media, public presentations and possibly even CD-ROMs for students to help relay their message.

After being away for a number of years, Nayally-Donaldson said she's happy to be working with her people once again.

"I want to help in all the ways I can, especially when history and culture, the land and young generations are involved," she said.