Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Apr 23/99) - To some, progressing self-government negotiations have been exciting and compelling -- others see the subject as boring or they have turned away entirely.

That is one theory about why so many area residents know so little about emerging self-government.

For example, Aurora College instructor Darlene Cave says when she asked her social studies 130 students to write a paragraph on what self-government means to them, she was surprised how little the students knew.

"This should be taught in the high schools," she says.

"This should be taught at adult basic education because they don't know enough and how can they run a government if they don't know enough to be able to take on those positions?"

Student Earl Esau backs Cave up when he wonders why more of his courses, prior to his social studies 130 course, have not focused more on self-government. His desire for a greater focus on this region in education is partly why there is a drive for self-government.

Along with calls for curriculum changes to better reflect this region are calls for more regional control in other areas.

If negotiations are successful, big changes are coming, with the creation of a regional council and new community councils.

Broad areas of jurisdiction would devolve from the GNWT and the federal government to the Beaufort Delta region at the same time that area bands, tribal councils, regional corporations and hamlets shuffle and integrate.

"The regional council might have power over a regional hospital (for example)," says Beaufort Delta chief negotiator Bob Simpson of a proposed governing council stretching from Holman to Fort McPherson.

"Community power would be maybe family services and adoption -- something they can handle."

Eventually, negotiators plan for the new regional and community councils to govern anything currently handled by hamlets -- including contentious bylaws concerning dogs and taxi permits. They expect to complete a draft agreement-in-principle by September although Simpson estimates a final agreement could be years away.

Still, many Inuvik residents, such as Aurora College senior academic studies instructor Irene Sharkey, openly say they wish they knew more.

She urges more presentations and public discussions about self-government that are not in a stale, academic setting.

"Elders could come and it could be an informal discussion for everyone," she says.

The focus for those discussions could be what negotiators mean when they talk of the sub-agreements, which set out whether Beaufort Delta governments have law-making powers or simply administrative powers in a specific subject area.

Meetings this week in Yellowknife could yield more consensus, spurring more sub-agreements.

Last week, after phone meetings, Simpson says the federal, territorial and Beaufort Delta chief negotiators have all agreed to the concepts in sub-agreements such as health, education from kindergarten through Grade 12 and child and family services.

Almost finished are governing structures and an education and training component that includes student support services and early child development.

If agreements hold, the Beaufort Delta could have a say in setting teaching certification requirements by issuing its own teaching certificate in addition to the regular GNWT teaching certificate.

This could mean residents would have the power to require teachers to take cross-cultural training.

The GNWT would still set minimum standards for education to ensure students in this region can compete with those in other parts of the country and gain entrance to universities.