Fort Smith (June 02/03) - Josie Weninger spent much of her childhood in Wood Buffalo National Park.

Now, the 53-year-old is the top manager for the massive park which straddles the NWT/Alberta border.

News/North: Why did you decide to work for Parks Canada?

Josie Weninger: I always wanted to be in Parks Canada, because to me that was the ultimate place to work. My grandfather was a chief buffalo ranger with Wood Buffalo National Park after it was established, and my father worked for this park for 18 years. So I was one of those park brats, along with my brothers and sisters. We spent four years at Pine Lake when the warden station was open there, and spent another two years at Hay Camp. And another summer at Rocky Point, which no longer exists as a warden cabin.

N/N: Do you consider Wood Buffalo National Park your home?

JW: It is. On a personal level, we can trace four generations here very easily. My great-grandparents used to trap at Pine Lake, and so did my grandfather on my mother's side.

N/N: What is it like being top manager in a park with such deep roots for your family?

JW: It gives me a bit of a split view. When I first came back and Peter Gzowski interviewed me, I said I was proud to be part of the group that was looking after the park, because I personally believe that we need to look after not just parks but all of the Earth or else we're not going to survive as humankind.

There's that sense of pride, but there's also this sense that I've become part of the bureaucracy. That's not always the most comfortable feeling. You grow up thinking bureaucracy is somebody else, and now you hear a lot of aboriginal people in the bureaucracy. I also hold a general hunting licence ... I got one this past year. I think that seemed to help sort it out in terms of, yeah, I'm part of the bureaucracy, but I'm also one of those people who come from a lineage that hunted and trapped in this park for a long time.

I don't own a gun, but I have the licence.

N/N: Is it an advantage to see both sides?

JW: It's an advantage and a disadvantage because, when you can see from both sides, people who live here expect you to do certain things. You can see both sides, but there are sets of expectations that you can't always meet, because everybody is expecting something a little bit different. It does put you a little bit in the middle.

N/N: Is that challenging or frustrating?

JW: It's challenging. But you know that people don't see you in the same way as when you were growing up, and you have to adjust to that ... We've had that reaction the last couple of years because I've been making dry meat with Mom and my sisters, and people are really taken aback that I do know how to do that. People have a hard time marrying the two sides, because they see the public me, which is what most people will see in town.

N/N: Do you have trouble marrying the two sides?

JW: Nah. You see what I'm cooking there. That's tongue and kidney -- caribou ... It's part of being a modern aboriginal person. The world has changed so much in two or three generations. As an aboriginal person, you learn to move back and forth, and they're all part of one.

N/N: How long have you been with Parks Canada?

JW: Eleven years. In 1992, I joined at Batoche National Historic Site in Saskatchewan. I came to Parks Canada via the Career Assignment Program, which is designed to get middle managers into senior management ... Before that I worked for the Public Service Commission and for Health Canada, and for a short stint with DIAND. All in human resources and financial administration.

N/N: What exactly is your current title?

JW: I'm field unit superintendent, which includes Wood Buffalo National Park and Nahanni National Park Preserve. We also work with the Hay River Dene Band on the Hay River Mission site and we work with the Sahyoue and Eda Cho national historic sites in Deline.

N/N: How long have you been in your current position?

JW: It's close to three-and-a-half years this time, because I was here for four-and-a-half years before. That was as superintendent of Wood Buffalo National Park.

N/N: How do you see the park evolving in the future?

JW: In the future, I think we're going to see more and more of what we're doing today, which is building partnerships on a number of fronts. We're 70 per cent aboriginal right now in terms of employees.

N/N: What made you decide to come back to Wood Buffalo?

JW: On a personal level, I was coming back to do two things. One was to sort out what my relationships were with my siblings, because I was away from here for 14 years. And the second reason was I had breast cancer and I wanted some place safe and supportive to deal with all the emotions of having had breast cancer.

I was working for the Public Service Commission when I was diagnosed with breast cancer, and had a lumpectomy when I was on the Career Assignment Program. I went immediately into radiation after that course was finished. I moved the weekend that I had just finished radiation therapy to Saskatchewan. But I was so busy coping with the moves and being on this program that I really hadn't dealt with all the emotions, and coming back to Fort Smith was part of that.

N/N: What's the value of the park?

JW: What I'm hearing more and more, particularly from elders or people who understand a broader world perspective, is that we need to protect this land, whether it's a national park or whether it's other land for our children's children.

It's a recognition that if we don't take care of it, our children and their children are going to be facing a lot of difficulties. People are recognizing that a national park gives a certain set of legislation and certain security, making sure that this national park is part of looking towards future generations.

N/N: What do you see as the future of the bison herd in Wood Buffalo National Park?

JW: We're working very hard at building relationships with the government of Alberta and the government of the Northwest Territories. Parks Canada is on record as saying this is a multi-party decision. I think if I spoke to that topic at any length it would lead people to think that Parks Canada is making the decision alone. We're not ... It's a multi-party decision-making process, which will include aboriginal people.

N/N: Has your view of Wood Buffalo changed over the years from the time you were growing up in the park?

JW: Yes, I'd say that. I grew up in this national park not understanding what a national park meant. For a number of years, we had a lot of legislation that meant access was decreased. I grew up as a child in this national park like any place. I didn't think of it as a national park. It was just part of my backyard ... My view of the national park has changed, probably because I understand the difficulty and challenges of managing a national park to make sure it is there for future generations.