LIIDLII KUE/FORT SIMPSON - The Liidlii Kue First Nation is launching a program with the aim of bringing the community back into the circle.

The Wellbeing Plan has been in development since January in Fort Simpson. The plan is a component of the strategic plan the band passed in December, said Barb Moreau-Betsaka, the Brighter Futures manager.

One section of the strategic plan deals with the well-being of the band members and the community, said Moreau-Betsaka. The Wellbeing Plan has expands on the strategic plan and gathered more input through a community survey.

The theme of the plan is returning people to the circle. In the past, at the end of the day people would gather around a fire and parents and grandparents would share stories, legends and teachings with the children, said Moreau-Betsaka. When the Europeans arrived they took the children away which shattered the circle and disrupted the transmission of teachings, she said.

The goal of the plan is to identify issues that affect the well-being of individuals, families and the community and to offer programs designed to address those issues as a way to bring people back to the circle.

"One of the main things I've seen come in from the elders is language, that we need to start putting the language back into the people," Moreau-Betsaka said.

Other issues are related to the four areas of mind, body, sprit and emotion. Planned activities include suicide prevention workshops, traditional parenting classes, a women's committee, alcohol and drug prevention programs, drum making workshops and the expansion of Slavey classes in the schools beyond Grade 6.

Put together the programs and the plan is about empowering people one individual at time, said Moreau-Betsaka.

"Our people are lost," she said.

"There's more to life than medicating ourselves to forget all the harshness we went through. It would be an ultimate joy for me if our people could wake up, even if it was just one."

The plan is particularly needed to support the community's youth, Moreau-Betsaka said.

"Our youth need back-up and they're not being backed-up," she said.

The Department of Health and Social Services through its Wellness Fund is funding the plan.

The Liidlii Kue First Nation plans to hold a community meeting and feast to introduce the Wellbeing Plan. The events have already been rescheduled twice due to scheduling conflicts but are expected to take place this month, said Moreau-Betsaka.