Little interest in youth council
Organizers hope career-building opportunity can entice more applicants
Stewart Burnett
Northern News Services
Thursday, November 3, 2016
INUVIK
About 15 minutes into an open house for the Gwich'in Regional Youth Council in Inuvik Oct. 27, no one had shown up yet.
Community wellness intern Patricia Louie was alone at the start of an open house for the Gwich'in Regional Youth Council in Inuvik Oct. 28. The council is recruiting eight new members for a two-year term. - Stewart Burnett/NNSL photo
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Only Patricia Louie, community wellness intern with the Gwich'in Tribal Wellness Department, was in the room.
"We've had a few people come out to the meetings," said Louie about her organization's other stops in the Gwich'in Settlement Area.
"I wouldn't say we've had a lot."
The council is looking to recruit eight members for its new two-year term starting in January.
Ideally, the council would be made up of two men and two women ages 15 to 30 from each of Aklavik, Fort McPherson, Tsiigetchic and Inuvik, though finding males has been a challenge.
"We're trying to increase our presence in the communities, because we didn't have that going on until recently," said Louie.
The council now has a new Facebook page and e-mail address.
Louie said there has been some interest in joining the council expressed online.
Meetings for the council are held in each of the communities, plus members are given the opportunity to take part in workshops to learn about taking minutes, budgeting and similar administrative duties.
They also have direct access to the Gwich'in Tribal Council.
"The feedback from the council on (a workshop on communication building and conflict resolution) was that it really brought them out of their shell and they're more open going forward, more talkative and more able to participate in the assemblies and the different meetings going on in the communities," said Louie.
The group's Facebook page has a few anonymous quotes from past council members.
"I appreciate the opportunity to take this challenge and represent my community with other communities, to talk on my behalf and to present my own perspective to help the youth," stated one.
The Inuvik Drum could not get in contact with another past member by press time.
Louie thinks joining the council is beneficial to all youth.
"For one, all the costs are paid for in terms of travelling, billets, food and all of the training provided," she said.
"Not only that, they get to engage with other youth who care about similar issues and they get to network and be a positive role model to other youth in their communities."
With the Gwich'in Tribal Council moving toward self-government, it's especially important to have strong Gwich'in youth leadership in those roles, she added.
Anyone interested in joining the council is encouraged to contact the Gwich'in Regional Youth Council through its Facebook page or e-mail address.
Louie hopes to have all applications in this month.
