Re-Elect John Alan Jack to Council

Re-Elect John Alan Jack to

Huu-ay-aht First Nations Council

An Introduction

            Hello, my name is John Alan Jack and I'm running to be re-elected to the Huu-ay-aht First Nations Council. My parents are David M^cIvor and the late Sandy Gallagher (Jack). My grandparents on my mother's side are Ernest Jack and the late Shirley Jack (Chester). I have two younger brothers, Richard and Jackson, and almost all of my family lives on the Island.

            I grew up in the Parksville-Qualicum area. My grandfather and his family relocated there in 1969, and it is there that my mother met my father. I was lucky to have a loving and dedicated family where I had the good fortune to go on and do them proud by attending and graduating from university. In 2004, I earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree with Distinction in the field of Global Studies, which is a combination of politics and economics from an international point of view. I started to work with the Huu-ay-aht First Nations in the development of the Huu-ay-aht Constitution, the law that protects our rights and establishes our responsibilities as Huu-ay-aht citizens.

            From there, I became more involved with the Huu-ay-aht. In fact, I followed in my mother's foot-steps by working for the Nation in pursuit of treaty. Before I was first elected to Council, I held staff positions such as Enrolment Coordinator, Assistant to Chief & Council and Communications Coordinator as well as being an active member of the Governance Committee.

My Experience and Accomplishments

            Since being elected to serve on Council in June 2009, I have been assigned the portfolios of Finance, Economic Development and Communications. In addition to these important duties, I was still involved in treaty-related activities through the Governance Committee and continued attendance at treaty meetings between the HFN, the provincial and federal governments and other Maa-nulth nations where we worked together to get to the Effective Date.

            As Chair of Finance, I oversaw the successful test-run of the strict new law created to ensure that we manage Huu-ay-aht public money in an efficient, transparent and accountable manner. Through the Huu-ay-aht Financial Administration Act, the government was able to create and publish a comprehensive three year strategic plan that set out our budgetary priorities and follow through in a detailed and accountable budget. This has allowed us to hit the ground running when it came to managing our finances after the Effective Date of the Maa-nulth Treaty.

            As Chair of Economic Development, I worked with my colleagues to do things that are fundamental to success in business. In addition to work on development projects, we consulted with the people and created a robust strategic plan that would guide us in future projects. Then, we created the Huu-ay-aht Development Corporation: a company owned by the HFN but run as a business. By removing ever-changing politics from business decisions, we enable our companies to be more successful through better management decisions and greater profits. When our businesses are run well and run successfully, we will have more revenue to the HFN and our people will have a greater chance at having careers that can last a lifetime rather than jobs that can often be temporary.

My Approach and Priorities

            Now that we are self-governing, now that we have control over natural resources and now that we have the money to make a real difference in the lives of the people we serve, it is my belief that our government should make the best decisions for the good of all Huu-ay-aht no matter who they are or where they live. First and foremost, the Huu-ay-aht First Nations is a community of people. If we are to succeed as a community, we must do what we can to give our people a real shot at making their lives better. This requires honest, open, and informed decision-making. We need to be able to make hard choices for the good of the community and we need to carry out our decisions to the best of our abilities.

            Following this line of thought, it is my strong belief that our people are our greatest asset, especially our youth. While we do have successful business operations and other sources of revenue, these all fall short when compared to the potential we have within ourselves. Just as we need to unlock the value in our land and resources, we need to unlock the value within each of us.

            To do this, we must have a comprehensive approach to education that ensures that our children and youth have the same opportunities for success that any other person has in Canada. As a Member of Council, I would push for increased education spending that would not only fund university degrees but accredited trades as well. In addition, I would seek new opportunities to improve basic education for students on our lands that involve parents and grandparents in the process with the ultimate goal of increasing the number of students going on to pursue post-secondary education and training.

Re-Elect John Alan Jack to Council

            Having been on staff and in government, I have become familiar with all facets of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations. In my time with the Nation, I have developed a passion for this community and its people. And it is in the Nation that I find the center of my life, my driving force. I seek the honour of representing you, the people of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, and it is to you that I promise that I will work to ensure that this treaty improves the lives of all Huu-ay-aht.

            Chuu.

Klecko, klecko.

A New Photo of Me

So I can link it to other websites...

October Update: Bringing Huu-ay-aht Together

[The following piece is a expression of my beliefs as an individual Huu-ay-aht member. It is not necessarily the view of anyone in the Huu-ay-aht organization save myself.]

When I ran for Council in the month leading up to June 2009, I promised that I would work to bring Huu-ay-aht people together. I used the title above as a slogan and it has been in the back of my mind for the entire time that I have been involved with the people and organization of my tribe. In order to bring people together, one might suppose that they were separate in some way to start. In fact, I think we are somewhat divided and have been for quite some time. I wish to help reconnect Huu-ay-aht with each other, no matter their location or trajectory.

The Huu-ay-aht First Nations is a tribe that has been defined by its territory ever since we have been in contact with European settlers. When the Crown established the Indian Act and took over the "stewardship" of the Indian people, they defined native people by where they lived and not in any other way. In fact, native people in Canada were restricted from locating off-reserve until 1951. When that restriction was lifted, the effect was a slow but steady march toward city life. As time passed, our people moved away from the traditional territories of our ancestors in order to pursue a better life for themselves and their families.

Can we blame any of them for this? I'd like to think not.

This process created a divide within the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, just like it did with many other tribes in Canada. We came to know each other not as simply Huu-ay-aht, but rather as on-reserve or off-reserve.

Real Indians and Apples.

Has this helped us in any way? Of course not, but the notion that you have to live on-reserve in order to be thought of as an authentic native person has survived in the thoughts and words of far too many people.

If any form of Huu-ay-aht identity is to survive the test of time, we must redefine what it means to be Huu-ay-aht.

We must not base our identity solely on boundary or blood lines, but rather as a common cause, a common purpose. Our community must exist in the thoughts and words around the dinner tables of every household no matter its location. We are not defined by drops of blood or lines on a map, but rather by the way we connect with one another across all boundaries.

But how do we do this?

I read somewhere that the communities of native people in urban areas are a lot like the communities of foreign expatriates. Much like the Chinese and the East Indian people in urban places like Nanaimo or Vancouver, native people are visible minorities separated from their homelands by time and place. Does this make them any less Huu-ay-aht, Chinese or East Indian?

Many expatriates send resources back home to improve the lives of their families and native peoples do just the same in many ways. How many people do you know who send money back to their families back in our traditional territory? How many people open their homes so their cousins, nieces and nephews can go to school, go to work or get back on their feet?

The Huu-ay-aht First Nations are alive and well in those homes, no matter where they may be located. It is by allowing our community to be defined by its people, rather than by its borders that will ensure that our community will go on to exist beyond our own lifetimes.

What can the government do?

Government is not about nation-building. Rather, it is about creating systems for solving problems. It is the people who build the nation, who define what it means to be Huu-ay-aht. The government is meant to carry out the wishes of its people to the best of its ability. Every single person who identifies themselves as Huu-ay-aht helps to create what it means to be Huu-ay-aht. It doesn't matter where each person lives or what they look like, what matters is their connection to the community as a whole and their drive to make our lives better.

We are a people in transit, a mobile tribe in a modern world. We are strengthened when any type of connection is created and maintained between members of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, formal or informal.

As the government of the Huu-ay-aht First Nations, we are obligated to help improve the lives of all members of the community. We can help to strengthen the connections between all members. We can create and cultivate networks to keep people informed of opportunities for employment, housing, education and perhaps most importantly, any and all forms of belonging.

As leaders of our community, we should know how our people relate to each other. We need to know what works, what can improve and what opportunities there might be in order to make our lives better. Our homeland is the root of our identity, it is our common origin and the basis of our history and culture. We need to be able to bring the benefits of our land, culture and common history to the Huu-ay-aht "expatriates" and allow for our people to access the benefits of city life -- employment and education -- should they choose to pursue that path.

Once we know what works, we need to provide support for those methods of staying connected. If this means that we need to have places for Huu-ay-aht in each major urban centre, then so be it. This may be an office, a home for the elderly, a dormitory for students or all the above, but we need to keep all of our people connected.

We need to bring Huu-ay-aht together, but not necessarily all at once or in the same place.

Chuu.

July Update: Council Responsibilities

Since I started my term of office on 8 June 2009, I have occupied myself with getting up to speed on Huu-ay-aht First Nations (HFN) activities. We had our first Chief & Council meeting on Friday, 12 June 2009. During the first meeting, the specific responsibilities of each Councillor are assigned. These responsibilities are referred to as a Councillor's portfolio. They center on various aspects of the operation of our government and implementing the Maa-nulth Treaty. Examples of these areas are forestry, fisheries, finance, economic development, governance, lands & resources, education, health, community services and communications.

Currently, my portfolios are: Finance, Economic Development, Communications and overseeing progress on the Treaty Closing Plan. Also, I am a member of the Governance Committee. While these items are generally my responsibility, they are in no way my own personal fiefdom. The power to make decisions rests in the entire Council, not just in one Councillor. The Council has put their trust in me to oversee the operations and progress in these particular areas, however, and I aim to do my best. Making decisions that will alter policy or our practices take the agreement of the Council, and this is a hallmark of our democratic process.

Finance

(Committee Chair)

Honestly, I used to find the idea of finance to be more than a bit boring. It took me a while to fully realize just how important the management of money and wealth is in today's world. Like every well-run organization and most households, the Huu-ay-aht First Nations has a budget, a plan that looks at our sources of income and the things we decide to spend money on. Whenever there is a decision made by government, it is the job of the Finance Committee to find the money in the budget to do it. Nearly every decision made by government affects the budget and there needs to be people in place to assure that it is all managed properly. So far, I am glad to say that we have a good team in place.

Economic Development

(Committee Chair)

When I was in University, I specifically studied the concept of economic development. It's not just about jobs or money, but rather building a human environment where the rules allow for businesses to operate without undue interference from government, to provide the necessary opportunities for citizens to acquire the skills for a job and access enough information to find those jobs. My approach to building a stronger economy is comprehensive. While I understand the need for Nation-owned businesses to exist, I also want to build an economy where citizens can start their own businesses. Thus far, I have worked with the "EcDev" committee on the creation of a process for evaluating the opportunities that have been forwarded to our Nation from various sources. Our next job will be to work with members and experts on the creation of an economic development strategy that will guide us into the new era for more than the next few years.

Communications

(Committee Chair)

One of the reasons that our government has been so successful has been because of efforts that we have put into keeping our people informed. Through phone calls, community meetings, home visits and our newspaper (Huu-ay-aht Uyaqhmis), the HFN has made informing you one of its first priorities. Though I am no longer in the same position to help put the newspaper together, I am still the Chairman of the Communications Committee. Our first priority will be to find a suitable candidate to fill my old position as Communications Coordinator. Our next task will be to create a communications plan that will involve a plan for revamping the HFN Website as well as further involvment on the "New Web" such as Facebook and YouTube.

Governance

(Committee Member)

I retain my seat on the HFN Governance Committee. We work to create the laws that will be the rules of our government and the methods that we use to make decisions. We've done much work on developing laws such as the Elections Act, the Referendum Act and the Citizenship Act. In September, we aim to start work on one of our most important laws, the Government Act itself. Right now, we are working to take the input you provided during the last community information sessions and use them in the development of the previously-mentioned laws.

In Closing...

It's been a busy month. The coming weeks will be just as, if not even more, active. It's an honour to be a part of something so important.

Chuu.

Klecko, klecko.