Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I think our generation, we had our kids and then the next generation just did not do the trail we made for them. Even though sometimes I never had a job, we still made do. We had a lot of fun when our kids were 12 years old and 15 years old. We did a lot of things in our community.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We still have the hockey rink.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Even Wilton Littlechild mentioned that. I'm also part of that generation where, “If it was not for sports, I don't think I would have made it through school“, that kind of thing. That might be another key: recreation.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  There is none right now. We need to create an awareness or say that there's a real need. It's doable, but I guess the trick would be how we can connect with the counsellors, the elders, the facilitators, and those young parents. Even those young parents right now, I think, feel some sense of abandonment, never mind their own little children.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, it was only last year, I think, that there were a couple of people trying to regenerate minor hockey. We're fundraising and, hopefully, that will be the rebound for hockey.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, that's a good point because I was reminded just recently, “Chief, talk about your strengths, the good things”. For how many generations have we been negative? I guess we still have the land. The water is still good. The culture is still very strong. I started drumming 20 years ago.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  You have to be truthful. You have to be honest. The high school students are the majority in our community and in our region. The home environment is just not there. An old teacher said to me years ago, “Joachim, if you're going to get anywhere, you need to do at least one hour of homework at night at home.”

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  We have projects that we've been working on, logging; but our neighbouring communities are saying be careful because we're in the boreal area of Canada, and the boreal caribou has got to be considered. Another idea that we have is gravel, because we're beginning to build roads to resources and all that stuff.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. For providence I guess, we're part of the Dehcho First Nations, and we've been at the negotiating table for well over 30 years. I hope that within the next year we will conclude. We keep saying that it's for the future, and some people are advising us that all the social problems and negative stuff are a matter of economics for first nations, whatever that definition of economics would be.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  I was told a couple of weeks ago that the unemployment rate in our community is 54%. And you mentioned self-esteem. Boy, if the band or a band company could create some jobs.... If you have a family and a father, and they could give him a job, holy man, you'd see that would make a big difference in anybody's life.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  In our community, we have a real need for a youth centre. Of course, as soon as you get a facility or a building, then it has to have staff and programming. I guess that's where we are challenged. Some other communities are a bit more fortunate. I can see it, but even when my own kids were growing up, and this would be about 25 years ago, we had a terrific hockey team.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. I guess we are fortunate that we still have a number of the elders who can do that. I am also reminded that even a person like myself had better start practising and learning to be an elder too, sooner rather than later.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes. A lot of it is to do with just being aware of a totally different culture, with what the people are like, and I guess there is always that disconnect when you have service providers who don't really know the culture, so that is still a challenge.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, they arrived in the community but the cross-cultural orientation and the training never happened, so we're still waiting.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs committee  Yes, they're good people but still....