The annual CBnuit (https://www.facebook.com/CBnuit/) Art Festival is starting today! Qalipu First Nation is proud to be a sponsor of this event and we’re so excited to see all of the Indigenous involvement!

Alex Antle and Marcus Gosse are both participating artists and Angela Brockway will be leading a workshop.

Paul Pike will be opening the festival with a musical performance tonight at 7:00 PM, don’t miss it!

See the full schedule here: (https://www.cbnuit.com/2020-festival-schedule)

Photos: Art by Drew Pardy

Sabrina Muise is so well known in the youth community that she was nominated to be featured as a community leader by someone who has never actually met her.  Cassie Stead lives in Ontario and noted that it is through Sabrina’s strong online presence that she has found a connection to her First Nation back home in Newfoundland.

“I actually don’t know her personally,” noted Cassie, “but she has been a leader, and a powerful voice to the youth. She has inspired me to be more vocal about my heritage and in learning all I can. Through her social media presence, she has allowed youth to reconnect with their Indigenous roots from afar. I left Newfoundland to pursue studies in Ontario and following her, and being a part of the Qalipu Youth Network, has allowed me to maintain connectedness. She does such a great job through social media.”

Qalipu Youth Network

Qalipu Council Youth Representative Salome Barker works with Sabrina on the Youth Network and has nothing but praise for her friend and colleague.  She said, “I’ve known Sabrina now for a few years and each year that goes on she continues to amaze me with her creativeness and her passion for empowering youth.  She is multitalented, a fancy shawl dancer, drummer and singer.  Sabrina is so humble when it comes to all the work that she does.  She’s so wise for her age and is continuously working in favour of all Indigenous youth in Ktaqmkuk.  She really is a shining light whenever she walks into a room, her kindness and patience are woven into all her work.  I’m so lucky to have a nitap like Sabrina in my life, she’s a community leader in so many forms and I cannot wait to see all the wonderful things she’s going to do in the future.”

Hard at Work

Sabrina works with the People of the Dawn Indigenous Friendship Centre as a Project Coordinator.  Executive Director Patrick Park-Tighe said that Sabrina is an amazing addition to the team and has a lot to offer.

“Sabrina’s hard work has been transformative both in her youth participants and the community groups that they have partnered with. Youth working with Sabrina have gained a deeper understanding of social media, its benefits, and its dangers while local non-profits have created stronger connections to youth while co-creating media content that is informative, engaging, and timely.”

Patrick also commented on Sabrina’s ability to lead youth in contributing to the success of local non-profits.  “Her insights and creativity have paved the way for local youth to contribute directly to the success of local non-profits,” he said, “Additionally, Sabrina has balanced the focus on content creation with thoughtful explorations of individuals’ strengths and talents, and the Indigenous identity.”

Join the Ka’qawej Community Media Project here: https://www.facebook.com/kaqawejyouth/

Family, Friends, and the Mi’kmaq Way

Sabrina was humbled to learn that she had been nominated for the Community Leaders feature.

Sabrina said, “I am so appreciative for the nomination, and confidence in me as a helper to our people. I’m honored to be considered amongst such other amazing people from our Qalipu community!”

Sabrina talked about her upbringing, and a strong need to pass on the care that she received in the Indigenous community.  “Having been raised in the system with just my mother, I’ve always felt the love, support, and guidance by my Indigenous kin. I feel a huge responsibility to pass that down. Love, kindness, demonstrating that everyone has something valuable to share and a safe space to go to. It’s such an essential concept of our Mi’kmaq culture that I want all youth to feel.

Regarding her hopes for the future of young people in the Indigenous community, Sabrina had this to say, “It’s my second year working with youth (15-30 years) at the People of the Dawn Indigenous Friendship, and I was fortunate to have the opportunity to redesign my project during quarantine.

Having worked with youth the previous year and been to the Qalipu Youth Gathering in 2019, I realized that youth are hungry for culture, and self care opportunities. So, I created a whole workshop and sharing circle series connecting youth with Mi’kmaq leaders of Nujio’qonik, providing opportunities for them to meet our people, gain insights on how to navigate the fast life, learn about our culture, and my favourite: to be a part of a province-wide kinship. When we create programming that serves youth and meets them where they’re at, that’s when we see youth come together, collaborate, and inspire each other. It’s been incredibly rewarding to witness, and it’s honestly been a dream come true!”

Congratulations to Sabrina, and keep up the good work!

Join the Qalipu Youth Network

Story by Alison White (awhite@qalipu.ca), on behalf of Qalipu First Nation.

Experience Qalipu will deliver a Virtual Indigenous Art and Craft Symposium to take place over the month of October.

The symposium will offer two sessions each week, a professional development session every Tuesday and an artist talk every Thursday. Please see below for the schedule of events.

To register for this event, please fill out this form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LXW9HGK

If you have any questions or require assistance with registration, please contact Alex Antle at aantle@qalipu.ca

For the Artist Talk Schedule, Click here

For the Professional Development Schedule, Click here

Qalipu First Nation will hold its Annual General Assembly (AGA) to discuss the activities of the Band for the fiscal year of 2019-2020. The AGA will be held on September 27 at 1:30 pm in Corner Brook at the Civic Centre.

Members of the Band are invited to pre-register for the meeting if attending in person. Please be advised that attendance is limited due to COVID-19 restrictions that are currently in place. To pre-register, please call 634-5111 or email council@qalipu.ca.

Members are encouraged to tune in to a live stream of the meeting which is accessible through the Ginu membership database. If you need help accessing your profile, or have questions about how to view the live stream, please contact our Indian Registration Administrator at 709-634-4010 or toll free (Newfoundland only) at 1-855-263-6440

The Annual Report detailing activities over the past fiscal year is now online, see below. Printed copies will be available at the meeting, and at our office locations for pickup following the AGA.

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Please be advised that the Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band will hold its Annual General Assembly (AGA) to discuss the activities of the Band for the fiscal year of 2019-2020. The AGA will be held on September 27 at 1:30 pm in Corner Brook at the Civic Centre.

Members of the Band are invited to pre-register for the meeting if attending in person.  Please be advised that attendance is limited due to COVID-19 restrictions that are currently in place. To pre-register, please call 634-5111 or email council@qalipu.ca.

Members are encouraged to tune in to a live stream of the meeting which is accessible through the ginu membership database.  If you need help accessing your profile, or have questions about how to view the live stream, please contact our Indian Registration Administrator at 709-634-4010 or toll free (Newfoundland only) at 1-855-263-6440

The Annual Report will be published on our website, copies will be available at the meeting, and at our office locations for pickup. For your reference, please find a copy of our 2019-2020 audited financial statements, which will be presented at the AGA, here: https://qalipu.ca/reports-and-financial-statements/

In October 2019, Qalipu First Nation was approached by Marathon Gold, a gold resource development company focused on a gold reserve located in our territory in central Newfoundland. Representatives from the company expressed a desire to share plans and consult with our membership and were welcomed at several regular meetings of Council to share presentations and answer questions.

We aim to serve our members’ interests by ensuring that environmental stewardship is a top priority for Qalipu First Nation with respect to all major development projects in our province. Additionally, we wish to explore economic opportunities for our members and their communities. The Chief and Council appointed a committee of Council and senior staff to have focused discussions with Marathon Gold on these topics.

To date, we have continued dialogue with Marathon Gold on their Valentine Lake Project and are now ready to share preliminary plans for a Socio-Economic Agreement (SEA). We encourage our members to participate in a virtual meeting to discuss the draft SEA and provide feedback. This meeting will take place via Zoom on Thursday, September 17th at 7:00 PM with Band Manager Keith Goulding and Marathon Gold’s Jamie Powell, Vice President, Regulatory and Government Affairs.

Draft Socio-Economic Agreement for Review Prior to Consultation

Please pre-register for this meeting by emailing council@qalipu.ca

Click Here to View Questions and Answers from this Engagement Session

The Education and Training Department is now accepting applications for the Bernie Hanlon Memorial Scholarship.

Bernadette “Bernie” Hanlon dedicated her life to supporting and encouraging the aboriginal people of Newfoundland both culturally and in working with them to meet their educational dreams. Bernie always went above and beyond for her many students and tried to help in any way possible through her many years with the Federation of Newfoundland Indians and later with the Qalipu First Nation. Bernie worked tirelessly to help those around her develop personally as well by supporting and encouraging cultural and spiritual growth. The Bernie Hanlon Memorial Scholarship was created to help a client of The Education and Training Department attending college or completing an undergraduate degree to continue to pursue those dreams.

The scholarship is valued at $1,000.00 and will be awarded to the applicant that best embodies Bernie’s passion for our culture and a commitment to academics as well as to their community.

To qualify, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Currently be in receipt of support under the PSSSP
• Currently enrolled a college diploma or undergraduate degree program and planning to return to school in the fall.
• Achieve a grade average of B or higher in their program of studies
• And answer the following essay question in 500 words or less:
  “Using the information provided above, demonstrate how you embody the spirit of Bernie Hanlon.”

Please submit applications to Yvonne MacDonald via email (ymacdonald@qalipu.ca) by September 30th. Note: all essays must be submitted in PDF format.

Experience Qalipu is pleased to announce a Virtual Indigenous Art and Craft Symposium to take place over the month of October.

The symposium will offer two sessions each week, a professional development session every Tuesday and an artist talk every Thursday.

Professional development sessions will include How to Become a Member of the Craft Council of Newfoundland & Labrador, How to Price your Products, a Virtual Craft Fair Information Session, and Social Media for Craftspeople and Artists.

Artist talks will be shared by artists who practice a variety of mediums including Jenelle Duval, Melissa Peter-Paul, and Nelson White.

Tara Saunders, director of Community Development at Qalipu First Nation, describes this event as an “opportunity to advance the professionalism of our Indigenous artists and craftspeople and encourage hobby artists and craftspeople to pursue arts as a career.”

To register for this event, please fill out this form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LXW9HGK

If you have any questions or require assistance with registration, please contact Alex Antle at aantle@qalipu.ca

In a continued effort to support the Indigenous artists and craftspeople of Newfoundland and Labrador, Experience Qalipu is excited to announce that we will be hosting an online art and craft auction on November 6^th – 8th.

This event was inspired by the very successful Indigenous Peoples Day Art & Craft Auction hosted by the Nunatsiavut Government that raised over $23,000 for Indigenous artists and craftspeople.

Covid-19 has caused the cancellation of many craft fairs throughout the summer and will continue to affect crafts fairs through the Christmas season. This has dramatically affected Indigenous artists and craftspeople who rely on these events as a source of income.

One participating craftsperson stated that this virtual craft fair means “recovery after months of zero selling opportunities”.

Our artists and craftspeople carry our traditions in their work and Experience Qalipu is making every effort to ensure their continued success. Tara Saunders, Director or Community Development at Qalipu First Nation, states that “with the impending cancellation of Christmas craft fairs, we had to find a new opportunity to highlight and support our Indigenous arts community. Many of our other programs have been going ahead online so we knew we could find a way to bring this online too.”

Click here to see the full Call for Artists – Experience Qalipu

To register as an artist or craftsperson, please fill out this online form: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CraftSignUp

If you have any questions or require assistance with the sign up form, please contact Alex Antle at aantle@qalipu.ca.