Hello folks!
It’s Brad and I’m your Chief Administrative Officer. I’m here this week to speak to you about an important moment for our Nation. In a first, Chief and Council is holding its regularly scheduled meeting in St. John’s, the capital city of the Province, on the island of Ktaqmkuk, part of our unceded and unsurrendered territory, Mi’kma’ki.
St. John’s and the wider Eastern region are integral parts of Ktaqmkuk and for many of our members this region is home. Our people have always travelled the coasts and lands of Ktaqmkuk—these members continue that tradition today on the Avalon.
This meeting provides an opportunity for those members who may otherwise not be able to travel to engage directly with Chief and Council. In turn, we plan to hold more meetings in different regions across our territory in the future.
Your Council will be focusing on key priorities for our Nation—territorial sovereignty, language revitalization, housing instability, and environmental stewardship in the face of a changing climate. These are ongoing areas of work that reflect our responsibilities to you and to the future of our wider Mi’kmaq Nation.
In the coming days, our Culture and Community Outreach team will also be working in the St. John’s area, sharing cultural knowledge and connection with students and educators in school classrooms throughout the region. We are so proud that our staff travel across the whole of our territory to teach, to share, and to support all our members.
We know that as one of two elected Mi’kmaq governments in our territory, our collective responsibilities extend across the whole island. We must ensure L’nuk voices are meaningfully included in decisions that impact our communities, lands, and waters. In my role, serving our members, our staff, and meeting that collective duty to our territory are the first priorities above all else.
We also recognize that being here will stir painful feelings for many. We know that membership issues continue to impact our people and their families in St. John’s and across Ktaqmkuk. While this work can take time, it remains ongoing and is an important priority for all of us here.
As we have said at our recent AGAs and elsewhere: the word of the day is kiwaskitayk – “we are changing”, as said in our own language. We are changing and this, my friends, is only the beginning. In deepest solidarity to you and with love to our whole Nation.
— Brad.
