On March 7, 2017, Walpole Island First Nation hosted the Three Fires Anishinaabeg. Waawayaatanong Treaty Council meeting at the Governance Building.

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1 Volume 1, Issue 5 March 2017 W A L P O L E I S L A N D F I R S T N A T I O N The Bkej Beat A healthy, dynamic nation rich in language and culture Treaty Council Do you have a story for The Bkej Beat? Please contact Eva Thomas at or via eva.thomas@wifn. org. Inside this issue: Treaty Council 1 Comprehensive Community Planning 2 LNHL 4 BK Bullying Awareness and Prevention Bkejwanong Big Bike Team 6 6 On March 7, 2017, Walpole Island First Nation hosted the Three Fires Anishinaabeg of Waawayaatanong Treaty Council meeting at the Governance Building. Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Chippewa of the Thames First Nation, Caldwell First Nation, Chippewas of Kettle & Stony Point First Nation, and Walpole Island First Nation (Bkejwanong Territory) are part of the Treaty Council. The Treaty Council meets regularly and each First Nation takes turns in hosting the event. The Treaty Council gathers to discuss the assertion of Inherent Aboriginal Title Rights, the pursuit of treaty implementation through engagement with the Crown, and collective-based approaches to advocacy of treaty rights. Check us out:

2 The Bkej Beat Page 2 Bkejwanong Community Planning Update We have been working away at drafting the recreation section of the community plan, based on feedback from the community (see details on the next page). We have also continued working with Economic Development and their consultants, MNP, on the Economic Development Strategic Plan, which will help inform the Economy section of the community plan. Below are some updates of additional community projects that we are working on. Community Energy Plan We are ready to launch the community engagement process for developing our community energy plan. We will host community information sessions around energy, and have a community survey to identify our community energy vision and values, as well as update the baseline energy study that was done in We have contracted Cambium Aboriginal out of Curve Lake to assist us with some of the more technical aspects of the energy plan. We are finalizing the survey now and will send out a flyer as soon as we ve nailed down some dates. This is a break-down of our current supply of energy: - assessed on March 23, 2017

3 Volume 1, Issue 5 Page 3 Up Front Ball Diamonds Work is continuing on the up front ball diamonds. Much of the new fencing is installed and the backstops and dugouts are set for completion in mid-april. The new bathroom and concession building will be completed by mid-may. We can t wait to see them in use! YMCA Partnership Feasibility Study We will be launching the YMCA feasibility study within the next month. This will involve surveys of year old community members and telephone surveys of residents in the surrounding areas (Port Lambton, Wallaceburg). More information to follow very soon! Community Recreation Questionnaire During the Christmas turkey and ham distribution, we had community members fill out a short questionnaire to share their thoughts and ideas on our community recreation priorities. Overall, we had 401 questionnaires filled out. Since then, we have inputted and coded the data and will be using this information to begin the first draft of the recreation section of the community plan. The graphics show some of the highlights of the responses from the questionnaire. If you would like to fill out the short questionnaire, there is an online version on our survey monkey site that can be accessed at wifnrecreation

4 The Bkej Beat Page 4 46th Annual Little NHL Tournament ~ Mississauga 2017 Congratulations to the Little NHL Teams! Tyke Recreation Bkejwanong Ducks A Finalists (Silver medalists) Novice Recreation Walpole Island Hawks B Champions Pee Wee Recreation Walpole Island Hawks Nation

5 Volume 1, Issue 5 46th Annual Little NHL Tournament ~ Mississauga 2017 LNHL Athlete Appreciation Dance Thursday, March 30th, 2017 Walpole Island Arena Page 5 Midget Recreation Bkejwanong Ducks B Champions Tyke Competitive Walpole Island Hawks B Champions Atom Girls A Champions

6 Page 6 WA L P O L E I S L A N D F I R S T N A T I O N 117 Tahgahoning, R.R. 3 Walpole Island, ON N8A 4K9 Phone: Fax: Political Office Alicia Blackeagle Executive Assistant alicia.blackeagle@wifn.org Inez Jacobs Band Secretary inez.jacobs@wifn.org Aimee Johnson Comprehensive Community Planning Coordinator aimee.johnson@wifn.org Pat Redmond Energy Liaison pat.redmond@wifn.org Portia Shipman Potawatomi Gathering Coordinator portia.shipman@wifn.org Eva Thomas Communications Coordinator eva.thomas@wifn.org BK Bullying Awareness and Prevention Month Bkejwanong Kinomaagewgamig (BK) in partnership with the WIFN Board of Education is recognizing the month of April as Bullying Awareness and Prevention Month. During the week of April 10-13, 2017, BK will be bringing awareness to the impacts of bullying. Some of the events include: Anti- Bullying Door Contest, Poster/Banner Contest, Essay Contest, Bullying Video Contest and the BK School Pledge. The Bullying Working Group is also organizing a t-shirt fundraiser. There is a limited amount of 150 t-shirts for sale for twenty dollars each. They will be sold on a first-come, firstserved basis. The money raised from the t-shirts will go towards anti-bullying activities, awareness and prevention during the school year. To purchase a t-shirt, please contact Tena Kewayosh, Executive Board of Education Secretary, at tkewayosh@wifneducation.ca or (519) Bkejwanong Big Bike Team - May 16, 2017 Join the Bkejwanong Big Bike Team and help raise money for Heart & Stroke. Contact Alicia Blackeagle at to register. The event takes place on Tuesday, May 16, 2017 at the Black Goose in Wallaceburg.