Welcome to the Tla’amin Nation work family! We are very happy that you have joined us on this journey and we raise our hands to you and welcome you to our team. When you work with our Nation, you are working for something greater than yourself, and the work you do will have a positive impact on our whole community.

The purpose of this Cultural Awareness Training is to provide you with an introduction to our community, so you can get to know who we are as a people. This training is designed for everyone, even Tla’amin Community Members! It doesn’t matter where you come from, the training is to help bring everybody to the same understanding. Along the way you will learn about our culture and our way of life, how we see the world, and some of the history that brings us all to where we are today.

Some of the topics covered also deal with difficult themes and the residential school video can be upsetting to watch, but we feel it is important to help you fully understand some of the issues and challenges faced by indigenous people. Only from this place of understanding will you be able to help in your role, and throughout your life, to steer and guide positive changes in our community and in society at large.

If you are new to Tla’amin, here are a few things to note that might help you begin to navigate the lay of the land, and help you in your role:

• Tla’amin (formerly known as Sliammon) is a Treaty Nation, no longer an Indian band held under the Indian Act. The effective date of the treaty was April 5th, 2016.
• Tla’amin regained ownership of 8,322 hectares of land (less than 1% of the traditional territory) and has law making authority over these lands. The full details of the Treaty are in the Final Agreement.
• The laws enacted by the Tla’amin Government were developed over a number of years through the treaty process, and the supreme law above all is the Tla’amin Constitution.
• The Tla’amin Government consists of 9 legislators. 1 legislator is also elected as the Hegus or Chief, and the Hegus along with 4 other legislators form the Executive Council which hold the house post portfolios (Finance & Administration, Lands & Resources, Community Services, Public Works and Economic Development) to oversee much of the work that takes place in the nation.
• The Nation has developed a Comprehensive Nation Plan (CNP) through much community engagement, which outlines what the community priorities are. This document then guides the Government (and staff) in their strategic planning and decision making.
• When working for an indigenous community, relationships are very important. We treat everyone like family because we know that we are all related/connected. This is also represented in the teaching “All my relations”. We put people first.
• And in terms of our organizations work place priorities, the work itself is one priority. Helping to develop our people is another priority, and rebuilding our culture is the third priority. It is important to play a positive role in supporting us in the rebuilding and revitalization of our culture, and to be a positive role model that works towards helping our people to succeed!

Once again we would like to welcome you and we thank you for joining our team. We look forward to working with you! If you have any questions or need any help don’t hesitate to reach out, there are no wrong questions.

Cultural Supports:

Losa Luaifoa, Executive Council | losa.luaifoa@tn-bc.ca Ext: 124
Drew Blaney, Culture and Heritage Manager | drew.blaney@tn-bc.ca Ext: 123
Verna Francis, Justice Coordinator | verna.francis@tn-bc.ca Ext: 113
Denise Smith, Lands Manager | denise.smith@tn-bc.ca Ext: 121