The Vision we hold for our People and Community

We are a capable and proud Eeyouch

Wemindji Eeyouch recognize that we are the children of the Creator, and we respect this relationship, and the duties it places upon us to maintain harmonious, happy and healthy relations among ourselves, with other people, and with all living things.

We must also ensure the survival of our People, the Eeyouch. We must constantly revitalize, respect, practice, maintain and celebrate our Cree language, culture and traditions. It is the Eeyouch way to hold the utmost respect for our Creator, and the natural environment and all living things around us. It is our way to always put others before ourselves. When making decisions, we think in terms of the future, our Children, and we fully consider the long-term consequences.

For generations, Cree people have learned by listening, watching and doing things alongside our teachers and Elders, and we continue this process and relationship between our Youth and Elders.

Our Vision ensures that we will maintain our Cree Culture by practicing our traditional activities, and speaking our language in our daily lives and work, thereby passing this precious heritage on to our Children.

We recognize and respect our distinct history as Wemindji Eeyouch, including the traditional roles of our tallymen, that are consistent with natural law.

To ensure that our culture and language are maintained, we focus on our Children and Youth in a manner that is positive and nurturing. We provide them with the opportunity to discover their identity by challenging them to be the best that they can be. We encourage them to achieve the highest level of education in both additional and contemporary forms of knowledge. We create an atmosphere which provides opportunities and supports responsibility for our Children and Youth.

We also pride ourselves in our ability to adapt and deal constructively and fairly with change.

As Wemindji Eeyouch, we respect our Elders and the special role they play in our society. We learn from them, and foster mutual understanding.

Strong Families are the foundation of our Commmunity

Our families are the primary source of our knowledge and development as Eeyouch. It is in our families that we learn to treat one another with respect, compassion and equality. We learn respect and how to maintain a sustainable relationship with all living things within our natural environment. From our families, we learn to love, cherish, nurture and value our Children, and therefore the importance of setting a good example for the younger generations. And it is in our families that we learn to be honest, reliable, responsible and trustworthy individuals, and to ensure that all our institutions reflect our Cree Values.

In our families, it is our Elders and Grandparents who guide the family and nurture unity. They also teach us the Eeyouch way of good parenting.

As the Community of Wemindji Eeyouch, we foster unity, respect toward each other, and toward our institutions, constantly seeking the common good of our Community. As a Community, we work with other communities to promote our common interests and values.

Parents have a special responsibility to create an environment that fosters a strong family, and to assume the primary and active responsibility in raising our children.

Elders are the foundation of our Families and Community

We respect and value our Elders as the caretakers of our traditional knowledge, practices and our Cree language. It is they who teach us who we are, where we come from, and strengthen our knowledge and pride in our Eeyou history.

Our Elders are the people who bring together families into a Community. We go to them constantly for spiritual guidance and the teachings contained in their stories. With their humor, they teach us to have a healthy perspective, and show us a sense of timing and patience. We rely on their wisdom to guide us towards a harmonious, positive Community life.

We have a united and harmonious Community

We enjoy community events which bring us together, in unity, to celebrate special circumstances or exceptional achievements. Likewise, we look to cultural and traditional activities as a source of unity in our Community. We also support and celebrate the artistic and recreational pursuits of our Members. These provide for a good balance between skills, development, teamwork and fun. We are proud of our spirit of volunteering for the good of our Community.

A healthy environment and Land and respect for our Talleyman

The Creator gave us Eeyou Istchee, and with it, he gave us special duties. We are required to keep the Land and all of our environment in a healthy and clean state, for ourselves, our future generations, and all living things that share our Territory with us. It is part of our obligation as Elders, Grandparents, Parents and Community Leaders to provide a good example in this way, and to teach the Youth.

Whenever we think of developing our Territory, we must also respect our duty to keep the environment – our Land, the waters, and the air – clean and healthy, and to repair any damages we may cause.

Our Tallymen play a unique and traditional role in guiding and teaching us in the safe keeping and well-being of Eeyou Istchee. It is they who guard Eeyou Istchee, controlling who will have access, and under what conditions. We respect the knowledge and authority of these men, and consult with them in all matters pertaining to the Land.

We have a healthy and attractive Community, with a good quality of life

Our Vision is of a clean, healthy, safe and secure Community where we enjoy an exceptionally good quality of life. We are in constant state of healing, moving towards the strength that characterized our traditional way of life.

We have a good infrastructure, and exceptionally good facilities to meet the needs of our Youth, our Elders, others with special needs, and the animals that share with us.

As we continue to develop, build and expand our Community, we are careful to reflect our past, our present and our future generations. We set aside designated land that helps promote a healthy lifestyle, including our spiritual, cultural, social, mental and physical well-being.

We have attractive, well maintained Community facilities and a beautiful landscape. We structure them in a manner that creates open spaces and a friendly and secure environment, while respecting the needs and feelings of others.

Our Members contribute to the Community’s appeal by maintaining their homes, properties, public places, and personal equipment in a clean, healthy and pleasing manner, reflecting their diverse tastes.

Our Members are educated, capable and self-sufficient contributers

The Wemindji Eeyouch seek to be capable, self-sufficient and responsible contributors to their Families and the well-being of our Community. For the dignity and integrity of Wemindji Eeyouch, we insist on the highest standard of quality education for our People. We ensure that our educational institutions and programs achieve these goals, and put our students’ education first. We constantly strive to improve the quality of education in our Community.

In our philosophy of education, Parents have the primary responsibility to assure a good education for their children. In this, they are supported by our Elders and Grandparents. Parents play an active part in the education of their children, starting by being good role models as Parents, and by living as constructive Members in our Community. They also work in a mutually supportive role with our Teachers and our School.

We also recognize and respect that we have different types of knowledge. It is essential to our survival as Eeyouch that we maintain our traditional knowledge and language, which embodies much of this knowledge. We also value other forms of knowledge which enable our Students and other members to pursue interesting and worthy lives at home, or away, in the larger society, based on our Eeyouch values.

Our students aspire to ever higher levels of education in order to become certified and fully qualified professionals in all the required fields to service the Community, and to function with confidence in the broader society and economy.

In order to provide the best possible services to our Members, it is our policy and practice to employ well-motivated individuals with the best education, qualifications and attitude for each employment opportunity.

A healthy, self-sufficient economy with good employment

The foundation of our healthy, self-sufficient and prosperous economy is our secure land base which is 100% collectively controlled and managed by Wemindji Eeyouch, for the good of all Members, and our future generations.

In this, we recognize the special role, knowledge and authority of our Tallymen, which we described above. We also recognize and support the role of our active traditional, land based economy in assuring our survival as Eeyouch.

We encourage and foster Cree entrepreneurship and prosperous Cree-owned businesses as the basis of both our local and regional Cree-owned economy. We support our Members participation in the national and global markets, and the “new” or hi-tech economy.

Our Government also provides the legal and regulatory framework to ensure that our collective Cree values are protected, and that there are fair business practices in place for both business owners and consumers. Provided the businesses on our Territory respect our laws and regulations, the management of business entities for the benefit of our Community must be at arms length from our local Government, to ensure non-political business decision-making. When assisting local Cree entrepreneurs, our governing institutions provide assistance without political interference or favor.

In addition to contributing their own funds and resources to their businesses, our entrepreneurs are encouraged to find independent means of funding assistance such as personal lenders, banks, and government grants, to ensure the financial success of their businesses.

We also foster joint ventures with external companies and welcome independent investment on our Territory, provided it is in keeping with our Cree values, laws and regulatory requirements.

All employers on our Territory are expected to provide meaningful, safe, sustainable, good paying employment jobs for our Members.

A strong and just Cree Government

The Cree way of self-government is a democratic one: the People come first, and our government is for the People, by the People, and of the People. Therefore, our Government is accountable to the People.

We require that our leaders and governing institutions be honorable, capable, caring, and just, and that those entrusted to serve in our Government be responsible and accountable to the Members of the Community.

By self-government, we mean that we are a self-sustaining, self-determing, self-governing Nation with full control of our land and natural resources, as well as our justice, education, health and social systems.

To become politically responsible is to be the master of ourselves. As Wemindji Eeyouch, each of us accepts the primary responsibility for assuring that we have good government, and for showing respect to our Government, including its personnel, institutions and processes. We also recognize and fulfill our obligations to actively participate in, and contribute to the processes of good Government.

In all dealings internally and externally, we affirm and uphold our Eeyou rights, we constantly lead by example, and we ensure the best interest of our People and of Eeyou Istchee. Likewise, we strive to fulfill our obligations under our regional structures with respect, and participate and contribute to the best of our abilities.

We are responsible Members

As Wemindji Eeyouch, we involve ourselves through participation in the political and social processes and structures of our Community, and of Eeyou Istchee, both to voice our concerns and hold our representatives accountable. As Members, we have the primary responsibility to create a positive, healthy environment for a good, harmonious and happy Cree and Community life.

We encourage all Members to assert their rights, and contribute their views in a constructive and positive manner.

As Wemindji Eeyouch, we will constantly stand up for, and affirm, our rights and our beliefs.

This is the Vision we hold for the Eeyouch of Wemindji, and the one we will pursue with determination, caring, pride, honesty and accountability.