Latest news with #CYFN
Hamilton Spectator
a day ago
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
AFN Yukon and CYFN chief positions set to be consolidated this year
According to a statement from the Council of Yukon First Nations, effective Oct. 1, 2025 the positions of Grand Chief and AFN Yukon Regional Chief will be merged into one. The consolidation comes out of resolutions made by Yukon First Nation chiefs at the Assembly of First Nations Yukon Chiefs Summit on May 21 and 22, as well as a May 30 Council of Yukon First Nations Leadership meeting. 'The new model is intended to streamline governance, reduce duplication, and strengthen national and political advocacy grounded in the shared priority of all 14 Yukon First Nations,' reads the statement. The consolidation was being discussed since spring 2024, reads the statement. Chiefs arrived at the consensus to consolidate the two positions into a 'unified Grand Chief model' after a substantive review process and much discussion, per the statement. CYFN Grand Chief Peter Johnston is quoted as saying that the decision will help unify efforts and advance the interests of all Yukon First Nations. AFN Yukon Regional Chief Kluane Adamek is quoted in the release as saying that the new model will allow for stronger advocacy. It will ensure 'that Yukon First Nations are not only heard, but are leading the conversation both regionally and nationally,' per Adamek. Elections for the new Council of Yukon First Nations Grand Chief will be held on June 25 at the CYFN general assembly meeting in Teslin. Five candidates are currently in the running for the position: former Kluane First Nation Chief Math'ieya Alatini, current Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Pauline Frost, former Carcross Tagish First Nation councillor Rose Sellars, former CYFN Grand Chief Ed Schultz and former Champagne and Aishihik First Nations Chief Steve Smith. Whoever ends up winning the election will assume the duties and responsibilities formerly held by the AFN Regional Chief, per the statement. The new grand chief will also be responsible for a 'regional mandate review to assess how Yukon First Nations are currently supported,' reads the statement. The CYFN constitution will have to be amended, and the proposed changes to the constitution will be presented at the CYFN general assembly, ensuring all 14 Yukon First Nations will have voting rights. Financial resources, authority and responsibilities associated with the AFN Yukon Regional Chief will also be transferred to the CYFN. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
CBC
2 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Council of Yukon First Nations, AFN to combine leadership roles into 1
Change aims to 'streamline governance, reduce duplication and strengthen national and political advocacy' Yukon First Nations have decided to unify a couple of regional leadership roles into one — meaning the next grand chief of the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) will have some new responsibilities. Starting in October, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) will no longer have a Yukon regional chief who's independent of CYFN. That person's duties and responsibilities will be taken up by the next CYFN grand chief. The two organizations began discussing the idea since last year and both passed resolutions last month to make it happen. The goal, according to a joint news release on Wednesday, is to "streamline governance, reduce duplication and strengthen national and political advocacy grounded in the shared priorities of all 14 Yukon First Nations." Currently, Yukon is represented at the AFN — an Ottawa-based national advocacy group — by Yukon Regional Chief Kluane Adamek, who has served in that role since 2018. CYFN is a non-profit political organization based in the territory that represents and advocates for Yukon First Nations, with the grand chief serving as the main political spokesperson. Peter Johnston has held that role since 2016 and has said he won't be running for another term. Image | Peter Johnston and Kluane Adamek Caption: Peter Johnson, grand chief of the Council of Yukon First Nations, left, and Kluane Adamek, regional chief of the Assembly of First Nations, in 2019. (Steve Silva/CBC) Open Image in New Tab Under the new model, the CYFN grand chief will now represent Yukon First Nations at AFN executive meetings. However, that person "will not lead an AFN portfolio or sit on the AFN corporate board without a direct mandate from Yukon First Nations," reads Wednesday's news release. "This approach reflects a made-in-Yukon solution — directed by all 14 Chiefs — that aligns with regional governance realities while maintaining a strategic national presence." The next grand chief of CYFN will be elected this month. They would take on the new AFN-related responsibilities as of Oct. 1. In a written statement, Johnston called the change "a significant step forward in unifying our effort and advancing the interests of all Yukon First Nations." Adamek also touted the decision as a way to ensure Yukon First Nations have a stronger voice through "co-ordinated advocacy." "This is about amplifying the collective voices of all Yukon First Nations in a way that reflects who we are: united, visionary and rooted in our values," she said.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Council of Yukon First Nations, AFN to combine leadership roles into 1
Yukon First Nations have decided to unify a couple of regional leadership roles into one — meaning the next grand chief of the Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) will have some new responsibilities. Starting in October, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) will no longer have a Yukon regional chief who's independent of CYFN. That person's duties and responsibilities will be taken up by the next CYFN grand chief. The two organizations began discussing the idea since last year and both passed resolutions last month to make it happen. The goal, according to a joint news release on Wednesday, is to "streamline governance, reduce duplication and strengthen national and political advocacy grounded in the shared priorities of all 14 Yukon First Nations." Currently, Yukon is represented at the AFN — an Ottawa-based national advocacy group — by Yukon Regional Chief Kluane Adamek, who has served in that role since 2018. CYFN is a non-profit political organization based in the territory that represents and advocates for Yukon First Nations, with the grand chief serving as the main political spokesperson. Peter Johnston has held that role since 2016 and has said he won't be running for another term. Under the new model, the CYFN grand chief will now represent Yukon First Nations at AFN executive meetings. However, that person "will not lead an AFN portfolio or sit on the AFN corporate board without a direct mandate from Yukon First Nations," reads Wednesday's news release. "This approach reflects a made-in-Yukon solution — directed by all 14 Chiefs — that aligns with regional governance realities while maintaining a strategic national presence." The next grand chief of CYFN will be elected this month. They would take on the new AFN-related responsibilities as of Oct. 1. In a written statement, Johnston called the change "a significant step forward in unifying our effort and advancing the interests of all Yukon First Nations." Adamek also touted the decision as a way to ensure Yukon First Nations have a stronger voice through "co-ordinated advocacy." "This is about amplifying the collective voices of all Yukon First Nations in a way that reflects who we are: united, visionary and rooted in our values," she said.
CBC
14-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Indigenous midwifery services 'really essential' in Yukon, prize-winning group says
Social Sharing The Council of Yukon First Nations (CYFN) says the next step for its Indigenous midwifery program, thanks to some new prize money, is to purchase a space that will serve as home to the program and expand its services. "It's really essential," said Shadelle Chambers, executive director of CYFN. "We know that the other northern jurisdictions and other jurisdictions across Canada have been expanding Indigenous midwifery services over the last number of decades — so, really important in terms of revitalizing cultural practices." On Tuesday, the organization's Bibia Nàtsät Ku project was named the big winner of this year's $1-million Arctic Inspiration Prize. The money will go toward opening a new, dedicated facility in Whitehorse where Yukon First Nations elders and midwives could offer sexual and reproductive health care, including birthing services. It would also offer training for Indigenous students. Chambers says the program has been "building a lot of capacity" over the last few years, such as training a couple of dozen Indigenous doulas. They also hope to have a Yukon First Nations midwife on the team soon. Chambers says it's all about bringing back more traditional birthing practices and ceremony. "What we want to do is ensure that people have culturally safe services. We know that, historically, that many clinical services are deeply entrenched in racism and discrimination, just based on historical practices and legacies," she said. "So many of our families actually often don't get the supports and services they need because of that history." Other prize winners 'insanely hyped' In all, 12 projects across the North won Arctic Inspiration Prize money on Tuesday, totalling $3.7 million. Each year, the prize money is awarded to projects in education, health, culture, arts, language, science, traditional knowledge, climate change and the economy. Among the other winners this year are an Inuit-led education program for neurodiverse and marginalized youth in Nunavut, a Yellowknife-based project to empower youth through land-based learning, and a project in Nunavik to address food insecurity and strengthen cultural practices through harvesting camps. One of the winners in the youth category was a youth dog-sledding program in Inuvik, N.W.T. The Uniaraqtuq project is receiving $100,000 for training youth in dog sledding and other traditional skills, and for a documentary about the work. Tamara Kaglik, 19, is one of the teens working on the project. She says she was "insanely hyped" to learn they'd won the prize. "I was about to cry. I started jumping around. Oh my goodness," she said. The group already does some programming at a site outside of Inuvik and they hope to now maybe build a cabin out there for multi-day stays. Along with dog-sledding, they do things like fishing, hide-stretching, canoeing, kayaking and muskrat-trapping. "I have grown up with like a lack of access to all of the things we need to be on our land in these modern times, you know. Because it can be really expensive to get a boat, Ski-doo, gas money" said Kaglik.
CBC
03-04-2025
- General
- CBC
Council of Yukon First Nations cancels some family support programs due to lack of Jordan's Principle funding
The Council of Yukon First Nations has shut down programs that provided food, children's clothing, short-term housing and other support for families due to a lack of Jordan's Principle funding. The situation has left at least one mother scrambling to figure out how she'll make ends meet. More than 450 families received letters from the council (CYFN) last month stating that Indigenous Services Canada (ISC) had not confirmed if it would give the council Jordan's Principle funding for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. "Due to this uncertainty, we cannot guarantee … supports beyond March 31, 2025," the letter states. Jordan's Principle, established in 2016, is meant to ensure First Nations children have access to government-funded services when they need them, without jurisdictional disputes getting in the way. Funding is application-based. CYFN executive director Shadelle Chambers said that ISC usually responds to the council's applications in December or January to confirm how much money it will get for the coming fiscal year. However, this year, the federal government only confirmed on March 22 that Jordan's Principle funding would continue into 2025-2026 but still isn't accepting applications. With funding from last fiscal year used up, Chambers said CYFN doesn't have money to sustain services like its "necessities of life" program, which provided families with vouchers for things like groceries, children's clothing and baby products, as well as programs for short-term housing and respite care. "Having to send letters to our families that we work with that we're no longer able to support them in certain areas has been extremely frustrating," Chambers said. "[It's] just another one of the systemic issues that First Nations and Yukon First Nations families and children have to face in terms of, you know, the practices of the federal government." 'I still feel hopeless,' mother says of losing supports Ashley Russell, a single mother of two and Trʼondëk Hwëchʼin citizen, was among the hundreds of people who used the "necessities of life program" and said she went into "sheer panic" when she learned it was ending. "I still feel hopeless," she said. Russell, who's studying to become a social worker, said she used the program for grocery vouchers — $125 every two weeks for each child — and also had a respite worker helping with her younger child, who's neurodivergent. She said she hasn't figured out how to manage everything with those supports gone and is on the verge of quitting school. "Unfortunately, my family is one of the families that suffers with a lot of trauma and I am the only sober person in my entire family, the only person with a driver's license, the only person with a proper education and job," she said. "I'm also a full-time student and trying to work, trying to stay sober, trying to hold my family together… And then to find out that I'm not going to get help, not even paid help — it feels very alone." Chambers said CYFN has been working to connect families with community food programs or other rent assistance options while advocating for clarity and action from ISC. "The reality is this [situation] has caused a lot of stress for families and children, and it has also caused a lot of stress for our staff and our team," she said. "And, you know, we're here to help support families and when one of our main access to supports is cut off for no realistic reason … it's frustrating, right?" ISC changing how applications are processed In response to a request for comment about the status of Jordan's Principle funding in the Yukon, ISC spokesperson Eric Head largely repeated portions of an "operational bulletin" the department issued in February outlining changes to how it was processing applications. Changes include requiring more documentation for applications and narrowing the items and services that funding would be approved for. "ISC is reviewing Jordan's Principle processes and policies at regional and national levels with long-term sustainability in mind," Head wrote, quoting the bulletin. "There is continued funding for 2025-2026 for Jordan's Principle. In addition, ISC is working to communicate with requestors." Chambers, however, accused the government of "deflecting" from the "real issues" — including the fact that it has a backlog of 135,000 Jordan's Principle applications to get through — and said the consequences "trickling down" to the families who were using CYFN's programs. Russell, meanwhile, said she'd spoken to other families in the same situation as hers and that while people understand the problem on the federal level, it doesn't make things easier. "That doesn't take away our pain, that doesn't take away our frustration and just feeling alienated on our own land. Like, it's just very exhausting," she said. While Russell said she thought families needed to show grace to CYFN support workers dealing with the fallout, workers also needed to show "empathy and compassion" for families now suddenly struggling with what to do next. "It's not the workers' fault, but also like, the clients can't be expected to behave properly — they're in survival mode or in panic survival mode, you know?" she said.
