Carrier Sekani Tribal Council
200-1460 6th ave. V2L 3N2 Prince George, BC, Canada

Fantastic to see the vaccine being rolled out in remote northern B.C. communities. "The COVID-19 vaccine is a very safe and effective way to prevent the virus. The two vaccines that Health Canada has approved to date are from Pfizer and Moderna, both of which have gone through extensive review processes. . . . Some who have received the COVID-19 vaccine have experienced mild side effects that are similar to the flu shot. These include:... - Mild to moderate fatigue - Chills - Pain at injection site - Headache or joint pain Of those from Takla who received the vaccine, only mild side effects were experienced, such as a sore arm." Read more from Carrier Sekani Family Services at the link below.

Call for Moose Roadkill Sightings The Environmental Stewardship Team at Yinka Dene Economic Development is working with Wet'suwet'en First Nation to collect moose health samples in an investigation into moose health and mortality in the Traditional Territory (section of Highway 16 from Sheraton to Telkwa). If you see a moose roadkill in this stretch, or other stretches as there are other nations (Gitxsan, Witset, Gitanyow) working to collect samples within their territori...es, please let the team know so they can collect health samples from the moose carcass. Please see the community notice attached for more information. Mussi cho!

UNBC Continuing Studies is offering a two week online virtual delivery of the Traditional Ecological Knowledge Certificate March 1-12, 2021. If interested please contact Nicole prior to February 5th, 2021. She can be reached by phone at 250-564-9321 or email her at [email protected]

The first COVID-19 vaccine in B.C. was administered yesterday. Here’s an infographic on how the vaccine is developed, tested for effectiveness and safety, and once approved by Health Canada, is distributed and made available to all Canadians. Stay safe.

Incredible opportunity! FPCC has funding available for post-secondary tuition, living expenses and language mentorship for B.C. First Nations youth who are pursuing a Bachelor of Education degree. Up to $36,400 per year is available for eligible B.C. First Nations students who are interested in becoming Language Immersion Teachers. For more information view the program page.

Tl'azt'en Nation will be distributing $250 per household to registered living off reserve. A maximum of 400 households can receive this benefit.

Carrier naming conventions for babies.

You can download the Community Kitchen Cookbook for free at https://bit.ly/2Kw0aQC

It's time to submit your resolutions for the CSTC Annual General Assembly on Jan. 29th! Please fill out this online form to make your submission or you can find the resolution form on our website: carriersekani.ca/about-cstc/annual-general-assemblies/ Registration and other information can be found in our Facebook page events. Stay tuned for more information on our AGA as we announce our keynote speakers, door prizes and more!... Mussi https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/D2LFPMG

I don't like to be a downer but I think it's important to share the state of things right now, based on news that came out yesterday. It's taken me a day to pro...cess this but in northern B.C.: as of Wednesday, the main hospital, in Prince George, was one patient away from having critical care beds full. Those numbers change and hopefully they have gone down but as hospitalizations from COVID stay high, this remains a risk contact tracers are no longer going to call everyone who was around someone with COVID-19 because the high number of cases has created a backlog and they need to focus on priority risks extra paramedics have had to be called in to help out in the Fort St. James area because of how many COVID related emergencies were happening. This has not happened anywhere else in the province. I don't want to overstate this. There are contingency plans in place, some of which we are already seeing: Bringing in extra staff, flying patients to other hospitals, prioritizing who contact tracers reach out to. But this is triage mode. It shouldn't be understated, either. Just to reiterate, there was ONE base critical care beds at hospital in Prince George Wednesday. One. If there was a single car accident with two badly injured people, they'd have to move into surge capacity. That is not a place any hospital wants to be. It involves overtime, calling on staff who aren't working. It is a full-on emergency situation. Overall, northern B.C. has the highest positivity rates, highest critical care hospitalization rates, lowest testing rates, longest test turnaround times and, it now looks like, the lowest contact tracing rates in the province. This is not to place blame, but to state the facts. We were lucky to have a mild first wave, but the second wave is hitting hard. Please be safe.

Hadih! Make sure you sign up to attend tomorrow's webinar on the Pathways Forward Agreement online at 1:30 p.m. Click on the link listed in the event below to sign up. Attendees are eligible to win from thousands of dollars worth of door prizes! (You can see a preview of some of the prizes in the discussion section of the event below too)... See you tomorrow

"A lot of students don’t see themselves in the standard curriculum, which sometimes lacks depth and doesn’t always present Indigenous people kindly, said Carrier Sekani Tribal Chief Mina Holmes, whose council represents seven nations in the northern interior. 'There’s racism in the material, but also in the system itself,' said Holmes."

Design and construction work is expected to begin this winter with an operational date set for the start of the early 2022 salmon runs.

Congratulations to Terry Teegee on your re-election as Regional Chief of the B.C. Assembly of First Nations! Teegee is a member of Takla Nation, former CSTC Tribal Chief and a community leader focused on the holistic wellbeing of First Nations, especially as we get through this pandemic together. CSTC looks forward to a strong working relationship with the BCAFN under his capable leadership. We also want to make an honorable and respectful mention of Cheryl Casimer for puttin...g her name forward and running a strong campaign. Mussi cho to both of you for your service to the community.

Book your flu shot now if you haven't already! The flu shot is free to all Indigenous people in BC - both on and off reserve. More information from the First Nations Health Authority:

On November 20th, our sister organization Carrier Sekani Family Services will be recognizing National Child Day by hosting the grand opening of the new Prince George Youth Centre Mark your calendars for November 20th, as CSFS will broadcast the opening of the youth centre live @ 9:00am! Mussi cho.

Our condolences to friends and family of Donald Patrick. If you will be attending the wake and funeral service, please read the full poster for details on COVID-19 restrictions.

-Another 717 new cases in B.C. (a single-day record) -Another 21 new cases in Northern Health (a single-day record), total now 539 -11 new deaths in the past day, total now 310 -198 in hospital, 63 of which are in ICU... The increase in cases here in northern B.C. is primarily from travel to and from the Lower Mainland. Please protect our communities, our loved ones, our Elders by following all recommended safety recommendations.

Safety is our first priority for all community members as well as our staff, Chief Aileen Prince, Nak'azdli Whut'en