February Newsletter. Heather Seltzer Punky Lake Wilderness Camp Society

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1 February Newsletter Heather Seltzer Punky Lake Wilderness Camp Society

2 Heather Seltzer Administrative Assistant It has been a very eventful January and February here at PLWCS. We have had many projects on the go to keep all of us busy. At the end of December we held our annual Cowboys and Indians Hockey game, between the high school Rodeo group and adult league hockey members. There was a great turn out and we raised just over $600 to help out with our youth programs here at Punky. The first week in January, Punky and aboriginal Sport held a Youth Hockey camp here in Williams Lake at the Cariboo Memorial Centre. We had another great turn-out of the camp with an average of 30 youth participating each day. Youth took part in ice time each day and were also given a swimming pass for the pool. In the middle of January we had members of Correctional Service Canada (CSC) and Wardens of three institutes in the lower mainland come to discuss the Chilcotin Project with members of the community, TRU and Tl'etinqox. The Idea of the project is to get inmates working at giving back to the community, and since a large percentage of their inmate population are first nations, and from the Chilcotin, the idea of giving back to their own communities was an obvious choice. The group was here looking for ideas on what the communities could use and what they could get inmates to build and make. We came up with a lot of good ideas to start them off and look forward to see what they will come up with to help out communities. In February Bruce and Samantha started a Drumming group on Tuesday nights at TRU in the gathering place. Attendance has slowly been growing with this past Tuesday (Feb 26) having the highest number so far of 30 youth. The group is open to everyone with no drumming experience needed. They meet every Tuesday at 6pm to 8pm at TRU Gathering place. This month Punky has been successful in two proposals we have applied for. The first from New Relationship Trust partnered with Yunesit in for the construction of a Pit house. Chief Russ had come to Punky looking for a partner for the project and we were happy to help any way we could. This funding will help to buy supplies for the planned house and we have received funding earlier this year form Honor the Earth to also help with the costs of the project. The second funding we received this month was from National Victims of Crime Awareness Week (NVCAW). This will fund a project during the National victim week in April, where we have decided to travel to all communities an give a preview of what are Tsilhqot in Restorative Justice Program is about and what the Restorative Justice practice is. Dates of planned trips have yet to be determined but we will get the information out as soon as possible. And lastly we have scheduled a Peacemaking circle training workshop facilitated by Carolyn Charleyboy for April The Training is limited to 20 people and if there is enough interest we will host training. For more information contact Bruce Baptiste, and for an application package contact Heather Seltzer. For more updates Please check our website at

3 Sarah Jackman Executive Director Hello everyone! As I write this today, I m realizing that tomorrow will be exactly 6 months of my working with the Punky Lake Wilderness Camp Society. Time flies when you re having fun! These last 6 months have been such an enjoyable and challenging experience for me, and the programs we have been building and developing are so exciting. With this period of time stretching from fall through winter, our focus is mainly on in-town programs. We have been trying to facilitate events and gatherings that let the youth of Williams Lake, and our surrounding First Nations communities, attend healthy, fun, culturally significant outings with their families and peers. We ve hosted holiday parties, sporting events, and skills camps and all have been extremely well attended and enjoyed by all involved, including the staff here at Punky. I am so impressed with our staff, as small as it may be. Bruce, Samantha and Heather work so hard to bring these programs to life and they do it with smiles on their faces and their hearts in the right place. I consider it a privilege to lead a team that takes their positions so seriously and that put in the kind of effort that they do. The restorative justice portion of Punky s programming (Tsilhqot in Restorative Justice) has been very much in the forefront of our focus for the last 3 months. The staggering over-representation of aboriginal people in our court system has shown the need for a program such as this; that uses culturally relevant and historically successful tools to help bring these numbers down. Our communities should, and will, have a larger role to play in the process of justice for their own members and families. I m looking forward to spring, and the fun programs and camps that warm weather invites. If you have any ideas that you think Punky could put to use as far as youth programs, sports camps, or workshops, or if you want any information about any of our programs and services, please don t hesitate to contact our offices.

4 Samantha-Jo Dick Youth Justice The past few months here at Punky has been very busy getting the Tsilhqot in Restorative Justice Program Started with the help of Carolyn Charleyboy. We are now a part of the Williams Lake Community Council for Restorative Justice Committee, and are now getting a steady flow of Restorative Justice Files. Next month we are hosting a Peacemaking Circle Training on April 22-24, please contact Heather for Registration, we only have 20 seats available and they are filling up. As you all know we are getting into our summer months soon, we are currently working on a co-ed youth camp in July the dates will soon to be announced (check out our website on camp/program updates). Bruce and I have put together a Drum Group every Tuesday night the TRU Gathering Place, the doors open at 6:00pm. We have had a crowd ranging between 10 to 20 people; it is so great to see the youth drumming and learning. Punky has teamed up with the Sugarcane Indian Band and is hosting Free Kickboxing every Thursday night from 5:30 to 6:30 at the Sugarcane Gym; you have to be 13 and over to participate. Please check out our new website for any details or updates

5 Bruce Baptiste Adult Justice Coordinator Hello to all that have taken the time to read my PLWCS newsletter report. Hopefully SPRING has arrived as daylight is lasting longer now. I have been pretty busy the last few months and have taken the time to write my newsletter report as it has been awhile since my last one. I currently have 17 adult clients which have been referred to me from the local adult probation office in Williams Lake. I have also been busy with our newly launched Tsilhqot in Restorative Justice program and have completed several Community Justice Forums through this process. TRJ is working in conjunction with the Williams Lake Community Council for Restorative Justice Group as they have experienced facilitators that already have been of great assistance in this process and have also been very supportive of TRJ. The TRJ program has been a big learning curve and will take a while for me to work comfortably with the process but it s like anything new and you have to keep working at it to find a process that works. This Restorative Justice program is a positive step for those who are mainly first time offenders in the justice system. So, rather than going to court they will be given the opportunity to repair the harm that they have caused to their victims and in the long run it will help them decide if they want to avoid getting a criminal record which will hinder their ability to get a job or even applying for a passport to leave the country. I have also been volunteering at the Salvation Army soup kitchen once a week when I can and I find this very gratifying as it helps me to stay grounded. PLWCS has also started a drum group which is on Tuesday nughts from 6 to 8 pm at the TRU Gathering Place and it is going well as the youth enjoy learning to drum and sing. The drum group will be drumming at the Nenqayni powwow at the end of April and this is a surprise but we will have fun as it will be a learning experience. PLWCS is hosting an indoor soccer camp on April 13 th & 14 th at the Columneetza Secondary school gym and you can contact me at (250) or by bbaptiste@tsilhqotin.ca to register your child from the ages 5 to 17. Until next time, take care and have an awesome day.