ALEX MCDoUGALL, CFNHM
Executive Director
"Four Arrows is very much in its infancy as far as programming and services"
Alex McDougall, CFNHM
Executive Director
Message from the Executive Director
"...There is support from governments to have us work in developing and enhancing our programs."
Four Arrows is very much in its infancy as far as programming and services.
The idea of what type of services should be provided by our organization is very different depending on who you talk to. But primarily the way right now we are structured Four Arrows is an advocacy and consultative organization with its constituent communities where there is support programming and services.
But we are slowly making that transition where we are moving into day to day service delivery with Jordan’s Principle, Foot Care, Children’s Oral Health Initiative (COHI). And I think that is an indication of progress. We are growing and changing through this opportunity with Health Transformation Envelope. So there is support from governments to have us work in developing and enhancing our programs.
Much more to that is they are actually supporting First Nations in developing their governance process. So that is very exciting for Island Lake and its members that are aware of this opportunity.
It is a chance to develop our nation. It is a chance to develop how we are going to govern ourselves and how we are going to make decisions based on our geography, our membership and hoping that this regional governance process gives an opportunity for fairness amongst its communities. That there is parity in the decision making process when we talk about common interests at that level and it is advocated by a regional governing entity.
It is exciting. I think there is a lot more that we can do to reach out to our people with governance and with the services. But the way it is structured now there are gaps in how that is done and it is almost not effective because of those gaps where we are having to work in our own little silos; then we are not working together as a region, as a nation. We need to start looking at that now.
Once the communities learn that there is that opportunity there will be a shift in their way of thinking in the communities.
To Contact Alex McDougall
Phone: 204-947-2397 ext. 100
Email: amcdougall@fourarrowsrha.org