Original Press Release from GeoConnections
On September 12 and 13, 2007, over 70 First Nations technical and political staff gathered in Dakelh Territory (Prince George, BC) to view and discuss various systems First Nations have developed to manage referrals and land use planning issues. The goals of the workshop were to share best practices in land referral processes and tracking systems and build sustainability in the land stewardship information management process.
The workshop was organized by the First Nations Technology Council and the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, with funding from GeoConnections and the New Relationship Trust Foundation.
Representatives from First Nations and federal and provincial government agencies gave presentations, and break-out sessions were held to discuss referrals and land management issues. In the end, participants agreed to work together to develop new technologies and policies to help deal with referrals. Specifically, workshop participants developed recommendations related to three critical areas:
- Technology
- Operational policy and capacity building and training
- Strategic policy
Participants also recommended eight next steps to continue the progress begun during this workshop.
Details on the workshop and the final report can be found at:
http://www.cstc.bc.ca/cstc/84/fn+referral+workshop