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Executive Council Executive Chairs: Executive Council: Biographies Gerald D. Wesley, Executive Chair, Western Region Gerald Wesley, co-chair of the Northwest Tribal Treaty Nations, is from the Kitsumkalum Band. Presently he is the Chief Negotiator for the communities of Kitsumkalum, Kitselas, Metlakatla, Hartley Bay and Kitasoo. He was Chief Negotiator for the Tsimshian Nation treaty-making process (from 1994-2002) and has also held the position of Secretary Treasurer of the Tsimshian Tribal Council. On the provincial scene he served as an Elected Task Group Member of the First Nations Summit from December 2000 to June 2002. Spent 7 years in the woods industry before moving on to become a senior manager of various First Nation structures including Executive Director/Band Manager for the Kitamaat Village Council (Haisla) from 1981 to 1984 and then Executive Director of the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council from 1984 to 1991. He has maintained private practice as a business consultant with his wife Angela. Gerald is a Director to the newly created BC Transmission Corporation and is a Board member to the North Coast Museum Society in Prince Rupert, B.C. Other positions Gerald has held include a position on the Ministers Advisory Committee on Softwood Lumber Community Assistance Initiative. He was Chairman of the First Nations Health Committee that operates under the structure of the First Nations Summit from 1992 to 1996. Gerald served as one of the original members for the University of Victoria, Administration of Aboriginal Governments Program Advisory Committee from approximately 1986 until 1995. Gerald is one of the Hereditary Chieftans from the Kitsumkalum First Nation and when free time can be found, Gerald can be found hunting, trapping or fishing within his traditional territories in the vicinity of the Kalum and Skeena Rivers. Justa Monk, Executive Chair, Eastern Region Justa Monk continues to be a prominent First Nations leader in his community and throughout the province of British Columbia (BC). His political career spans more than 33 years with First Nations organizations across Canada. Building alliances among First Nations and protecting and promoting the constitutionally enshrined rights of Aboriginal people continues to be a priority. From 1970 to 1986 he served his home community, Tl’azt’en
Nation as Band Manager, Councillor and Chief. 1982 saw the founding
of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council (CSTC). At that time, the CSTC
was the largest First in BC with 14 member Nations and more than 15,000
members. Justa was seconded from the Tl’azt’en Nation to
act as the founding President of the CSTC. Justa served as Tribal Chief for the CSTC between 1990-94 and was successful
in asserting the rights of the Carrier and Sekani people in relation
to the protections of the Nechako River by preventing the expansion
of the Alcan smelter, known as Kemano II, and the proposal to build
a pulp mill. Justa served as the Co-chair of the First Nations Summit from 2000-2002. In September 2003 Justa was appointed as one of four steering committee members for a new movement of First Nations organizations province-wide who united together to inform the government of their objections to sweeping amendments made to forest and land use legislation. Elmer Derrick, Executive Chair, North Central Region Elmer Derrick is a First Nations Hereditary Chief of Gitsegukla, one of seven communities of the Gitxsan Nation, and is Chief Negotiator for the Gitxsan Treaty Society. As a hereditary Chief of Gitsegukla, he holds the title of Yoobx. Derrick is past president of the First Peoples Heritage, Language and Culture Council and the First Peoples Cultural Foundation. His directorships include Gitxsan Resources Trust, Muks ko mol Housing Society, Gitsegukla Economic Development Corporation, BC Hydro Power Authority and Powerex Corporation. He also holds responsibility for the Gitxsan Nation as tribal owner representative in the Northern Native Fishing Corporation. Derrick has worked in the public service in B.C., Canada, and aboriginal organizations including the National Indian Brotherhood – Assembly of First Nations for many years. He has also been a lecturer at Northwest Community College where he taught economics and political science. Derrick served as a volunteer community member of the National Committee on Sustainable Development, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada for three successive reports to the Parliament of Canada. Derrick has a Bachelor of Education from the University of Alberta and a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University. His foundations in Gitxsan history, values and laws provide him with a unique perspective. Gerald Amos, Executive Council, Western Region In 1980 Gerald was elected Chief Councilor for Kitamaat Village and held this position for six consecutive two-year terms. In 1991 with the leadership of the Kitamaat Village Council and other community leaders, and together with Ecotrust the Haisla launched a unique campaign to resist the onslaught of commercial logging activities in the Greater Kitlope Ecosystem. During this time under Gerald's leadership and with the assistance of Ecotrust the Na na kila Institute was born. He is currently Chairperson of the Na na kila Institute Board. Since Gerald's tenure as chief, he has been an advisor to Chief and Council in Kitamaat primarily on the issues of pollution and intergovernmental relations. During the mid 1990's Gerald was elected to the First Nations Summit Task Group, and served a three-year term. He served as an Ecotrust and Ecotrust Canada founding Board member. He was employed as the Haisla Treaty Negotiating Team's Chief Negotiator for six years. In 1999 he was appointed to the NDP government's Parks Legacy Panel. He has also served as the Speaker for the B.C. Aboriginal Fisheries Commission, a senior First Nations organization dealing with fisheries and ocean resources both on at provincial and national levels.
Phillip “Jerry” Asp, Executive Council, North Central Region Jerry's background is business and mining. But he wears
many hats: Jerry started the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation in June 1985, to take advantage of the construction opportunities in the mining industry, and served as President and CEO until December 1993. In 1989, while he was President, the Tahltan Nation Development Corporation and the Tahltan Tribal Council jointly won the BC Environmental Award. April 25, 2003, Jerry was made acting president of the TNDC. In 1988, Jerry negotiated the first Impact and Benefits Agreement in B.C. between the owners of the Golden Bear Mine and the Tahltan Nation. TNDC has built roads into mines, built settling ponds, constructed mining operation sites, and contracted the open-pit mining in a joint venture with Grant Stewart Construction. TNDC became the largest Native-owned and operated heavy construction company in Western Canada. He served 3 years on the Whitehorse Mining Initiative
and in 1998, working with CAMA, critiqued the Canadian Environmental
Act for Natural Resources Canada. He also served 4 years on the BC Round
Table for the Environment and the Economy and was a member of the BC
Rail Board of Directors for 4 years.
Mel Bevan, Executive Council, Western Region Mel Bevan is from the Kitselas First Nation and holds the Hereditary Chieftains name “Sm’oogyt Satzan.” Mel has been Chief Negotiator for the Kitselas Treaty team since 1995. As Chief Negotiator, he is responsible for managing the treaty process for the Kitselas people, is chair and lead negotiator on the Tsimshian Governance Committee as well as lead negotiator for the Fisheries and Lands chapter. Prior to his position of Chief Negotiator, Mel held the position of Manager for various Bands, tribal and provincial organizations and Chief Councilor of Kitselas. Mel has been involved with many aboriginal organizations throughout northern British Columbia. His involvements include founder and past president of the Upper Skeena Community Law Society, founder and past president of the Lax Gels Community Law Society, past president of the Council of Tsimshian Nations and Tsimshian Tribal Council, founder of CFNR Radio and helped to establish Muks kum ol Housing Society while president of the Kermode Friendship Centre. Mel is a recipient of the Governor Generals Confederation Award for community service. His current activities include the National Centre for First Nations Governance, Director of the Northwest Tribal Treaty Society, chair of the Northwest Tribal Treaty Governance Committee and Advisory Board Member of the Financial Management Board.
Edmond Wright, Executive Council, Western Region Edmond Wright is Secretary Treasurer of the Nisga’a Lisims Government. He resides in New Aiyansh with his wife Millicent. They have three adult children and five grandchildren. His Nisga’a name is Sim’oogit K’amluugidis. Born in Gitlakdamix, he is a member of the Laxgibuu (Wolf) tribe, Gitwilnaak’il from the House of Duuk. Edmond attended Edmonton Indian Residential School (1959-1965) and returned to the Nass Valley in the fall of 1967. He was employed in the fishing industry, as a heavy equipment operator at a pulp mill, a construction labourer, and river man on a log drive operation and logger in the forest industry. He was employed as Band Manager and then Executive Director of the Gitlakdamix Band Council from January 1970 to December 1998, and was elected as a Trustee and later as Secretary Treasurer of the Nisga’a Tribal Council continuously from the mid 1970’s to October 2000. He was also a member of the Nisga’a Nation negotiating team that concluded the Nisga’a Final Agreement that came into effect on May 11, 2000. Edmond has twice been re-elected as Secretary Treasurer of Nisga’a Lisims Government, in 2000 and 2004. He serves as chairperson of the Nisga’a Finance Committee and the Nisga’a Capital Finance Commission, and is the Nisga’a Lisims Government representative on the Tripartite Finance Committee formed with Canada and British Columbia. He is also and ex officio member at all other Nisga’a Lisims Government Committees. He is president of the Board of the Northern Native Broadcasting (Terrace BC) – CFNR-FM Radio, Other areas of service include involvement in the founding of the Northern Native Fishing Corporation (NNFC) and Tribal Resources Investment Corporation (TRICORP) as well as several corporations owned by the Gitlakdamix Band (now known as New Aiyansh Village Government). He is a former member of the advisory committees of the First Citizens’ Fund, Special ARDA and 16/37 Community Futures. Edmond was former Registrar of the Anglican Diocese of Caledonia Executive Committee, and received an Honorary Diploma in the spring of 2000 from the Northwest Community College in recognition of community participation in the development of education.
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