Reconciliation Road

Welcome to Reconciliation Road! My guest for our third episode is none other than Chief Sharleen Gale. Chief Gale has been an elected Councillor of the Fort Nelson First Nation since 2009. She is an active Indigenous leader, a member of the Fort Nelson First Nation, and envisions a future where all members are working together to become a strong, proud, healthy, and self-reliant Nation. 

 She is the grand-daughter of Fred Burke and Madeline Needlay. Her roots run deep in the lives of her people and she enjoys being on the land with her family exploring the territory and teaching her son the traditional ways on the lands and how to hunt, fish, and gather medicines and berries. 

Chief Gale enjoys being out on the land with her family, exploring the territory, and teaching her son the traditional ways of how to hunt, fish, and gather medicines and berries during the seasonal rounds. 

As a leader and Chief of the Nation, she understands the importance of a upholding the spirit and intent of the treaty by asserting her peoples’ rights to their land and taking responsibility for ensuring that our future generations are able to live their lives in their territory in a way that honours our ancestors. 

Sharleen started her career in oil and gas working at the Fort Nelson gas plant in 1999 and she is currently on leave  while she leads her Nation. Her various roles working in Administration, Finance, Maintenance, Planning and in Leadership have given her extensive experience in the oil and gas sector, the corporate world and the vision to ensure our people are managing our lands and our resources in our territory to the benefit of our members. 

Chief Gale is the Chair of the Deh Tai Corporation – the Nation’s economic arm to prosperity. Her people are looking at ways in which their economic development holdings can be diversified. This diversification is being pursued through a major geothermal electricity project and a partnership with Peak Renewables to diversify the forest industry in their territory.

Dedicated to public service has always been a value of importance to Chief Gale and in 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada, she was asked by Premier Horgan to serve on the BC Government Economic Recovery Task Force. As the only Indigenous leader named to the Task Force, this opportunity has her serving alongside other leaders in BC’s business community providing guidance and advice to the Premier and senior officials within the BC government concerning the economic recovery of the province during these unprecedented times.  

Her experience in public service, as a professional working in the energy sector, and as an Indigenous community leader has provided her with a broad range of perspectives, knowledge, and depth on the interplay between Indigenous peoples and the energy sector in Canada.

Sharleen is also the chair of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) and believes that First Nations need to have the opportunity to have equity in major project infrastructure and access to meaningful financing for these projects happening in their territories. One that focuses on a balance approach of economic prosperity and environmental stewardship. 

Several First Nations have formed the First Nations Major Projects Coalition for the purposes of examining how ownership of major resource projects on their lands could be facilitated and how environmental practices can be improved to meet their needs. The work of the First Nations Major Projects Coalition is directed through feedback received from the First Nations participating in the Coalition.

On May 27, 2021, I had the pleasure of interviewing Grand Chief Steven Point for his keynote address for the Indigenous Partnerships Success Showcase hosted by Resource Works on May 27 and June 4. The Indigenous Partnerships Showcase was held virtually in response to growing demand for practical guidance on how Indigenous communities and their enterprise partners can work together, in common purpose, for shared success.

Grand Chief Point really needs no introduction but for those of you who do not know the Grand Chief here is his bio…

The Honourable Steven Lewis Point served as the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia from 2007 to 2012. He is a member of the Skowkale First Nation, where he served as elected chief at the age of 23. He graduated from the University of British Columbia with a law degree in 1985.

He practiced law as a partner in the firm of Point and Shirley, and then worked for the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs and in the Refugee Department of the Department of Employment and Immigration.

In 1991, he became the director of the First Nations Legal Studies program at the UBC Faculty of Law. From 1994 to 1999, he was tribal chair of the Stó:lō Nation and Grand Chief of Stó:lō Tribal Council. He was appointed a provincial court judge in 1999 based in Abbotsford, but his duties took him throughout the province. In 2005, Steven Point was appointed chief commissioner of the British Columbia Treaty Commission.

In 2007, he was named the province's 28th lieutenant governor. In that role, he took a special interest in inspiring young people towards their chosen path. He served as lieutenant governor with grace, candor and good humour. In 2014 he was re-appointed a provincial court judge and he retired from office in 2018.

Steven Point has an outstanding record of service to the people of British Columbia. He advocated for First Nations people throughout his career, pressing for greater recognition of their contributions and their fuller involvement in all aspects of life in British Columbia.

He received the Queen Elizabeth II Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals and the Order of British Columbia. In 2000, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of the Fraser Valley and in 2016 received the Order of Chilliwack.

He is known for his love of music, his commitment to his community, dedication to the legal profession, dedication to land rights, and for encouraging the revival of traditional singing and dance for the Stó:lō Nation.

At the core of all that we do is change and change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better. 

Let’s have a listen to Grand Chief Point’s encouraging and inspiring keynote…

Welcome to Reconciliation Road! I am your host, Dan George. I am member of the Gilseyhu Clan (Big Frog – Thin House) of the Wet’suwet’en people and the President/CEO of Four Direction Management Services. 

Here on Reconciliation Road, we seek to build bridges of better understanding with the hopes of creating a markedly different future for our children and grandchildren than the often painful memories of our Elders. 

In my career as the CEO/President of Four Directions Management Services, I am privileged to work with amazing leaders all across British Columbia and Canada who are advancing the positions of Indigenous peoples in all kinds of ways. As an accredited facilitator who works to create safe, respectful containers for rich and meaningful dialogue to occur, I specialize in create bridges understanding between different groups of people.

I am starting this podcast so that I can share these conversations with everyone. Reconciliation Road is a journey towards a greater understanding for reconciling the competing values and viewpoints of Indigenous Peoples, Industry, and the Crown. With each episode, I aim to lead you through conversations with game-changers, inspiring leaders, and movers and shakers in my effort to strengthen our most valuable and transformational relationships in this country – those with Indigenous Peoples. 

Reconciliation is a journey, not a destination. The road to reconciliation is a long and winding one with many stops along the way. When we come together, great things happen. Thank you for joining me on this journey!