Day One: Tuesday, October 5th, 2010

5:30-8:00 Welcome and Dinner

Lydia Hwitsum (Xtli'liye)
Chief, Cowichan Tribes
Lydia Hwitsum is the current Chief of Cowichan Tribes, a First Nations Band comprised of nine villages in the Cowichan Valley, and currently the largest Coast Salish Tribe in British Columbia. Chief Hwitsum served as elected Chief of Cowichan Tribes for two terms, from 1997 to 2001 and was again elected as the Chief of Cowichan Tribes in 2007. She also served a two-year term, from 2002 - 2004, as an elected member of the BC First Nations Summit, Political Executive.
Chief Hwitsum studied at the University of Victoria, where she graduated in 1997 earning her Certificate in the Administration of Aboriginal Government and Diploma in Public Sector Management. She has studied Native Law at the University of Saskatchewan and has training in Conflict Resolution at the Justice Institute of BC. She lobbies internationally for Indigenous issues and advocates for retention of traditional languages, self-governance, Aboriginal and human rights, and youth.

Colin Harivel
Manager Strategic Planning Unit, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada
Colin Harivel was born in Australia and immigrated to Canada to attend UBC in geology. He worked in Australia the United States and Canada in mineral exploration geology to 1990. Colin shifted focus to advocacy in land use planning and spent 10 years facilitating and mediating land use planning and natural resource dispute resolution exercises, while based in Smithers, B.C. Colin provided strategic planning and other management consulting services to businesses, governments and not-for-profit organizations, and in one case became the managing director for a manufacturer of innovative pickup truck accessories.
Colin began working in Vancouver with INAC in economic development programs in 2002, with emphasis on forestry, shellfish aquaculture and eco-tourism, and became Manager, Strategic Planning in 2005, with emphasis on co-ordinating BC Region commitment to support comprehensive community planning. Colin no longer owns a dog.

Nathan Matthew
Workshop Facilitator, Simpcw First Nation
Nathan Matthew is a Secwepemc First Nations resource person involved with First Nations community development for the last thirty-five years. He served 20 years on the Simpcw First Nation Band Council, 17 as chief, and is an education advisor and negotiator to the B.C. First Nations. Nathan is currently the Executive Director of Aboriginal Education at the Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops.

Timothy Corey
Workshop Graphic Recorder, Advanced Approach
Timothy Corey is breaking new ground using methodologies that touch multiple senses. He attentively listens, internalizes the information at hand, reads between the lines, and graphically communicates a vision. The end result is the ability to offer intuitive insight that his clients find uncanny while helping individuals and organizations create more responsive strategies for communication and support.
With an international reputation, Tim has provided organizational development services for over 100 companies both for-profit and non-profit organizations, including community groups, governmental organizations, schools and forward-thinking companies. Tim has been involved with the Coast Salish Gatherings the past four years and works to support the work to restore the health of the Salish Sea. He is passionate about serving others, so it’s no surprise that Tim’s background includes 26 years experience working in human service systems that support people with disabilities and their families. He is also a certified mediator and executive coach.