First Nations Leadership and Governance Association hopes to mentor the next generation

The founder of a new non-profit is hoping the organization can help First Nations people who want to run for office at various levels of government. Michael Moses says he noticed a gap in support when he was running for a seat on council with the city of Williams Lake, British Columbia. “We’ve been taught for years or decades now that the way that we can be public servants to our communities is through our band council,” Moses tells APTN News. “And we’re affected by a lot more governments than that. Right from federal government to provincial to our municipality’s regional directors, right to school trustees that are in control of how our kids are being taught. All of these governments are places where we need to have First Nations views at the table.” Moses says the First Nations Leadership and Governance Association grew out of his successful campaign and the work done by president Thomas Schoen on his behalf. “The idea started in a circle of friends who met every Friday. We kept talking about how difficult it is for Indigenous people to break into politics, no matter the level. Out of those conversations grew this organization,” Schoen says in a news release. “Michael brought his lived experience, and I brought 30 years of work with First Nations communities.” Moses says initially what they’d like to do is teach people about all the different public offices they can run for. “We’d like to train the candidates how to win those elections,” Moses says. “We’d really like to provide a service to help First Nations achieve their goals in a scenario where there isn’t very much training or information available to us.” Moses says in the Williams Lake region, the youth have had a lot of things to say during the last few municipal elections he’s been involved in. “A lot of our support was from First Nations youth who really wanted to make sure their best interests and their views were taken into account. And that gives me a lot of hope we’ll have First Nations voices at multiple different tables in the future.” Continue Reading