Update on the 2.5 day Open Space with the Katzie First Nation

[Chris Corrigan]

We had some media coverage, from a skeptical local newspaper publisher
who stayed for the whole three days (my favourite kind of skeptic):



>From the Maple Ridge - Pitt Meadows Bugel
Volume 5, Number 13, Wednesday February 12, 2003
Page 2.

Editorial: Building Bonds of Friendship

When you work at a newspaper, every so often you have the opportunity to
attend an event that you know is pretty important. The cool thing about
owning a newspaper is that once in a blue moon you get to actually
participate in such an event.

That was the case for me last week when I was invited by Katzie First
Nation treaty negotiator Debbie Miller to take part in a forum designed
to build bridges between her people and the two communities surrounding
their traditional lands.

I jumped at the opportunity to learn more about Katzie treaty
negotiations and aspirations but, as I admitted after the three-day
event, I was pretty skeptical about the format of the forum - something
they call open space technology.

To me, it sounded like one of those jargon-filled activities people do
when they don't really plan to accomplish anything meaningful.

Needless to say I was wrong, and pleasantly surprised to be so.

So what did we do? Well, for two days we talked. We created an agenda
from the issues individuals felt were important and then we talked...
and we talked... and we talked some more.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to listen for seven or eight hours
straight? Apparently I spend too much time flapping my gums because when
it comes to marathon listening sessions I found it exhausting.
Exhilarating, but exhausting. In fact, I was in bed by 11 p.m. every
night I was so tired. Now that's unusual...just ask Maggie.

On the third day, however, we created action plans...things that we were
going to do to spread the word, to raise awareness, to improve
communications, to build business relationships, to preserve our joint
heritage, to develop bonds of trust.

In short, we built relationships.  Yes, relationships... between Natives
and non-Natives.

The Katzie have extended the hand of friendship to the communities of
Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge. They know they'll never get anywhere in
terms of settling their governance and land claim issues if they
approach treaty negotiations in a negative, hostile fashion.

They know they have to live with their neighbours just as those living
next to them must get along with the Katzie people.

What impressed me most was that people supposedly from opposite sides of
the treaty negotiation table could sit down side by side and work
amicably towards building the bridges necessary to bring closure to the
negotiations some day.

That day is a long way off, but in the meantime it certainly doesn't
hurt to get to know your neighbours.

Robert Prince
Publisher
Contact The Bugel:
P.O. Box 392 Maple Ridge, BC V2X 8K9
Phone 604.463.8686
Fax 604.463.8426
Email . arcadia at intergate.ca
Web . www.bugelonline.com



---
CHRIS CORRIGAN
Consultation - Facilitation
Open Space Technology

Bowen Island, BC, Canada
http://www.chriscorrigan.com
chris at chriscorrigan.com

*
*
==========================================================
OSLIST at LISTSERV.BOISESTATE.EDU
------------------------------
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options,
view the archives of oslist at listserv.boisestate.edu,
Visit:

http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html