Joss's blog

HI Everyone,

I am starting up my blog again, this time a little bit longer term.

I am very excited to say that my first few blogs will be as a volunteer for the Olympics. I applied approximately two years ago and went through two rounds of interviews and finally got a position. I am staying with a friend here in Vancouver and I had to find my own way out here, but so far it's been great. But I have been thinking a lot lately, both before I got here and until now about what my participation means.

It would be foolish to think that the Olympic games are the picture perfect package that many marketers, the IOC, VANOC, and anyone else involved with these Games would like it to be. There has been tremendous and detrimental impact on the environment (land and eco-systems) around the areas where the games will be taking place, huge impact on people living in poverty in regards to services, housing and even basic freedoms (such as free speech, freedom of association and mobility). Security is extremely tight. Any type of non-sponsor logo or label is required to be covered up and some businesses in the area are being negatively affected by the road closures and barricades being placed near their businesses that affect the traffic flow they are used to.

These things are not lost on me. I think the culmination of what I was feeling occurred yesterday. I took the bus through East Hastings on my way to pick up my volunteer uniform. I drove by so many of my own people and wondered if I was doing the right thing...

NAN Chiefs Meeting

So, it seems I’m way behind on my updates. My apologies. Well the summer is now over. I had a lot of adventures in August that I want to tell you all about.

I attended the Nishnawbe Aski Nation Keewaywin Conference which was held in Chapleau, ON. Every year, the Keewaywin Conference takes place in a different NAN community. Just so happens that Chapleau happens to be the town that I mostly grew up in. It was good to see a mix of my work world and my personal world. Good in the sense that I felt really good being back home and I felt a sense of pride in telling people I was there on behalf of the NAN Decade for Youth Council.

Newly elected National Chief Shawn Atleo made the trek to Chapleau as well. I wonder what he thought of the place? He comes from a small community in BC with no road access, so he probably didn’t think Chapleau was that small. Most NAN Chiefs probably didn’t think Chapleau was that small.

I was in Niagara Falls (again) recently for the National Association of Friendship Centres Annual Youth Forum. I have been attending this forum for the last 9 years as a youth representative for my local Friendship Centre, President of the Aboriginal Youth Council and as a staff member of the NAFC. This year I was participating as the co-MC along with my good friend Rob Rittwage from Kingston, ON.

It felt really good to be asked to come back. So much of my life has revolved around this Youth Council and it really has been a positive experience.

I started when I was about 17 years old as someone who just came into the Timmins Native Friendship Centre. It was just a place where there was usually something to do. I started by volunteering as a receptionist, worked as the youth program assistant over a summer, then I ended up as the youth rep on the board of directors and started representing the centre at different provincial and national meetings with Friendship Centres.

9 years later, it’s great to see the Youth Council so strong and working hard to try and address the needs of Urban Aboriginal youth in Canada. I felt proud and honoured that they wanted me to come back to share some of my experiences and participate in the Forum.

-Jocelyn Formsma

I participated in one of my favourite activities: Camping. Some friends and I went out to one of the Provincial Parks near Ottawa, which is nothing like camping in the bush. There were flush toilets just a short walk away, you aren’t allowed to cut down trees and have to buy your wood from the store (which comes in a bag), you have to get a license to catch fish... It seems so much different then how I learned to camp growing up.

We still had a lot of fun though. We went horseback riding at a ranch nearby, exploring caves at the Bonnechere Caves and it reminded me a little bit of the Goonies, if you have ever seen that movie. It was a great weekend and we ended it by having a drive on the backroads of the Ottawa valley with some great tunes, great weather and the windows rolled down.

Great friends are really important to have. If nothing else, it’s just nice to have people you can truly be yourself around.

-Jocelyn Formsma

I have been spending some time with my grandfather and it’s been a really great experience. My grandfather is from the Netherlands and he’s 86 years old. I’ve been learning a lot about the importance of family and about getting older.

He had to go for an operation two weeks ago. It was a small and routine procedure, but he was really nervous about it. He didn’t really have a good experience with the last one he had and ended up really sick. With him getting so old, it’s harder for him to get better from being sick. I was glad to be there with him though, I think it meant a lot.

Being young, I sometimes take it for granted that I will get older. I get so busy in my life and I forget sometimes to check in with my grandfather. He tells me he gets bored a lot. He reads books, does puzzles, goes on day trips, goes out on his boat, things like that, which is good – but I think he thinks I don’t think about him. Really it’s the opposite. I should write more often and I should go visit more often. I like hanging out with him. He’s a really funny guy and knows a lot and I don’t know how much more time I will get to just sit and talk. So, I’m going to try and get better at keeping in touch. Even just to say hello.

- Jocelyn Fromsma

Hey SEVEN Readers!

It’s Jocelyn again. Thanks for checking out my blog over the summer. Last week I talked about how I took the summer off for myself. This week I want to tell you more about why and what I plan to do with my time.

As for why, well, I’ve been working for as long as I can remember. Summer jobs, part-time contracts, full-time positions, and when I wasn’t working, I was volunteering for other things. It’s been hard to take time for myself. I like music, movies, writing, and I’ve been slacking on exercise and I think this summer is my opportunity to explore those things.

So, this summer I will be going to Niagara Falls for the National Congress of American Indians mid-year conference, then spending some time visiting my grandfather in Bobcaygeon, then Timmins to see my dad and sisters. In July I will be going back to Niagara Falls for the National Association of Friendship Centre’s Youth Forum, then to Prince George, BC to facilitate a youth train-the-trainer. Then in August, I will be going back to Chapleau before jetting off to the Netherlands with my grandfather, uncle and other members from my dad’s side of the family.

When I’m not travelling, I want to actually focus on some creative writing, start a regular exercise routine to get healthy. I can’t wait!

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to my summer blog! Thanks to our partners at Seven Youth Media Network for all their hard work. I’m Jocelyn Formsma. 26 years old from NAN. I grew up in Chapleau, but my family is from Moose Factory and I lived in Timmins for a number of years while in high school. I am now living in Ottawa, going into school at the University of Ottawa.

I took the summer off this year, which was a really hard decision. I had a great job working with the First Nations Child and Family Caring Society (www.fncfcs.com), which is a wonderful organization that works hard for the rights of First Nations children. However, I listened to my elders, my mentors and my heart when they said that you always need to make sure that you take time for yourself. So I did. It worked out that I could afford to cover my expenses such as rent, car payments/insurance, cell phone and internet and the rest of the time is mine.

I look forward to this summer. A lot of high expectations. It’ll be interesting to see what actually happens.