WINNIPEG – The Aboriginal Peoples Television Network has named a new board chair and added five new members to the board of directors.
Former APTN vice-chair and member-appointed NNBY Director, Shirley Adamson, will serve as incoming APTN Chair. Adamson replaces the outgoing Judy Gingell, who has served on the APTN board since 2001.
"I look forward to using my years of training by Aboriginal leaders in the Yukon and Canada, as well as the years spent as a journalist and broadcaster, to advance the commitment of the APTN Board to continue building Canada¹s premier aboriginal television network so that it is comparable to any other national network," said Adamson in a release.
A member of the Ta’an Kwach¹an Council, Adamson has spent most of her career working in Aboriginal politics, getting her start in 1975 on the Executive of the Yukon Association of Non-status Indians. She eventually moved to the communications sector, working nine years as an announcer-operator with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Northern Native Broadcasting.
She returned to politics first as a Communications Advisor for the Council of Yukon Indians, then as its Self-Government Coordinator. She accepted an appointment as the Chairperson of the Ta’an Kwach¹an Council where she acted in the capacity of Chief, and also as Self-Government negotiator. In 1995, Adamson was appointed by the Yukon Chiefs to the position of Yukon Vice-Chief with the Assembly of First Nations.
The next year she was elected to the Office of Grand Chief of the Council of Yukon First Nations for a three year term. She is currently affiliated with J.W. Hays Consulting and is on contract as the Chief Executive Officer of Northern Native Broadcasting. She is a Governor with the University of the Arctic, a Director for the 2007 Whitehorse Canada Winter Games Host Society, a trustee with the Yukon First Nations Aboriginal Languages Trust, and acting President of the Arctic Circle of Indigenous Communicators.
Five Directors were also elected or re-elected to serve three-year terms from year 2006 to year 2009. The recruitment of a sixth position for the PEI Region has been extended to allow the recruitment committee to approach the aboriginal communities in that province a second time.
Newly Elected Members:
* Donna Wuttunee – Southern Alberta
* Allan Adam – Southern Saskatchewan
* Kerry Assiniwe – Southern Ontario (re-elected)
* Donna Noonan – Southern Quebec
* Michelle Baikie – Southern Newfoundland/Labrador (re-elected)
* Vacant – Southern PEI
Returning Members:
* Brian Smith ¬ Nova Scotia Region ¬ APTN Treasurer
* Linda J. Simon ¬ New Brunswick Region ¬ APTN Secretary
* Madeleine Adams ¬ Nunavut Region ¬ Member appointed IBC
* Joachim Bonnetrouge ¬ Northwest Territories Region ¬ Member appointed NCS
* Deborah Ann Charles ¬ Saskatchewan Region ¬ Member appointed MBC
* Christine Chisel ¬ Ontario Region ¬ Member appointed Wawatay
* Topsy Cockney ¬ Northwest Territories Region ¬ Member appointed ICS
* Shirley Adamson, Yukon Region, Member appointed NNBY, APTN Chairperson
* Sammy Duncan ¬ Quebec Region ¬ Member appointed TNI
* David McLeod ¬ Manitoba Region ¬ Member appointed NCI
* Karen Prentice ¬ Labrador Region ¬ Member appointed OKS
* Chris Robertson ¬ British Columbia Region ¬ Director at large
* Daniel Vandal ¬ Manitoba Region ¬ Director at large
* Sarah Beaulne ¬ Quebec Region – Member appointed KSB
The network also welcomes Mr. Bert Crowfoot of the Aboriginal Multi-Media Society of Alberta (AMMSA) who will serve in the 21st board rotation seat (one-year term).
APTN is governed by a 21-member board of directors representing all regions of Canada and is comprised of Aboriginal Peoples. The board sets policy and direction for the network and guides its mission to open a window on the reality of the lives, cultures, languages and history of our Aboriginal Peoples.
