OUJE-BOUGOUMOU, QC, July 20, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - The Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation is pleased to announce that Goldcorp has made a $250,000 contribution to the Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation's Securing the Future fundraising campaign. The funds will be part of an endowment that will support the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute, the central museum and cultural institute of the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee. The funds will be used to make strategic acquisitions for Aanischaaukamikw's collection of artifacts and to secure its long-term sustainability. The announcement was made at an event yesterday, attended by Grand Chief Dr. Matthew Coon Come, Ouje-Bougoumou Chief Curtis Bosum, Dr. Abel Bosum, community members and representatives of Goldcorp.
"Goldcorp is pleased to further our relationship with the Cree by supporting Aanischaaukamikw, which is key to the Crees' efforts to preserve, study and share their culture, language and history more broadly," said Brent Bergeron, Goldcorp Executive Vice President of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability. "Our work at Goldcorp has been profoundly influenced by our relationships with First Nations and specifically the Cree, and we believe Aanischaaukamikw provides an ideal resource for Canadians to learn more about Cree culture and history."
Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come commented, "I was pleased to learn of Goldcorp's very generous donation to the Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation for the benefit of Aanischaaukamikw. This is a testament to the strong relationship between Goldcorp and the Crees, adding philanthropic support to our strong partnership for economic development and job creation in Eeyou Istchee."
"I would like to thank Goldcorp for its major contribution to the Securing the Future campaign," stated Dr. Abel Bosum, President of the Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation. "The Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation will steward these funds and assure that they are used to grow Aanischaaukamikw's capacity to deliver high-quality cultural programs for the benefit of our Cree people and to share our culture with the world. The Foundation will continue its work to strengthen private-sector support for Aanischaaukamikw and other charitable projects in Eeyou Istchee."
About Goldcorp
Goldcorp is a global senior gold producer focused on responsible mining practices with safe, low-cost production from a high-quality portfolio of mines. Its Eleonore mine, located in the James Bay Region of Quebec, commenced production in 2015.
In February 2011, Goldcorp Inc., the Cree Nation of Wemindji, the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) and the Cree Nation Government signed the Opinagow agreement, providing a road map for a collaborative relationship regarding the development and operation of Goldcorp's Éléonore mine in Eeyou Istchee, while respecting Cree traditional activities and ensuring the promotion of Cree economic and social development in a mutually beneficial manner.
About Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute
Aanischaaukamikw flows from the knowledge that Cree culture must be captured, maintained, shared, celebrated, and practiced. Cree Elders have spoken of the need for a central place for the protection of "the ways", and have developed a vision for Aanischaaukamikw over several decades.
Aanischaaukamikw is the realization of that vision. It is the Crees' primary location for preservation of documents, media, and physical objects, designed for preservation, conservation, and knowledge transfer.
More than anything, it is a living, breathing symbol of the James Bay Crees' determination to preserve and share the stories and legends, the music, the pictures, and the physical objects that show this First Nations people's unique interaction with the land, expressed through hunting, fishing, trapping, and underscored with a reverence for the land they have walked for 7000 years. (www.creeculturalinstitute.ca)
About the Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation
Governed by a Board of Directors composed of Cree leaders and business people, the Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation is a non-profit corporation with charitable status granted by the Canada Revenue Agency. The Foundation's Board members include Dr. Abel Bosum, President; Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come; Dr. Ted Moses, OQ; Ms. Bella Petawabano; and Ms. Kathleen Wootton.
Originally named the Aanischaaukamikw Foundation, the Foundation managed the Sharing the Ways fundraising campaign, which raised $25.6 million for the development and construction of the Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute.
Following the success of the Sharing the Ways campaign the Foundation saw the potential for philanthropic support for a wide range of Cree charitable activities. As a result the Foundation has transitioned to become the Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation and is broadening its mandate and fundraising reach in order to increase its support for Cree social and cultural development goals throughout Eeyou Istchee.
SOURCE Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee)
Image with caption: "Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute, Ouje-Bougoumou, Qc. (CNW Group/Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160720_C4165_PHOTO_EN_738726.jpg
Image with caption: "(left to right) Abel Bosum, President of Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation; Brent Bergeron, Executive Vice-President Goldcorp; Sarah Pashagumskum, Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute; Grand Chief Matthew Coon Come, Cree Nation Government; Curtis Bosum, Chief of Ouje-Bougoumou Cree Nation (CNW Group/Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee))". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20160720_C4165_PHOTO_EN_738728.jpg
Brent Bergeron, Executive Vice President, Corporate Affairs and Sustainability, Goldcorp, Tel.: (604) 696-3024; Abel Bosum, President, Eenou-Eeyou Community Foundation, Tel.: (514) 774-7077; Sarah Pashagumskum, Executive Director, Aanischaaukamikw Cree Cultural Institute, Tel.: (418) 745-2444, ext. 2022
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