Community Profile:
Assumption


RCMP plane "MPY" on the grass airstrip in Assumption


The community of Assumption is located on the Hay Lake Indian Reserve #209. It is a First Nations community composed almost entirely of status Native Indians. Those residents who do not have status are primarily the teachers, nurses and RCMP members and their families. The Assumption community has a population of approximately 1200 people.


Looking north toward the Main Townsite area of Assumption - Summer 1990

The traditional income source was from trapping of fur bearing animals. While this is still a popular source of employment for some, many are employed by the band administration and perform various jobs which ensure the continued development of the community of Assumption. Social assistance and related programs are available to those who are otherwise unable to seek and maintain employment. The community is governed by a Band Council and related administrative departments. The collection of administrators is referred to as "The Band". The Band is an organization which employs many people on the reserve in various positions. The Band also runs and employs the staff of the local nursing station and the Dene Tha Community School.

The aforementioned employment areas seem to be constant. The Band encourages members of the reserve to get specialized technical training (ie. medical administration courses, natural gas installation & maintenance, etc...). With this type of training the individual person is given a position with the Band that will put their talents to the best use for the community as a whole. The North Peace Tribal Council is supporting a program with the RCMP and the Dene Tha Band to hire and employ several local persons as police officers. These people would become Police Officers with the North Peace Tribal Police and would work in Assumption with the RCMP. This program is still in the preliminary stages. The Band creates new positions and terminates other positions as required. Some of these positions are seasonal in nature, which will result in workers switching responsibilities as the seasons, and needs of the community, change. Much of the work with the gas and logging companies is seasonal or temporary although year-round work is available.

Since the people of Assumption are First Nations they have many social and cultural activities which are also seasonal in nature.

Hunting is a part of the native way of life and is done at different times of the year. Hunting ducks for example reaches its height in autumn as there aren't many around in February!!! There are also many other social events which occur on a regular basis. The Band sponsors dances on a regular basis at the Band office. These gatherings are large social gatherings and have a very large turnout. In Assumption there no bars or other meeting areas that are open to group assembly on a drop in basis so the dances are a social highlight punctuated by a live band and lots of celebration. The youth in the community do have a drop-in centre which is quite well attended. This drop-in centre has many things for the youth to do which are productive and entertaining. The Dene Tha People have traditional Tea-Dances which serve a dual purpose of social gathering and spiritual worship. These Tea-Dances are held when the weather allows. There are offerings of tobacco which are burnt as offering to the Great Creator. There are traditional drummers and everybody is encouraged to dance, including invited guests. Sometimes the Tea-Dances will start with a general feast for the community. Tea-Dances will usually have a series of hand-games as an additional event at the dance. This is a traditional native game played with two equal teams of varying numbers of participants. The game is designed to test the guessing and betting skills of the two teams. These games usually attract a large crowd of interested onlookers. Because of the many missionaries who have come to the native people of the region with the original European settlers the local population have generally been converted to the Roman Catholic faith. This faith has been altered to incorporate much of the Dene Tha original faith and culture. Even so the local Roman Catholic Church, Our Lady of Assumption, has a weekly attendance of around 40 people. These are the main social and religious activities which affect all of the people in Assumption.

The youth of Assumption have many influences affecting their decisions and futures. Many of the youth are caught between the traditional native way of living and modern culture.

There is a high drop-out rate from highschool. There are many children and youth with a bright outlook towards the future and there are youth from the Assumption area who are attending universities in the south and planning on professional careers. However, these individuals would be in the minority as many of the youth choose to remain in Assumption where there are limited opportunities.

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