Ashley Iserhoff is the son of Matthew and Annie N. Iserhoff. He is a member of the Cree Nation of Mistissini, and has two brothers, Matthew Jr. and Shawn Trevor.
He is currently serving his second term as the Deputy Grand Chief of the Grand Council of the Crees (Eeyou Istchee) and concurrently as Vice-Chairman of the Cree Regional Authority and James Bay Eeyou Corporation, which administers, manages and invests funds for the Cree Nation. Ashley is also presently the Chairman of the Hunting Fishing, Trapping Coordination Committee (HFTCC) and Chairman of the James Bay Advisory Committee on the Environment (JBACE).
Further, Ashley sits as Chairman of the Board of the Eeyou Communications Network (ECN) which is a non-profit telecommunications corporation that provides broadband carrier services for the Cree communities of Eeyou Istchee and municipalities of the James Bay region. He also sits on a number of other committees dealing with the implementation of various agreements signed between the Cree Nation and governments: Working Group on Addressing Poverty, Cree Nation Governance Working Group, and is on the Judicial Advisory Committee overseeing the implementation of the justice agreement.
He was the first Police Commissioner of the Eeyou Eenou Police Commission and helped establish the policies and guidelines for the implementation of the regionalization of the Eeyou Eenou Police Force which came into force in April 2011.
Deputy Grand Chief Iserhoff started in Cree politics at the age of fourteen when he was elected to the Mistissini Youth Council. Eventually he became the Youth Chief for the community of Mistissini. His dedication for youth issues, and community development led to his election of as a Councilor on the local band council from 1994-2002, and he also served as Deputy Chief of the Cree Nation of Mistissini.
In 1998, he was elected for four years as Youth Grand Chief/Chairman of the Cree Nation Youth Council (CNYC), an organization to empower Cree Youth by directly integrating and involving them at the local, regional, national and international levels of government. The CNYC prepares young leaders to assume their responsibilities as the leaders of the Cree Nation and beyond.
Ashley Iserhoff was part of the Organizing Committee and acted as President of the Inter-band Games in 1999 and 2010, which are competitive provincial games held for all Aboriginal Youth in Quebec. He is committed to encourage healthier lifestyles amongst youth, and believes physical activity leads to a more complete life.
Before his role as Deputy Grand Chief, Ashley Iserhoff was elected as a Councilor/ Director to the Grand Council of the Crees/Cree Regional Authority and was a member to the GCCEI/CRA Executive Committee. At the community level, Ashley has served on numerous committees and held senior and middle management positions in public administration, assisted and coordinated the many efforts of the development of his home community.
(Picture Right: Deputy Grand Chief Ashley Iserhoff (second from left) meeting with Cree Womens Association in Valdor on September 29th, 2007)
In September 2011, he was honoured and is the first Aboriginal person from Canada to be recognized by the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development (NCAIED). He was one the recipients of the 2011 Native American 40 Under 40, individuals recognized as part of the 36th Annual Indian Progress in Business Awards Event (INPRO). The Native American 40 Under 40 recognition highlights forty existing and emerging American Indian leaders under 40 years of age who have demonstrated leadership, initiative and dedication to achieve impressive and significant contributions in their businesses, communities and to Indian country.
Deputy Grand Chief Iserhoff resides in his home community of Mistissini. He is known for his keen sense of humour and continues volunteering in community events. He enjoys exercising, reading biographies on influential people in the world, and enjoys listening to the stories from Cree Elders.
He is also part of the Management of the Cree Nation Bears Hockey Club which oversees the Bantam CC and Midget AA teams.
He enjoys motivating and speaking with youth to help unlock their full potential, let their gifts shine to the world and live in a world where dreams do come true! He is positively influenced and supported greatly by his parents, his brothers and friends.
(In additional to his role as Chairman of the Board of Eeyou Communications Network, Mr. Iserhoff is currently Deputy Grand Chief of the Crees of Eeyou Istchee and is serving his second term.)
Delivered in
Chibougamau, April 12, 2010:
Today, we announce that Eeyou Istchee and the James Bay region are about to connect across the Digital Divide.
Usually, on the daily news, when we hear a mention of Broadband or the Digital Divide, the usual reaction among most in our community, is that this story is about them, not about us. Even though, like everyone else, we rush in to upgrade, to update and to refresh, somehow our telecommunications service has remained our weakest link. Fortunately for both the Cree and Jamesien communities, today we are here to announce that - finally -- help is on the way.
The Eeyou Communications Network, le Réseau de communications Eeyou, will connect the peoples, institutions and businesses of the North and enable a full range of telecommunications services. It will advance the ways our communities work and advance the work of our communities. ECN will be more than the delivery of telecommunications services. It is new technology with a social dimension. It can benefit future economic and social development, productivity and increased potential for the region. It is also about employment, about creating technical and management jobs. It will help create an environment where job-creation will reflect our innovative interests.
ECN means new jobs and new types of employment in the communities: computer engineering, LAN and networking management, software development, language development programming, opportunities for new business, support services and an avenue for experimental services and pilot projects.
This is a very high capacity, or as experts say, broadband system that will transport efficiently voice, video and data traffic over very long distances and use a unique network topology. We had to push the technology to its
limit with fiber optic spans up to 275 km without signal regeneration using wave division multiplexing. This approach will spin off in many ways. ECN will create high-skilled technical jobs in the region and will be a showcase for the development of other remote regions.
The ECN fibre-optic network will impact on education, on health services, on Internet, on video services, on mobile facilities, on public security, on economic development and on the future of our region. Above all, our goal is to bring northern Quebec to the same level of services as all urban regions of Canada and to eliminate the Digital Divide. It is important to us that the network serves the entire region, not just the Cree communities. The Cree population is a growing number, almost 15,000 and it is projected to reach 25,000 by the mid 2020s. We have young and growing families. Over 60 percent of our population is under 25 and this group is increasing. We need to create jobs, so that our young people can find a productive place in our society. We also need an atmosphere for new types of jobs for those who have not yet reached the job market.
ECN will connect 15 centres, 9 Cree communities, 5 Jamesiens localities to St-Felicien to access southern networks. This fibre-optic network will startup with 1400 km of telecom infrastructure to be in place by 2011. Eventually, it will reach out over 2400 km. In phase one, it will reach six Cree communities with fibre and the others with a fibre and microwave hybrid. Eventually we will have complete fiber optic rings to provide a full and robust network.
ECN is unique in more ways than one. It proves that a concerted common approach can be developed among parties that, in the past, have had opposing interests. This project signifies a successful partnership between the Crees and governments of Quebec and Canada, the Crees and Hydro- Quebec, the Crees and the Jamesien residents. It is a joint effort to treat 14 centres in our region with equal services and equal opportunity. It joins the education, health and social services with regional government into one Board. It is a service that represents the common interests of our region and as Chairman, I have worked closely with all major users of telecom services to make sure their present and future needs can be met.
Once the first phase is built, ECN will offer service providers in the South the capability to go North and connect beyond Eeyou Istchee and the James Bay area. It will connect us to St. Felicien for access to a range of service providers, Government services networks and scientific & educational networks. It will be a bridge to global markets. This is a
significant breakthrough in technology and we are proud to call it Eeyou.
Thank you.
Indigenous Youth Empowerment for a Borderless Region
22 indigenous youth from 4 countries in Central America shared their experiences and worked together towards the construction of a regional network of Indigenous Youth
Graduation Address for Special Needs Educators by Deputy Grand Chief Ashley Iserhoff
Deputy Grand Chief Iserhoff commemorated the occasion by remarking, "This will enhance a child's ability to interact within their family, community and school environments. The special needs educators training is important as it works with children with special needs who are having difficulties of a physical, intellectual, emotional or social nature."
Remarks of Deputy Grand Chief Ashley Iserhoff to the Cree Nation Regional and Business Conference
Deputy Grand Chief Iserhoff told the Conference, "Let us be a little different and not always think of the profit for our companies, but help and build our young entrepreneurs who want to be part of our growing economy."
Opening of Anjabowa Daycare Facilities, Remarks by Deputy Grand Chief Ashley Iserhoff
Deputy Grand Chief Ashley Iserhoff marked the occasion by stating that, "As the community grows, so does the need for services such as daycare facilities. With a large youth population, and increasing numbers of opportunities for employment, education and training in the communities it is important to have facilities that allow for our people to participate more in them. In the past four years, we have doubled the amount of spaces in the community daycare centers."
Deputy Grand Chief Ashley Iserhoff Speaks at Secondary V Graduation Luke Metaweskum School, Nemaska, Eeyou Istchee
Deputy Grand Chief Iserhoff told the graduates, "Dare to dream big, as then big things can happen in your life."
Deputy Grand Chief Ashley Iserhoff's Speaks at Graduation
Deputy Grand Chief Iserhoff told the Secondary V Graduation Waapihtiiwewan School in Ouje-bougoumou, "Graduating is about investing in ourselves and opening doors to many new opportunities."
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