The Gitxsan along with their Wet'suwet'en neighbours are famous for creating the longest running land claims court case in Canadian history. They are also famous for the Delgamuukw Decision of December 11, 1997. They have an extensive legal collection that requires similarly sophisticated methods of tracking exhibits and legal references as with SLDF and WCEL. They also have long experience in engaging in running legal battles with the province over infringement of aboriginal rights due to logging and other development. For these information management needs, their librarian, Kathy Holland, uses a variety of software and physical filing systems. For this review, I will concentrate only on the referrals database program, "Simgigyet's Information System", or SIS for short. Simgigyet is the Gitxsan word for their hereditary Chiefs. As the Gitxsan's main technical information manager and librarian, Kathy was able to provide me with a user's experience in data entry and general problem-solving associated with the SIS.

They saw that both the threat and opportunity referrals presented had to be regconised and dealt with. This overall need is broken down into several kinds of smaller needs. They have to determine whose territory proposed logging is taking place on. They have to determine what kind of development is being proposed, and what its potential impact will be. They need to calculate the approximate value of the logging and any deadlines imposed. They need to track every comment the House Chiefs make in every consultation meeting, every piece of correspondence, and every phone call. They need to track the different stages each development goes through.They also saw a need to track referrals that were being sent to various locations with no central continuity or consistency of replies.

In general, the Gitxsan needed to track all referrals in considerable depth assessing both the impacts and the opportunities inherent in forestry development.

To meet the various needs, the Gitxsan Treaty Office negotiated a contract with the Ministry of Forests for funding for a consultation coordinator. They required that all referrals go to this one person, who would track referrals and information, and who would assist House Chiefs with consultation meetings. For years, this person was Myrtle Muldoe. At the time of writing this article, I am not sure if there is anybody filling this position at the moment. But having one person designated as the consultation coordinator made a big difference for the Gitxsan in controlling the flow of meetings, letters, documents, referral packages, and other related documents, rather than being controlled by them. Myrtle was a big part of the overall system of document filing and general tracking.

The Gitxsan chose to have a custom ACCESS database created to track all the various aspects of data the referals provided. There really were two basic questions which underlay the database's creation: "What is the potential impact to XXX's territory?", and "What are the possible benefits to XXX's House members?".

Kathy reported that in its current form, the SIS database program works pretty well to track all the information management needs listed above. It has undergone several revisions, and she hopes the next one will allow for more data entry options, such as a more extensive pick list of harvesting methods, and better report printing capabilities for complex queries such as volume/territory calculations. Like the WCEL case, this model has the advantages of being custom-designed to specifically fulfil the Gitxsan's need to manage referrals in considerable depth.

The database programmer for this was Larry Joseph, a Wet'suwet'en Forestry major at UBC. Among his many other skills, Larry designs custom databases. Ecotrust Canada is considering finding a way to commission Larry to design a generic database, based on the SIS model, which could be downloaded from our web site as part of the Referrals Toolbox. If you feel strongly enough about this idea, you could drop us a line, indicating your interest in having us take on a project like this. Enough of an interest shown across the province would help us find the funding necessary to develop a really good piece of software that all BC's First Nations could use.

Copyright © 2002 - Sliammon First Nation & Ecotrust Canada

I spoke with with Chris Heald, the systems administrator, and website and publications coordinator at West Coast EnvironmentalLlaw (WCEL) (www.wcel.org). Like the SLDF, WCEL is an organisation with several departments, chief of which is its legal department. Chris outlined three primary needs that drive their data organisation and tracking. Chris gave me a lot of analytical background outlining why WCEL has taken the approach it has.

Their first need is to provide a means of public access to their legal library. They require a system that lets users find relevant documents, in much the same way a local public library does. Users typically have one or two topics in mind when they begin their searches, so this need is modified by having to help users refine their searches quickly and accurately. It has to be a system that is simple, yet robust enough to stand up to repeated use by people with widely varying computer skills.

Their second need is to provide access to legal, case-oriented information for internal use by their lawyers. This system has to be understood by lawyers who are building cases and it has to work consistently well. It does not require the same simplicity as the public access system does because only the lawyers or their assistants will ever use this system. In fact, the legal team needs to perform complex searches based on quite specific categories of information. A challenge they face is that keywording skills and approaches vary among data entry people. Another challenge they face is training new staff how to use, enter, and maintain the legal database.

Their final need is to maintain a database of all their clients as well as all communications made with clients. They use this database to contact people for tasks including fundraising. Chris said they have to balance their need for simplicity of tracking with flexibility and security.

Chris said they have tried a variety of paper-based and software-based solutions over the years, and have come to a stable set of answers to meet their current needs. To meet the public access need one software solution they tried with some success was a custom database derived from the GENCAT development set. GENCAT is an application development toolkit for consultants and end-users who wish to create their own applications for managing large collections of office records, legal documents, research papers, archival materials, personnel records, museum artifacts, and technical documents. It is sold by a software company called Eloquent Systems, Inc. in North Vancouver, BC (www.eloquent-systems.com). Although it is a highly flexible relational database system favoured by many legal organisations, Chris explained it did not really meet their need for simplicity for public users and volunteers of their library. It was very complicated to set up and maintain, being aimed primarily at larger institutions. For these reasons it took too long to learn to use effectively.

In the end, WCEL went for a much simpler ACCESS database program that allowed for both consistent volunteer data entry and for simple user-defined queries. The system is designed to allow 1-2 keywords per search and does not permit users to tinker with either data or interface structures.

To meet their lawyers' internal case-searching needs, GENCAT was used, and again, it met with mixed success. As a specialised software manager of their legal collection it worked well, but too much time was required for new staff to learn data entry. Once again, they decided to design a custom ACCESS database. Because this particular database is for internal use only, they are able to control access to the data easily. They can also set up a consistent system of keywording that all lawyers and staff use. The keywording standards are published in a 'how-to' manual for new staff and lawyers that teaches them how to effectively categorise for the organisation's needs. ACCESS's user interface allows them to simplify data entry for volunteers on the one hand, but provide lawyers with much more complex querying on the other hand.

To meet their contact management need, like SLDF, they chose Maximizer Enterprise. Chris said they looked at ACT and Outlook as other possibilities and decided Outlook is far too susceptible to viruses. Maximizer Enterprise was chosen over the Maximizer Standard Edition because the Standard Edition is limited to 4-5 people using the system at one time.

Chris suggests that an organisation look at its own information tracking needs and decide from there. There may be no single best answer - in fact, there may be a need for a range of software and filing systems depending on your need.

Copyright © 2002 - Sliammon First Nation & Ecotrust Canada

Jim Boothroyd (www.sierralegal.org), who works in the Communications Department at Sierra Legal Defense Fund (SLDF), said he does not often use software although his coworkers do. All of this department's paperwork fits within a single filing cabinet. Generally, their job requires them to keep track of a wide variety of press releases, recipients, sources, documents, categories, and e-mail addresses.

Their needs are driven by the kind of paper they distribute and by who they need to distribute paper to. They design their mail-out information to meet the information needs of specific groups of people. Aspects of their job includes tracking their documents by criteria such as timing of release (i.e. monthly, annually, specific date), recipient type (i.e. funders/donors, press outlets, SLDF clients), and report type (i.e. annual report, press release, special publication). They need also to track their media coverage effectiveness. This involves following up with clients, press, funders, and other recipients to help the organisation gauge how well the messages are coming across.

They face many additional challenges which may sound familiar to readers of this column. Their department is being re-organised, and is growing very quickly. They have a lot of tasks to complete in a very short time, and they have to analyse the impacts of reports and media. Generally, the Communications Department needs to track a wide variety of 'special-focus' print media and analyse its effectiveness.

Jim said he bases most of their digital data organisation on their physical filing cabinet system. Categories are matched on a one-for-one basis, such as \Profiles, \Report\Publications, \Report\Newsletters, \Photos, etc., so their PC directory structure always synchronises with the filing cabinet. These directories store the digital copies of every piece of paper media they produce. They also contain digital copies of all letters, memos, faxes and other client-based paper communications sent out. It's a simple system, but it works well.

Very recently, Jim's department chose Maximizer 5.0 Enterprise Edition to complement their profoundly paper-oriented filing system. Maximizer is a contact management application originally designed to meet the needs of salesmen. The software helps them track their own campaigns, the media they produce, assess media effectiveness, and organise all of the people they communicate with. One advantage of using Maximizer is that they can quickly tailor mail-outs of their publications, newsletters, press releases, or other media based on categories of people. They maintain an extensive database of a wide variety of people. Every contact entry is key-worded to place the person or organisation into one or more categories. This lets them narrow down, or be selective in, their mail-outs and ensures they do not miss anyone who should receive information from SLDF. Another new advantage is that they can directly e-mail digital copies of selected media to target audiences, saving on paper used. Another advantage is that they can share this keyworded database of clients and results with coworkers in different departments. This helps to integrate their work better into the larger organisation.

Much of their Maximizer database list setup was created by Brad Hornick from the David Suzuki Foundation (www.davidsuzuki.org). Brad is a whiz at this kind of stuff you may be able to contract his services. Keep in mind that Maximizer is a great software package, but it takes time to understand.

Copyright © 2002 - Sliammon First Nation & Ecotrust Canada

First Impressions

This is the custom database referrals tracking system set up by Larry Joseph for the Gitxsan Treaty Office. My first impressions are that this, or a system like this, is exactly what is required. The layout and organisation of modules is sometimes puzzling, but everything that comes to mind when you think referrals is captured here. It is evident that a lot of thinking went into the design, and Larry should be recognised for the excellence of his work.Whether you want to track data by development plan number, individual territory, worth of the logging plan, impacts to territory, letters and meetings content, this program will do this for you.

Features
Because this database is built on Access, everything you can do with Access you can do here. I won’t repeat the list of Access features. I will say that this admirably focuses your work into what you most want to do when tracking referrals – get directly into data entry and create useful reports.

There are four main forms you will want to work with for data entry:

• Operational/Permits/Consultations
• Operational/Permits/Silviculture Plans
• Operational/Site Plans/Permits/Resource Mgmt Issues
• Operational/Site Plans/Permits/Silviculture Plans

Each form contains several tabbed data entry sub-forms which allow you to enter a complete description for your current referral stage. The forms will require some up-front training to use properly because this is one of the densest compilations of data entry forms I have seen in a while. There are too many sub-forms to list here. Some of the thinking behind Larry’s design was very obviously aimed at a total data capture of anything useful in a development plan. Most data entry requirements are obvious, but some are not. It would be worth the time it takes to clearly understand these forms because the reports you can derive from the information is astonishing in both number and variety. There are no less than 17 different reports available in this version I reviewed. I am sure Larry could design you a custom database with fewer or more reports, depending on your need.

Here is the current list:

• Aboriginal Rights Assertions by Permit
• Brushing Value by Five Year Silvicultural Plan
• Caribou Habitat Status Issues Report
• Count of Aboriginal Rights Assertions by Timber Harvest Year
• Estimated Forest Licence Revenue in Gitxsan Territory
• Fish Stream Count in this Operating/Site Plan
• Forest Ecosystems Harvest Area Crosstab Report
• High Likelihood of Landslides
• Planting Opportunities by Five Year Silvicultural Plan
• Silvicultural System by Wilp
• Silviculture Activities Area Summary
• Timber Harvest Area Summary by Wilp
• Timber Harvest by Licence
• Timber Harvest by Operating/Activity Plan
• Timber Harvest in each Wilp Territory
• Timber Harvest Volume Summary by Wilp
• Volume by OPID by Year

Keep in mind this is a custom database designed to meet Gitxsan needs. (In this example, a Wilp is a basic unit of Gitxsan family and political organisation.) The data entry forms could and should vary from region to region, but the basic structures he has designed could become the foundation for many custom variations on this theme. The reports could similarly be varied to fit the needs of local people.

Disadvantages
Perhaps the major disadvantage is that since this is a custom database system it won’t fit everybody’s needs. It is designed specifically for the Gitxsan Nation. You will likely have to customise it.

Price
Contact Larry Joseph. One possibility that has been discussed at the AMN and Ecotrust is finding the funding to get a custom generic database designed by Larry that will work well for most First Nations and that could be downloaded off of the this website. If we get enough requests for this kind of product, we’ll ask Larry to take it on. Otherwise, your best bet is to talk directly to Larry to discuss prices.

System Requirements
Access97 or 2000. There are serious conversion problems between Access 97 and Access 2000, which is Microsoft’s fault, not Larry’s. You’ll need to specify which platform you’re going to use it on.

Conclusion
As excited as I get about the prospects of creating my own well-designed database, I find I usually don’t have the time to do it myself. I highly recommend this as a sane alternative to designing your own from scratch. This approach is my top recommendation.