Anishinabek Nation launched its ninth annual Land and Resources Forum today, welcoming 39 member Anishinabek First Nations to take part in the discussion. The event offers presentations and speaker panels concerning various topics relevant to land and resource stewardship.
The forum takes place at the Best Western at 700 Lakeshore Drive, and runs until Thursday, Feb. 13. The event is also live-streamed on the Anishinabek Nation’s YouTube channel.
Anishinabek Nation Deputy Grand Council Chief Chris Plain said, “It’s a good opportunity for our communities to get together. Our organization is so diverse because it covers such a broad area, almost the entire province, so there are different regional issues.”
Indeed, with 39 member First Nations, there are different projects underway, and each community also has different resources available. The Land and Resources Forum brings people together to share information, resources, and best-practices.
Plain noted, “Everybody has an opportunity to network and meet people who have the same types of challenges or the same types of successes.”
This year’s conference theme is Kina-Gego-Naabadosin – Everything is Connected. Plain elaborated, “In Indigenous culture connection is very important, connection to the land, connection with the water, connection to the spirits, the animals, the people.”
Plain continued, “We need to keep that in mind before moving forward with community projects and development.”
The forum’s topics of discussion include, the Spirit of the Land, impact assessments, Wampum Belt teaching, invasive species, cultural burning, the Great Lakes and environment, geoscience, agriculture, and more, and their impact on First Nations across Ontario and Canada.
Plain noted, “Provincially, some of the discussion is focusing on Ontario Hydro’s willingness to start businesses with First Nations in transmission projects. So, there are a lot of communities involved in transmission projects, some have materialized, and some are in discussions, so there have been lots of discussion about those opportunities, and how they’re going to benefit their communities.”
Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige noted in release that, “By working together, we can make meaningful change that upholds our inherent rights, preserves our cultural heritage, and ensures the well-being of our communities and ecosystems for the next seven generations.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.