Anishinabek/Ontario Fisheries Resource Centre

TEK at the Anishinaabewin Conference

Conference Coordinator Alan Ojiig Corbiere, Executive Director of the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation introduces Elder Gordon Waindubence during a traditional teaching circle at the conference 

Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK) and Intellectual Property were just a few of the topics covered at the Anishinaabemowin "Modes of Knowledge, Way of Life" conference held in Sudbury, February 26th & 27th/10.   A/OFRC staff Cynthia Roy, Sarah A. Couchie, Maureen Peltier, Nikki Commanda, Stacey Mckee and Perry McLeod-Shabogesic attended to learn and share their experiences with participants. The conference offered a rare opportunity to learn directly from Anishinabek Teachers, Academics and Elders who led workshops on TEK, Education, Traditional Medicines, Language, Rites of Passage, etc...

A/OFRC staff Maureen Peltier, Cynthia Roy, Nikki Commanda, Stacey Mckee and Sarah A. Couchie share a break and a lunch at the conference that attracted over 150 participants from various First Nation communities, organizations and government ministries. 

Restoring & Protecting the Lake Superior Basin Conference

A/OFRC Community Liaison Specialist Perry McLeod-Shabogesic presents a powerpoint slide show at the Restoring & Protecting the Lake Superior Basin conference at the Prince Arthur Hotel in Thunder Bay Ontario.

On March 25th,  an Environment Canada sponsored meeting of agencies and others involved  in environment and restoration projects in the Lake Superior basin was held in Thunder  Bay Ontario at the Prince Arthur Hotel. This day was an opportunity for organizations to share Canadian project information and enhance Lake Superior collaborations. The invited audience were environmental project managers from government and non-government agencies, as well as selected guests active in Lake  Superior and its basin issues.  Perry McLeod-Shabogesic, Community Liaison Specialist of the A/OFRC presented the organizations history, background, organizational structure and projects to date at the session. There were 15 minute presentations along with displays at the event informing participants of each other's work. Presenters covered the purpose of their project(s) and the results and outcomes expected. Additionally, participants shared future work or next steps to be done in their work. 

 

A/OFRC Presentations at the Great Lakes Lake Sturgeon Coordination Meeting

During this conference, Kim Tremblay, A/OFRC Fisheries Biologist, delivered a presentation entitled The Role that Lake Sturgeon Play in First Nation Communities. 

On December 3^rd 2008 several representatives from A/OFRC staff attended the Great Lakes Lake Sturgeon Coordination Meeting that was held in Port Huron, Michigan.  The meeting was held over two days (Dec. 3-4), bringing together people from the both the United States and Canada to discuss lake sturgeon.  Informative presentations, posters, and discussion groups provided opportunities to interact with other participants and share ideas.  The theme of the meeting was “Understanding and Managing Lake Sturgeon”, with break out groups discussing how to develop management plans specifically focused on lake sturgeon.

Since time immemorial the lake sturgeon has had an important role in First Nation communities.  Lake sturgeon are important spiritually and possess a mystical power in the stories that are shared from generation to generation.  The role that lake sturgeon play in these communities has evolved over time; shifting from being an important part of their diet; to a resource that was traded as a commodity for economic gain; to the present where the utilization of the lake sturgeon has become less evident. Within Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, a remote community located North of Lake Nipigon, lake sturgeon continues to provide a reliable food source every spring through subsistence fishing.  This however is changing.  Younger generations from that community do not seem to be following this harvesting tradition.  But with environmental education and awareness there is a chance many First Nation communities could reclaim their connection with their ancestor the lake sturgeon. 

 

The A/OFRC works with many of First Nations who have relationships with the lake sturgeon.  To investigate the ecological/social/economic/spiritual role of lake sturgeon in First Nation communities for this presentation, 25 different individuals were interviewed in 8 different First Nation communities in Northern Ontario (Nipissing First Nation, Dokis First Nation, Sagamok First Nation, Serpent River First Nation, Mississauga # 8 First Nation, Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishinaabek, Ojibways of Pic River First Nation, and Namaygoosisagagun First Nation). 

 

At the poster session portion of the Coordination Meeting, Caroline Deary, A/OFRC Senior Biologist, summarized preliminary results from a lake sturgeon radio tagging project that was conducted on the Pic River in conjunction with Ojibways of Pic River First Nation this past field season.

 

A special Thank You! to the individuals who conducted the interviews with the community members (Alesia Boyer, Charles Hardy, Amanda Commanda, Perry McLeod-Shabogesic, Jack Restoule, John Okeese, and Dan Couchie).

 

Also, a Thank You! to the steering committee for organizing a great meeting. Visit their website if you are interested in learning more. http://www.fws.gov/midwest/sturgeon/