Mining versus Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas: Traditional Land Uses of the Anisininew in Red Sucker Lake First Nation, Manitoba, Canada

Published: April 23, 2024

Indigenous traditional land uses, including hunting, fishing, sacred activies and land-based education at Red Sucker Lake First Nation (RSLFN) in Manitoba, Canada are impacted by mining. Traditional use maps interviews were undertaken with 21 people from RSLFN, showing many uses concentrated on greenstone belts. The revealed that mining exploration has resulted large petroleum spills, noise distress, personal property destruction, wildlife die-offs animal population declines, which negatively impact RSLFN’s practices, ecosystem integrity, community health. want their territories’ water protected for culture ecological integrity. Towards this goal, Island Tribal Council sought support an Indigenous-protected conserved area (IPCA) territory outside of existing claims, but without success. Governments need to partner nations reach biodiversity targets, particularly considering northern Canada’s peatlands, those Lake, surpassing the Amazon forests carbon storage. Critical minerals gold’s role renewable energy geopolitics have colonial governments undermining rights, climate stabilization biodiversity. With extractivism prioritized, environmental impacts extend not only mines also extensive development required facilitate extraction roads, hydro ports ship proposals a national Northern Corridor run nearby.

Language: Английский

“Where the Moose Were”: Fort William First Nation’s Ancestral Land, Two–Eyed Seeing, and Industrial Impacts

Land, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 13(12), P. 2029 - 2029

Published: Nov. 27, 2024

A two-eyed seeing approach considered Indigenous knowledge and Western science towards eco–health, reconciliation land back with Fort William First Nation (FWFN) in Ontario, Canada. To map traditional use, occupancy, ecological knowledge, we interviewed 49 FWFN members about their hunting, fishing, trapping, plant harvesting, cultural sites, sacred gatherings on ancestral land. Their use occupancy includes more than 7.5 million ha of The reported many industrial impacts reserve We analyzed the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) change over time FWFN’s Thunder Bay Pulp Paper Mill (TBPP)’s National Pollutant Release Inventory data to investigate members’ ecohealth concerns. NDVI analysis revealed large tracts degraded due logging areas, mining claims, settlements, paper mills. Mining claims greenstone belts occupy a quarter TBPP mill dumped pollution into Kaministiquia River upstream upwind community, exposing kilotons cancerous other toxic chemicals each year for century. Resource extraction Northwestern Ontario negatively impacted human health ecosystem integrity FWFN, requiring by restoring damaged preventing as starting point back. first step is ending environmental racism TBPP’s directed downstream downwind protecting against logging, mining, extractive industries.

Language: Английский