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| "The Creator has given us the responsibility to protect the lands on which we were placed. We are to take care of and nurture everything that the Creator has given as a trust and duty to future generations of Pikangikum people.” - From Pikangikum People Sustaining Our Livelihood on the Land" |
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Taiga Institute
The Taiga Institute for Land, Culture and Economy has been providing technical support for the Whitefeather Forest Initiative since its inception in 1996. Members from the institute have worked with us to build the cross-cultural bridges we need to advance our initiative.
Our culture is very different from the larger non-native society in Ontario. Our people live on our land in a very personal and intimate way where authority and esteem comes from personal knowledge, experience and leadership abilities. It also comes from the ability to express our ancient indigenous connection to our ancestral lands. This is reflected in our ways of describing our land, our way of living on our land and our way of working with each other and outside people on our land.
The Taiga Institute has worked with us to help give voice to our Elders and all of our members to outsiders about the Whitefeather Forest Initiative. This work involves support ranging from business partnership development, to the documentation of indigenous knowledge in new media for new community-led uses, to working with us to organize strategy to move the Whitefeather Forest Initiative forward on an administrative basis.
The Taiga Institute has worked with us to have our holistic vision of the Whitefeather Forest Initiative understood and supported by environmental groups, by industry and other interested parties. This support extends to the efforts we have led to have our approach to developing the Whitefeather Forest Initiative reflected in provincial policy and in the establishment of cooperative relationships between the Ministry of Natural Resources and our community.
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Slide Shows
