The Williams Treaties cover over 20,000 square kilometres of lands between Georgian Bay and the Ottawa River, and along the shore of Lake Ontario up to Lake Simcoe. Fred Marsden, member of Alderville First Nation, seen fishing in the Kawartha Lakes area, date unknown.
(Jackson Pind)
Seven Williams Treaties First Nations continue to call on the provincial government to adequately consult them when making important decisions on their lands in the Greenbelt and beyond.
Pictographs on the shores of Mazinaw Lake, or Mazinaabikinigan-zaaga’igan, which in Algonquin means ‘painted-image lake.’
(Robber Esq)
The deeper spiritual, cultural and Anishinaabe connections at Bon Echo Park can only endure if we actively commit to their protection.
Being Indigenous is more than just genealogy. Here Lorralene Whiteye from the Ojibway Nation checks her hair in a mirror before the start of a healing ceremony, held by Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction, to commemorate the first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Toronto.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Evan Buhler
In recent years, some prominent people have been called out for falsely claiming Indigenous identity. Why would someone falsely claim an identity? And what does it mean to be Indigenous?
When our COVID-19 lockdowns end, we can’t afford to stop caring about collective well-being. NZ is well positioned to show the world how it’s done – if we listen to Māori and other diverse voices.
A child in The Willows land-based program in the Humber Valley, Toronto, walks with his group alongside GabeKanang Ziibi (Humber River).
(Olga Rossovska)
In a land-based early childhood program sustained and enriched by relationships with Indigenous Knowledge Holders, children learn that ‘water is us.’
Children in a forest nature program learn about the ‘mitigomin’ (red oak acorns) not buried by the ‘miadidamoo’ (eastern grey squirrels).
(Shutterstock)
Earth-centred children’s programs that seek to build ethical partnerships with Indigenous communities have an important role in learning about weathering climate change.
Treaty 4, which covered present-day southern Saskatchewan and a small part of western Manitoba was negotiated and signed at Qu'appelle Lakes. Here Saulteux from Upper Assiniboine River, Oct. 16, 1887 were promised for every ‘man, woman and child $1,200 …blankets and other articles.’
(Library and Archives Canada/Natural Resources Canada fonds/PA-050799).
A recent historical win for Ontario First Nations against the government of Canada is as significant for the legal process, which took into account Anishinaabe law, as it is for the win itself.
Children in the Willows forest nature program in the Humber Valley in west Toronto are drawn to water and sticks, simple materials for exploring and investigating. Here the children explore water accumulated from spring rains.
(Louise Zimanyi)
When parents walk in the forest with their children and us and see how children are drawn to spiral snails, together we see how connections with the land are critical for the Earth’s future.