The elders, from Grand Rapids, Chemawawin and Opaskwayak, will argue that Ottawa doesn’t have the right to keep the documents confidential under provisions of lawyer-client priviledge.

“We have a problem,” said Grand Rapids Chief Ovide Mercredi as court staff scrambled to accomodate the standing-room only crowd. “Too many Indians.”

The case, which started in the early 1990s and has dragged on for years, began when the bands sued Ottawa for failing to protect their interests when Manitoba Hydro and the province built the Grand Rapids dam in the mid-1960s.

The case could be worth tens of millions in compensation to the bands, if the First Nations can prove Ottawa knew or ought to have known that it shirked its duty as the trustee of aboriginal people.

The hearing on the documents could take three days and it’s possible the Canadian government will ask for the hearing to be held behind closed doors to protect the secrecy of the contested documents.

The Winnipeg Free Press is expected to opposed any attempt to go in-camera or impose a publication ban.

BACKERS of a proposed provincial park at Fisher Bay think little brown bats could be the big hook that gets the province to designate the area as Manitoba’s newest wilderness getaway.

Fisher River Cree Nation Chief David Crate and a local bat expert said the area near Lake Winnipeg is home to huge colonies of little brown bats that hibernate in remote limestone caves and spend the summer gobbling up moths, beetles, and other insects by the kilo.

“There aren’t many of these sites around,” University of Winnipeg wildlife biologist Dr. Craig Willis said Wednesday. “When we find them, we have to protect them.”

The tiny bats number in the thousands right now — one cave is said to contain 25,000 of them — and appear to be in good health. But that could change quickly if the area is not protected by the province. The area under consideration is four times the size of Winnipeg.

“We think it would be a good draw,” Crate said of the bats. “It will be part of our marketing plan we’re currently developing for the area. The area will be set aside for protection. It will remain in its present state.”

Willis said the threat from logging — bats mate and hunt insects in the forest — and other human encroachment like mineral exploration puts the brown bat at risk.

“If we cut down forests we lose bats,” he said.

Crate added his community is still in talks with the province over where the Ochiwasahow (Fisher Bay) Provincial Park’s boundaries will be. Peguis First Nation to the south and Jackhead First Nation also have land in the area. A final decision is expected this fall.

“Everybody is on board,” Crate said. “What we’re proposing is to have a co-management board comprised of the three First Nations. We think the province is open to it.”

Public consultations on the proposed park will be held this spring, a spokesperson for Conservation Minister Bill Blaikie said.

bruce.owen@freepresspress.ca

Going batty?

UNIVERSITY of Winnipeg biologist Dr. Craig Willis wants you.

He and his team are hunting bats to get a better understanding of how the creatures move around the province.

If you have bats in your home or cottage or know the location of a bat colony in a building or forest in Manitoba or Northwestern Ontario, email Willis at mbbatblitz@hotmail.com (using “Bat Blitz” in the subject line) or call (204) 786-9433.

For more info on The Manitoba Bat Blitz and bats in general go to http://ion.uwinnipeg.ca/~cwillis/cwbatblitz.htm
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition March 4, 2010 A2

By Mary Agnes Welch

A group of native trappers and elders is suing Manitoba Hydro and the province for $64 million, compensation the trappers say they are owed for flooding that eradicated their livelihood and culture.

The trappers from the Chemawawin First Nation say flooding from the Grand Rapids dam has led to a 50 per cent drop in their standard of living and cost them and their families at least $64 million in lost income for as many as 118 trappers or their descendents. That’s according to a statement of claim filed last month in the Court of Queen’s Bench in The Pas.

Though Hydro paid to relocate the Chemawawin band in the mid-1960s and paid out millions in compensation since then, trappers like Malcolm Thomas, Fred Thomas and Edward Thomas say they were left out of that process.

But lawyer Brian Maronek, who is acting for the trappers, cautioned the statement of claim is largely a precautionary measure in case a new round of negotiations with Manitoba Hydro fail.

Talks broke off last fall after Hydro offered the trappers $6 million. The trappers were asking for $33 million.

Maronek said he is hoping talks resume later this month. The trappers are claiming a long list of damages spanning decades, including loss of income from trapping, damage to equipment, breach of treaty rights and the duty to consult, bad faith dealings, deceit and negligence on the part of Manitoba Hydro.

“Specifically, they knew that one of the best wildlife areas in North America would be destroyed and the damage would be catastrophic to the trappers,” reads the claim.

Those claims have yet to be tested or proven in court and Manitoba Hydro has not yet been served notice of the potential lawsuit or filed a statement of defence. Grand Rapids, one of the first northern dams to be built, is among those that flooded First Nations land and created a costly legacy of mistrust between Hydro and First Nations that has only begun to improve in recent years as Hydro has sought genuine partnerships with northern bands.

Manitoba Hydro did not respond to repeated requests for comment on the lawsuit. Chemawawin Chief Clarence Easter said he’s supportive of the trappers’ attempts to win compensation from Hydro, but he said it might take too long. Many of the men are in their late 60s or 70s and a court case could drag on.

Easter said Hydro has not properly compensated band members for unforeseen impacts from the dam. And he said elders had little option but to relocated the band in the early 1960s.

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca

Times of trouble

1957: Manitoba Hydro starts planning for the Grand Rapids dam, the first one built up north. It uses Cedar Lake as a forebay or reservoir, causing large-scale flooding that left about 500,000 acres of shoreline underwater.

1960: Manitoba Hydro starts negotiating with the Chemawawin band, a small, isolated community of about 350 people with no road access or electricity but a vibrant traditional trapping and hunting culture built on the fertile marshland where the Saskatchewan River turns into Cedar Lake.

1963: Chemawawin is relocated to a planned townsite at Easterville on the southeast shore of Cedar Lake. The town had power, running water, new homes and a collection of schools and recreation centres. But alcohol and drug abuse took hold as it became clear the new site, built on bedrock, was no good for traditional trapping, hunting and agricultural practices.

1968: The Grand Rapids dam opens, pumping 480 megawatts of power onto the grid.

1990, Manitoba Hydro signs a $13.7 million deal with Chemawawin to compensate the band for the outstanding effects of the dam.

2008: Feeling ignored and overlooked for decades, a group of trappers form a committee and begin negotiations with Hydro for compensation. They ask for $33 million, but Hydro offers $6 million.

Fall 2009: Talks break off.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 8, 2010 A6

TORONTO, Feb. 8 /CNW/ – Today international experts are urging all governments in Canada to not to neglect the role of ‘natural solutions’ to the climate change crisis. As stated in an Open Letter to the First Ministers released today:

“We are writing you today to seriously consider expanding and strengthening your respective protected areas systems. Without taking such steps you risk exacerbating the problem of climate change. Right now Canada has just under 10% of its land base protected. We urge you to significantly increase this amount as part of your respective climate change strategies.”

“Without protected areas, the challenges would be even greater, and their strengthening will yield one of the most powerful solutions to the climate crisis,” said Nigel Dudley, ecologist and industrial fellow at the University of Queensland. Protected areas help prevent the loss of carbon that is already present in vegetation, peat, and soils. They also help society cope with climate change impacts by maintaining essential services upon which people depend.

The experts, in Toronto for one day only, are promoting the findings of their new report called Natural Solutions: protected areas helping people cope with climate change. The report was authored by a team of trained ecologists, economists, and other experts.

“In the rush for ‘new’ solutions to climate change, we are in danger of neglecting a proven alternative,” says Nik Lopoukhine, formerly Director General Parks Canada, a Canadian and Chair of the World Commission on Protected Areas. “Protected areas are an investment which societies have made for a millennia, using traditional approaches which have proven their potential and effectiveness in modern times,” added Lopoukhine.

“Actually, expanding protected area coverage and involving indigenous and local communities in these efforts could be one of the most effective ways to reinforce nature and peoples resilience to climate change” said The Nature Conservancy’s Trevor Sandwith, a co-author from South Africa, who is also Deputy Chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas.

With 2010 being the International Year of Biodiversity, maintaining and expanding protected areas needs to be recognized as a powerful tool against climate change and should be a component of national and sub-national climate change strategies. Protected areas play a major role in reducing climate changing carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. In Canada, over 4 billion tons of carbon dioxide is sequestered in 39 national parks, estimated to be worth $39-87 billion in carbon credits. Two provinces have recently made significant commitments to protect the massive carbon stores of the Boreal Forest.

“We certainly want to encourage full implementation of Premier McGuinty’s global leading announcement from July 2008 to permanently protect more than half of its northern Boreal Forest with local indigenous communities,” added Lopoukhine. The Premier highlighted the important role protecting these natural carbon sinks have in helping to stave off the worst impacts of climate change. Ontario’s Boreal Forest including the Hudson Bay Lowlands is one of the richest carbon reserves in the world.

The Natural Solutions report was commissioned by the IUCN WCPA and funded and supported by The Nature Conservancy, the United Nations Development Programme, Wildlife Conservation Society, the World Bank and WWF. It can be downloaded at: http://cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/natural_solutions.pdf

A summary in French, English and Spanish is also available.

For further information: or to set up interviews with the authors, please contact: Anna Baggio, (416) 453-3285 mobile

• Open letter to First Ministers

The report, Conservation Value of the North American Boreal Forest from an Ethnobotanical Perspective, describes the deep botanical and ecological knowledge that Canada’s Aboriginal peoples have gained over thousands of years of using the Boreal Forest as grocery, pharmacy, school, and spiritual centre. The report notes that the value of the Canada’s Boreal Forest to Aboriginal people in terms of subsistence (plant and animal) foods alone could reach up to $575.1 million. Many other values have yet to be quantified.

“The deeply rooted knowledge of indigenous communities remains an essential but often overlooked element in conservation planning,” said Larry Innes, executive director of CBI. “This report contributes to building a better awareness among Canadians about the richness and diversity of plant use and knowledge among indigenous peoples.”

The report illustrates how scientists and policymakers often overlook ecological issues until a crisis arises. For example, although few plants species in the boreal region are classified as threatened or endangered under the federal Species at Risk Act or provincial and territorial species legislation, many face widespread human-induced pressures, including habitat loss and climate change.

According to respected Canadian scientist and environmentalist David Suzuki: “Harvesting, processing, and selling wild plants such as blueberries from the Boreal Forest offers sustenance and profit to many northern communities in Canada. Industrial activities undertaken without the prior involvement or consent of indigenous people can harm important species that sustain community health and wellbeing.”

Environmental studies professor Nancy Turner, of the University of Victoria in British Columbia, agrees: “This report acknowledges that we must not overlook the close interrelationships between indigenous peoples and their lands. Scientists must consider their critical importance as keepers of traditional ecological knowledge.”

The report follows a recent study by the UN Secretariat for the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD) that emphasizes the critical importance of forest biodiversity in preserving the planet’s overall health.

“If climate change is a problem, biodiversity is part of the solution,” said Ahmed Djoghlaf, the UN’s executive secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. “Canada’s Boreal Forest plays a critical role. Indigenous peoples have long known that maintaining and restoring biodiversity in forests promotes their resilience to human-induced pressures. Now, more than ever, this is an essential insurance policy to safeguard against climate-change impacts and to protect biodiversity for the benefit of present and future generation. The report issued today is a major contribution to the celebration of the 2010 International Year on Biodiversity.”

The new report also suggests much more indigenous mapping of the Boreal Forest has taken place than previously understood. Scientific information has been encoded in indigenous peoples’ languages and is passed on through various stories and place names. For example, the Gwich’in identified “black currant island” in the Husky River area, as well as a hill along the Arctic Red River whose name translates into “rosehips ripened by the sun”. The Dogrib call Mesa Lake in the Northwest Territories, Gots’okati, which translates to Cloudberry Lake.

Full Report: www.borealbirds.org/resources/report-ethnobotany.pdf

For background information, including b-roll, photos, and expert contacts for interviews, go to:www.borealbirds.org/ethnobotany.shtml

The David Suzuki Foundation

The David Suzuki Foundation works with government, business, and individuals to conserve our environment by providing science-based education, advocacy, and policy work, and acting as a catalyst for the social change.

www.davidsuzuki.org

Canadian Boreal Initiative

The Canadian Boreal Initiative brings together diverse partners to create new solutions for boreal conservation and sustainable development. It acts as a catalyst for on-the-ground efforts across the boreal forest region by governments, industry, Aboriginal communities, conservation groups, major retailers, financial institutions, and scientists.

www.borealcanada.ca

Boreal Songbird Initiative

The Boreal Songbird Initiative (BSI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to outreach and education about the importance of the Boreal Forest region to North America’s birds, other wildlife, and the global environment.

www.borealbirds.org

Convention on Biological Diversity

The Convention on Biological Diversity is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and the equitable sharing of the benefits from utilization of genetic resources. The CBD seeks to address all threats to biodiversity and ecosystem services, including threats from climate change, through scientific assessments, the development of tools, incentives and processes, the transfer of technologies and good practices and the full and active involvement of relevant stakeholders including indigenous and local communities, youth, NGOs, women and the business community.

www.cbd.int

For further information: To arrange an interview with Nancy Turner, or for more information, please contact: Suzanne Fraser, Director of Communications, Canadian Boreal Initiative, (613) 552-7277, sfraser[at]borealcanada.ca ; To arrange an interview with David Suzuki: Ian Hanington, Communications specialist, David Suzuki Foundation, (604) 732-4228 X 238, ihanington[at]davidsuzuki.org ; Faisal Moola, Director, Terrestrial Conservation and Science Program, David Suzuki Foundation, (647) 993-5788, fmoola[at]davidsuzuki.org

Traditional medicine man and teacher ‘Morning Star’ Garry Raven passed away on January 17, 2010.

I met him in 2001 when I visited his home in Hollow Water First Nation to discuss the potential of the Manigotagan River and surrounding area being protected in a provincial park. He welcomed me with open arms and I soon became impressed by Garry’s vast knowledge and strong desire to protect the Boreal Forest from industrial developments.

Since our first meeting, the Manigotagan River park has been formed and I have spent many days chatting with Garry and attending inspiring gatherings at Ravens Creek Ti-pi Village – his home and teaching place. Garry took many of his visitors on walks to locate traditional medicines and explain their uses. He also taught individuals and groups about Aboriginal spirituality and customs. Garry is known widely for his extreme high-temperature sweat lodges.

I fondly remember the times Garry took me up the Wanipigow River to capture and share its beauty through photography. I also have warm memories of the mornings we spent drinking coffee and discussing our perspectives on global and local issues.

I miss Garry dearly. His star burned out too soon. He was only 61 years old. My words here only scratch the surface of Garry’s life and legacy. He will live on through the many people he enlightened and inspired. I consider myself lucky to be part of this group.

Please visit the links below to read more about ‘Morning Star’ Garry Raven.

• A story about Garry – based on a interview with him in 2008
• Garry’s Pipe Carriers Ceremony to bring awareness to the importance of the lands on Eastside of Lake Winnipeg

Manitoba will invest $5 million over five years in a new Crown-Aboriginal Consultation Participation Fund and co-host a roundtable discussion with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs on consultation and accommodation, Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Eric Robinson announced today.

“I am pleased to announce the establishment of the Consultation Participation Fund to support the participation of First Nations, Métis and other Aboriginal communities in Manitoba’s Section 35 consultations,” said Robinson. “Our government remains committed to honouring our duty to consult with Aboriginal communities on provincial decisions or actions that may affect their Aboriginal and treaty rights. This fund will help these communities to effectively participate in our consultation efforts.”

The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled, under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, the Crown has a legal duty to consult with Aboriginal peoples about any action or decision that might affect Aboriginal or treaty rights.

In order to access funding support from the Consultation Participation Fund, Aboriginal communities are encouraged to work with provincial departments in developing joint consultation plans and budgets that require Section 35 consultations. Departments will make applications to the fund to cover an Aboriginal community’s costs under these joint consultation plans. The fund is being managed and administered by the Manitoba government.

“In addition to the creation of this fund, the province and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs will co-host a roundtable discussion on consultation and accommodation this spring,” said Robinson. “This will provide a forum for meaningful government-to-government dialogue between First Nations and Manitoba on Section 35 consultations.”

Robinson said, based on the recognition and affirmation of Aboriginal and treaty rights under Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982, Manitoba recognizes it has a legal duty to consult in a meaningful way with Aboriginal communities when any proposed provincial law, decision or action may adversely affect the exercise of an Aboriginal right or treaty right of that Aboriginal community.

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Bloodvein River First Nation has joined the quest for a World Heritage Site on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. As an active member of Pimachiowin Aki – a unique partnership to safeguard the Anishinabe culture and the boreal forest – Bloodvein River First Nation joins the First Nations of Poplar River, Little Grand Rapids, Paungassi and Pikangikum as well as the provincial governments of Manitoba and Ontario.

William Young, band councilor and spokesperson for Bloodvein First Nation, reveals that more than half of the community’s traditional territory of 4300 square kilometres will be added to the current 40,000 square kilometres in the proposed World Heritage Site area. He states it is likely more land will be included after consultation with community membership.

Bloodvein River First Nation is located 210 kilometres north of Winnipeg along three kilometres of shoreline on the east side of Lake Winnipeg directly north of the Bloodvein River. It is home to about 1500 residents both on and off the reserve.

The east side of Lake Winnipeg contains the last remaining intact primary boreal forest in the world and has been called “the Heart of the Boreal.” The boreal forest is important globally as it slows climate change by storing carbon in its trees and soils thereby keeping it away from the atmosphere. It also produces much of the world’s oxygen and fresh water. In the Heart of the Boreal, First Nations people have maintained an intimate relationship with the landscape in which their lives continue to depend. World Heritage Status would place the area on the east side of Lake Winnipeg among such wonders as the pyramids of Egypt and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

“I see it as a huge benefit to our First Nation and the other First Nations involved. It’s a very unique opportunity and of significance that both the Ontario and Manitoba provincial governments are involved and have made commitments giving us the opportunity to designate our traditional territory towards a World Heritage Site.”

Young indicates that a World Heritage Site can help protect the boreal forest as well as the cultural landscape by forwarding sustainable development initiatives such as eco-tourism. Involved in Eastside Aboriginal Sustainable Tourism (E.A.S.T.) Incorporated, an economic development initiative supporting the development and expansion of Aboriginal tourism businesses on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, Young is also owner of Bloodvein River Lodge which provides activities in addition to fishing such as teachings about First Nation’s values and history. Citing his grandfather’s wisdom, Young says that the encroachment of industrial activities is always a concern, and he hopes to protect his traditional territory and to manage it for the needs of the community.

“In terms of protection, management is the key word from a First Nations perspective. We want to establish economic opportunities, eco-tourism opportunities, sustainable opportunities for the membership here at the community level.”

The boreal forest has sustained the communities on the east side of Lake Winnipeg for thousands of years. Recognizing that the future of their culture is tied directly to the land, the hope is that protecting Pimachiowin Aki – meaning the land that gives life – as a World Heritage Site will provide employment opportunities while maintaining the ecological health of the boreal. In a land where people have been stewards of the environment for millennia, Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Site will ideally protect the natural and cultural values to be shared with the peoples of the world now and in the future.

Bloodvein River First Nation is in the process of conducting its community-based land-use plan, required for the World Heritage Site, and anticipates its completion in a year. A nomination document that includes the final boundaries and management plan for Pimachiowin Aki is expected to be completed in 2011.

“Exploration on our traditional land is getting out of hand,” said Marten Falls Chief Elijah Moonias, explaining there are more than 100 mineral exploration companies with staked claims in the Ring of Fire area. “Mineral Exploration companies are not respecting our interests.”

First Nation leaders and representatives from Marten Falls, Webequie, Long Lake #58, Ginoogaming, Eabametoong and Aroland will be closing operating camps and ice landing strips beginning Jan. 18 to make it impossible for mineral exploration companies to continue their work.

“We believe there will be development happening in this area, but we want to be a part of the development so we can benefit from it in the long term,” Moonias said.

The blockade will be held at Koper Lake, which is located in the Ring of Fire area about 128 kilometres north of Marten Falls.

Noront Resources Ltd. announced Jan. 18 that it supports the actions of the Marten Falls at the Ring of Fire.

“We are very concerned that our community partners feel that their only recourse is to deny logistical access to the ice strip at Kopper Lake to all companies in the Ring of Fire,” said Wesley Hanson, Noront’s president and CEO.

“It is our understanding that the events that precipitated this denial of service were not due to any specific action on the part of Noront, however, as the only exploration company currently active in the Ring of Fire, Noront is inconvenienced by this action. Noront has respected and honoured MFFN by signing an agreement compensating them for exploration work we’ve completed on their traditional lands. We have undertaken several initiatives regarding education and youth within the MFFN community and we remain committed to building a strong and stable relationship in the future. We are therefore not, at this time, taking any action to limit the protest. We will adjust our exploration effort accordingly and we do not believe that this action will limit or otherwise disrupt our development plans at McFauld’s Lake. The denial of service, to our knowledge, does not limit our ability to continue active work programs in the area. We remain committed to maintaining a close working relationship with MFFN and the other communities in the Ring of Fire. I have contacted Chief Moonias to advise him that while we consider the denial of service at Kopper Lake to be unfair to Noront, we will abide by the denial of service.”

Noront stated it has been actively canvassing the local First Nations communities and the provincial government to initiate round table negotiations between industry, First Nations leaders and provincial government ministries to establish a long term, viable development plan that brings the maximum benefit to the most people in the Ring of Fire area.

The Ring of Fire is considered one of the largest potential mineral reserves in Ontario, covering more than 1.5 million ha by some estimates. Over 35 junior and intermediate mining and exploration companies are now active in the Ring of Fire, making it the recent hotbed of mining activity in the Far North.

“Right now, mining activities are superseding the protection of ecological and cultural values,” said Anna Baggio of CPAWS Wildlands League in a Dec. 2009 press release. “There is very little government oversight, no environmental assessment process, and no mechanism for First Nation control.”

CPAWS Wildlands League, Ecojustice and Mining Watch Canada are concerned development in the Ring of Fire is exploding due to inadequate control under Ontario’s antiquated Mining Act, calling the situation a “Wild West free for all.”

The three public interest groups stated the following concerns in their press release: inadequate waste management, garbage disposal and fuel spills in several mineral exploration camps; polluting of nearby lakes and wetlands; inappropriate and possibly illegal use of mining claims to map out two competing railway routes; and increased danger for species at risk like woodland caribou and wolverine that need large intact areas of Boreal Forest to survive.

“We are hearing reports of 200 fuel drums sinking into the wetlands because they were placed clumsily on bog mats,” Baggio said. “Who will be responsible for cleaning up and restoring these lakes and wetlands.”

The three groups are worried that because claims and leases will be grandfathered into any land use planning processes, local First Nations communities will have little room to manoeuvre. They are also concerned efforts to protect globally significant, carbon rich bogs and forests, intact watersheds and endangered species’ habitat will be undermined.

“There is a complete lack of legal rules guiding activity in the Ring of Fire,” said Ecojustice staff lawyer Justin Duncan. “First Nations need to lead land use planning over the whole area and rules need to be established to manage development, otherwise the heart of Ontario’s northern boreal could be severely impacted and First Nations will bear the brunt of any long-term harm.”

The three groups want Ontario to immediately withdraw lands in the watersheds affected by the Ring of Fire exploration projects, outside of the areas already claimed, so First Nations can work with the government to create an ecosystem-based land use plan and gain control over the implementation of industrial activities.

“The impact of mining activity in this region will have a legacy that will last hundreds of years into the future and there is the potential for irrevocable harm,” said Ramsey Hart, MiningWatch Canada’s program co-ordinator. “We have this opportunity, at this juncture, to do it right, with proper planning, environmental controls, and consent and accommodation of First Nations. This is an opportunity we can’t afford to lose.”

The three groups feel the withdrawal of the lands not already claimed would minimize negative environmental impacts, protect the public interest, help prevent conflicts and ensure meaningful long-term benefits to the people that live there.

(Original news release from November 23, 2009)

PRIOR LAKE, Minn. – Nearly 400 Native leaders, scholars, elders and Tribal College students from across the country, joined by scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), came together at a watershed gathering, the Native Peoples Native Homelands Climate Change Workshop II, to formulate a collective response to the far-reaching impacts of climate change on Native lands and communities.

The Climate Change Workshop, held November 18-21 at the Mystic Lake Casino & Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota, was designed to build on and enrich the recently released 2009 U.S. National Climate Change Assessment. The first Native Peoples Native Homelands Climate Change Workshop was held in 1998 in Albuquerque, NM, and the report from that workshop, Circles of Wisdom, was later included in the first National Climate Change Assessment issued that year.

“Climate change impacts Native peoples first and foremost,” said workshop Co-Chair, Winona LaDuke, Executive Director of Honor the Earth. “In Alaska, some villages are literally falling into the ocean, while severe drought in the Southwest is scorching scarce grasslands and forests. In the Pacific Northwest, salmon runs have been decimated. Vector borne diseases are spreading, and traditional foods and medicines are disappearing in Native territories across the country.”

Dr. Daniel R. Wildcat, workshop Co-Chair and Director of Haskell Indian Nations University’s Environmental Research Studies Center said, “Global warming scenarios point to disproportionate and increased impacts on Native peoples due to their unique relationship to land, the prevalence of subsistence land-based economies, and the deep cultural and spiritual significance of their ties to the land.”

As a follow-up to the White House Tribal Summit convened in November, the White House sent three representatives from the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to the Workshop. The CEQ held a “listening session” to hear the direct experiences of Native peoples disproportionately suffering the adverse effects of climate change. Others offered solutions, including the development of reservation-based renewable energy, efficient and sustainable housing, and Indigenous food production, and urged a federal response through the creation of adaptation policies.

At its conclusion, participants issued a milestone document, the Mystic Lake Declaration (attached), to offer solutions that can help Tribal communities and policy makers form plans to address climate change impacts that threaten the traditional cultures and life ways of Indigenous peoples. The Declaration will be taken to Copenhagen for presentation at the United Nations Climate Change Conference.

Sponsored by NASA’s Tribal College and University Program, the workshop was held in collaboration with the nation’s 36 tribally-controlled colleges and universities and the American Indian Higher Education Consortium. Because the median age in Indian Country is 18, there is an urgent need to provide curriculum and green jobs training to restore Native economies. Workshop partners included Honor the Earth, Haskell Indian Nations University, Indigenous Environmental Network, Intertribal Council On Utility Policy, the National Indian Gaming Association, and NOAA.

Presenters included an impressive cross-section of Native experts and leaders from across the nation including Billy Frank, Jr., Chairman of the Northwest Indian Fish Commission; Inupiat whaling captain Eugene Brower; Cheyenne Arapaho Tribal College President Henrietta Mann, Ph.D.; Lakota spiritual leader Chief Arvol Looking Horse; Alan Parker, Director of the Northwest Indian Applied Research Institute at The Evergreen State College; Debra Harry, Executive Director of Indigenous Peoples Council on Biocolonialism; Susan Masten, President, Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations; Katsi Cook, Mohawk midwife and Executive Director of Woman is the First Environment Collaborative; Patrick Spears, President of the Intertribal Council On Utility Policy; and Tom Goldtooth, Executive Director of the Indigenous Environmental Network.

Tribal governments, Indigenous organizations, individuals, and others may read and sign on to the Declaration by going to www.nativepeoplesnativehomelands.org

Full bios and photos are available for keynote speakers and presenters at:
www.nativepeoplesnativehomelands.org/ and www.honorearth.org

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