People of the Boreal
Indigenous cultures are rooted in the land. We draw vitality and meaning from the land, and we are called on to conserve it. Indigenous Peoples across the country are honoring that responsibility.
The Pew Charitable Trusts, a partner with the Indigenous Leadership Initiative in the IBCC, featured advisors and colleagues in a series called People of the Boreal. Here are their stories:
“Listening to the wind and to the river, it brings some calmness and serenity into your being. When I need healing, I go to the land.” — Sophia Rabliauskas
Sophia Rabliauskas is a leader from the Poplar River First Nation on the eastern shores of Lake Winnipeg. Poplar River lies within the western edge of Pimachiowin Aki, a vast region of intact boreal forest known in Anishinaabe as the “land that gives life.” Rabliauskas has been at the forefront of an indigenous-led campaign to conserve Pimachiowin Aki as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Already this effort has prompted UNESCO to stop separating cultural and natural values when assessing potential sites, since nature and culture are inextricably linked for Indigenous communities.
“This is my homeland. This is where my ancestors have always lived. Our whole living memory speaks about being in this area.” –Steven Nitah
Steven Nitah was raised by his grandparents alongside the Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories. They taught him how to move through the forest hunting and checking traplines. Today, he honors their teachings by protecting the land that has supported the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation for generations. Nitah is the chief negotiator for the Lutsel K’e in discussions on the new Thaidene Nene National Park Reserve, which will be co-managed by the community, and other major land use decisions.
