‘Spirit of the Land’ Cultural Rights and Interests Toolkit released
TORONTO (April 22, 2024) (We acknowledge Toronto is home to many First Nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and their ancestors) – First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) and Project Partners from Cheslatta Carrier Nation, Nadleh Whut’en First Nation, Saik’uz First Nation, Stellat’en First Nation, and Anishinabek Nation are proud to announce the public release of the Cultural Rights Toolkit ‘Spirit of the Land’, on April 22.
“Canadian laws and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples emphasize the importance of Indigenous culture, yet there remains a significant gap in establishing clear frameworks for evaluating the impacts on these rights and values,” said Angel Ransom, Senior Vice President of Environmental Services at FNMPC and Member of Nak’azdli Whut’en.
Over the past 50 years, court decisions, constitutional inclusion, investor sentiment, regulatory changes, and most recently, the free, prior, and informed consent provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) have shaped how society views the inclusion of Indigenous rights in major projects (Podlasly, OCA Conference Primer, 2024).
First Nations Self-Determination in Major Projects: A New Toolkit
“Self-determination for First Nations encompasses having a say and deciding how assessments of impacts by major projects, particularly on Aboriginal and Treaty Rights, and Cultural Rights and Interests, are conducted. In Canada, Indigenous consent for major projects is now a baseline requirement for project success,” explains Northern Superior Regional Deputy Grand Council Chief Mel Hardy of the Anishinabek Nation, who was a partner on the development of the toolkit.
For those First Nations choosing to engage with project proponents in discussions about impacts on cultural rights and values within their territories, the introduction of this new toolkit is timely as the opportunities continue to increase for First Nations to meaningfully participate in major projects and infrastructure developments. This toolkit is designed to provide flexibility and adaptability across various cultural contexts, grounded in the specific circumstances of individual projects that may require assessments of potential impacts to cultural rights and interests.
Chief Priscilla Mueller of the Saik’uz First Nation, who currently serves as a Board of Director for the FNMPC, expresses the challenging nature of developing a toolkit where First Nations are potentially assessing impacts to cultural values which are often intangible in nature.
She states that “while you cannot put a price on the sacred, integrating culture and quantification in a respectful and meaningful way may not be acceptable to all First Nations,” but remains hopeful that the toolkit will stand as a resource to support communities to have these conversations internally and with other levels of government and proponents.
The toolkit is not prescriptive in relation to how to address impacts on cultural rights; rather, each First Nation should determine its own method and process for assessing impacts on its cultural rights in accordance with their own laws, methodologies, protocols, and processes. This toolkit does not aim to assign a value to culture or to sell it; rather, it focuses on ensuring that cultural impacts and cumulative environmental impacts are assessed, mitigated, and, where possible, avoided.
The key to success when addressing cultural impacts is self-determination through Indigenous designed and led standards, protocols, and processes.
To access FNMPC’s Cultural Rights Toolkit ‘Spirit of the Land’, visit fnmpc.ca and click the resources tab.
About FNMPC:
The First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) is a non-profit organization comprised of 160+ Indigenous nations that span across Canada. FNMPC members recognize that we are stronger together and was established to promote the shared interests of our members. Advancing major projects is the core of FNMPC’s service delivery. FNMPC’s technical team is active in supporting our member communities with tools, capacity supports, and advice related to corporate structures and benefit sharing models, as well as tools to promote environmental protection and impact assessment.
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Media contact:
Niilo Edwards
CEO, FNMPC
E: ceo@fnmpc.ca
P: 778-875-0169