Spirit of the Land consideration essential

By Kelly Anne Smith

NORTH BAY—Opening the Anishinabek Nation’s 2025 Lands and Resources Forum on February 11 in North Bay, Ont., Ookomis Donna Debassige from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory recited the Chi-Naaknigewin preamble, Ngo Dwe Waangizid Anishnaabe (One Anishinaabe Family).

Nipissing First Nation Gookmis Evelyn McLeod gave Anishinaabemowin words of wisdom, as did Mishoomis Richard Assinewai of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory, the Anishinabek Nation’s Head Getzit.

Mishoomis Assinewai reminded Forum participants to care for our gifts the Anishinaabe way.

“It’s time to start rising. To start speaking. Start speaking for the lands, the people, language, treaties – everything. Start speaking for it. Protect it. We have a gift in that Preamble (Ngo Dwe Waangizid Anishinaabe). We do it our way, not somebody else telling us how to do something.”

During the Anishinabek Nation Leadership panel, Southeast Regional Chief Marsha Smoke commended the Lands and Resources Department for all of the data collected and worked on and the input from communities, providing the foundation for political advocacy. Northwest Regional Chief Mel Hardy said the province is coming across the land, not taking consideration for the Spirit of the Land.

Northwest Regional Chief Hardy has been working alongside Angel Ransom, a Nak’azdli Whut’en First Nation member who helps communities with environmental assessments. Ransom is the vice-president of environmental services with First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC). In April 2024, FNMPC and Anishinabek Nation launched the Spirit of the Land, a technical and policy toolkit to assess and seek restitution for cumulative effects on Indigenous cultural rights.

The Spirit of the Land panel included Regional Chief Hardy and Ransom, along with Katelyn Peters, a Munsee Delaware Nation member on the Eshki-niigijig Advisory Council, and Getzit Nmishomis James Mishquart from Biinjitiwaabik Zaagiing Anishinaabek. Getzit Nmishomis Mishquart says, “We have a connection to everything,” and that, “The old people would say their language is a spirit.”

After the panel talk, Regional Chief Hardy further explained the essence of acknowledging the spirit of the land.

“We talk about cultural rights when our First Nations are in their territory, there are certain areas that are considered culturally-protected. They need to be culturally-protected to preserve the cultural significance of the area. Now it could be an area where there was a Sweat Lodge for ceremony. It could be an area where there were moose calving, where moose have babies and they all run around. It could be an area significant for spawning. It could be a sight where there was a historical graveyard. That’s the spirit of the land. It talks about our cultural rights that need protection. It’s understanding in ceremony. It’s a relationship between two entities—two people or the earth or the sky, whatever. That’s the significance when we talk about the spirit of the land. It’s got to do with the communion of the land and the air and all that’s in between.”

The Spirit of the Land toolkit will help First Nations with the mining industry, says Chief Hardy.

“It’s the most prominent industry that’s terrorizing our lands. We need to be contacted for consultation. When we go on the land, we show them our areas where they can’t go near. They can’t have any of the sludge (post-mining) or adverse effects from the mining interfering with all these sites because they’re culturally significant. For us, all things have a spirit. All living things have a spirit…One of the things that is going on in the Northern Superior region and even down here in the Huron region, there are entitle to Treaty negotiations happening. When that happens, the lands in question are withdrawn from public access. But what happens though, is the miners are coming and laying claims on that. But there’s so many mining claims, thousands of mining claims coming in. What happens then it peppers that land site, especially in Treaty negotiations, then the lands are not accessible because those claims cannot be moved as per the mining act. The legislation has to change…They walk over our territories. And that’s our challenge, trying to survive and maintain. We can’t be stewards of our own land when we have industry leaving sludge from activities that are averse to what we’re doing.”

Jenny-Lou Campbell, policy analyst for mines and minerals at Lands and Resources, offered a break-out session called GIS Tools, Applications, and Resources. GIS is a geographic information system consisting of the digitization and visualization of geographic data. Campbell highlighted the resources and tools built into the Lands and Resources GeoHub.

“We have a variety of dashboards on there, showing everything from aggregate pits to abandon mines, and Anishinaabe placenames.”

Campbell gave the technicians a demonstration on a mining application created with ESRI (ESRI Canada is a GIS).

“It highlights all of the different mining activities that are happening within our territories. Right from mining claims, to exploration plans and permits, to abandoned mines. There’s over 5,000 abandoned mines within the Anishinabek Nation.”

Campbell says awareness is being brought to all of the mining activities through GIS.

“It’s one thing to go on the aerial and see just a bunch of words, ‘Oh, here’s a posting.’ But when you put it on a map, then people can really start to understand where that place is and how it’s going to affect them, whether it’s the land, the water, our health and the animal’s health…It’s trying to build that capacity. And give those tools to communities because they don’t have the capacity or if they do have the capacity, that person is overwhelmed.”