EDAI

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT FOR AMERINDIANS

Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and  decide not to surrender, that this is strength.
(author unknown)

Editorial

No doubt economic development does not come easy to Amerindians.
First of all, it never had the overwhelming importance it has for European and white Americans - at the expense of the natural environment.

But then, for a minority, it’s risky to ignore the economic rules set by the majority.

Exchanges and inter- dependence are a fact,
so how could dependency be completely avoided?

To struggle for one’s ideals and interests is part of the game.

It provides at least the possibility of more decision- making power, of greater benefits and autonomy, of keeping alive ideals and sustainable traditions.

EDAI’s reason of existence is to be a supporting friend and partner in that crucial game.

Today’s crisis, be it financial or climate, simply proves the struggle to be important  - not only for Amerindians, but for everybody.

DER NEUE EDAI-JAHRESBERICHT 2009 ZUM HERUNTERLADEN!

GREEN LAKE, SASK. CANADA:
NEWS ON PROJECT 
FOR NON TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS

The Whitefeather Forest area of the Pikangikum First Nation (picture by M. Pulfer)

Creative steps
towards sustainable forestry in Canada:

COMBINING A FIRST NATIONS’ TRADITIONAL EXPERTISE WITH MODERN DEVELOPMENT

by Bernard Mueller, EDAI board member

Not far to the South of their lands, the people of the Pikangikum First Nation had seen forest- clearcutting with almost no job-creation for Native persons, with little or no understanding for the negative consequences on the rich animal and plant life. 
Rather than to sell out and accept that radical short-term procedure, Pikangikum elders and the band council were determined to keep the land in a sustainable way, to create badly needed jobs for their young people. So when I visited Pikangikum seven years ago as a special rapporteur, the First Nation had to fight hard for its independence, to keep its land, its precious Whitefeather forest. It eventually won a court-battle against the Federal Government...
To do economic development their way, a systematic, computerized forest inventory was done in cooperation between a cutting edge company and a young motivated team of Pikangikum persons. Included in the mapping was the elders’ traditional knowledge on land and nature, accumulated over generations.
Based on that high-quality overview, a democratic process of  land-use planning became possible (see http://www.whitefeatherforest.com/stewardship/our-land-use-strategy).
In 2006, the final strategy was approved by the Province of Ontario. Not surprisingly, in view of closing paper-mills and few alternative employment opportunities for Ontario’s North, the province was open both to the necessity to more effective ways of creating jobs and to the environmental concerns of more and more of its citzens.
One of the challenges the Pikangikum First Nation (with its Whitefeather Forest Corporation) then had to face were the exact terms of park protection. Both the Woodland Caribou Provincial Park and now the proposed Pimachiowin Aki UNESCO World Heritage Site project cover parts of the Whitefeather forest.  Between the extremes of total “don’t touch”-protection and unlimited commercial use (see Canadian forestry: A conflict of ideologies ignoring First Nations unique input), the determined First Nation wanted to chart its own particular way, together with its government and environmental partners. The challenge being the needed support for that particular balance between customary stewardship and new economic opportunities.
What certainly helped was the credibility the First Nation had earned with the quality of their planning work together with the skill of involving important stakeholders outside of the community.

The cooperation with scientists of the University of Manitoba was important to change an erroneous negative image of First Nation people. Experienced elders were involved in different research projects, their knowledge proved to be extremely valuable, with environmental organizations having everything to gain from it.
On October 26th 2009, I attended the signing of the terms of reference for forest management and protected areas in Pikangikum. It was the fruit of years of determined efforts, of exceptionally positive cooperation. A feast for all participants!

More on Traditional Expertise
and how it is now being recognized...

See EDAI’S letter to Minister Donna Cansfield and more on the next forestry development steps...

A winning combination:
Pikangikum’s traditional experts and the computer mapping team

“In 2007 the Steering Group of Elders,
staff of Whitefeather Forest Management Corporation,
and members of our Technical Team,
together with staff from the Ministry of Natural Resources
who worked with us on our planning

were awarded the MNR Gold P.R.I.D.E. award
for outstanding achievement in our Community-Based
Land Use Planning Process.”

Members of the Pkangikum First Nation at the signing of the terms of reference,  Bannick and Moosemeat being prepared for the feast