Pimachiowin Aki

World Heritage Site

Uncategorised

Des explications sur cinq pictogrammes spectaculaires

Au long de la rivière Bloodvein, à Pimachiowin Aki, se trouve la plus grande collection de pictogrammes au Canada. Des centaines de pictogrammes (peintures rupestres) millénaires ont été documentés à plus de 30 endroits, dont sur cette falaise du lac Artery ornée d’empreintes de mains et de dessins d’animaux, de canots, de serpents, et d;autres symboles, faits avec une pâte d’ocre rouge et d’huile de poisson ou de graisse d’ours.

Voir l’une de ces rares peintures de plus près est tout simplement époustouflant. D’après l’auteur et chasseur de pictogrammes canadien Selwyn Dewdney, ces endroits particuliers le long de la rivière Bloodvein offrent une « expérience exceptionnelle », et les pictogrammes sont la « récompense ultime ».

L’aîné Leslie Orvis de la Première Nation de Bloodvein propose de faire une offrande pour chaque passage devant un pictogramme.

Voici plus de détails sur cinq pictogrammes spectaculaires de Pimachiowin Aki.

1. Orignal

Récemment, William Young, coprésident du conseil d’administration de la Pimachiowin Aki Corporation, a emmené l’aîné Leslie Orvis là où se trouve le pictogramme de l’orignal sur la rivière Bloodvein. Selon Leslie, ce dessin est un symbole de respect.

« Respectez la terre », dit Leslie avant de répéter les paroles de l’aîné Kenneth Owen, soit « Pour chasser l’orignal, il faut d’abord faire une offrande de tabac pour que la chasse soit un succès ».

Leslie et d’autres aînés de la Première Nation de Bloodvein River veulent enseigner aux élèves de la région l’histoire, la culture ainsi que la langue anishinaabe. Ils créent un programme qui sera intégré au curriculum scolaire après la construction de la nouvelle école de la communauté.

2. Martins-pêcheurs

Dans certains cas, les spécialistes suggèrent que les Anishinaabeg ont fait les pictogrammes pour souligner de grands moments de leurs vies ou des associations entre certains clans et les régions qu’ils utilisent à des fins traditionnelles et cérémonielles. Ce pictogramme du lac Sasaginnigak illustre deux martins-pêcheurs, l’un des emblèmes de clan des Anishinaabeg de Pimachiowin Aki

Le pictogramme des martins-pêcheurs a probablement été fait au début des années 1800 par des membres du clan éponyme qui hivernaient au lac Sasaginnigak, le lac faisant partie de la zone de récolte de leurs familles (Petch 2010).

3. Bison

Le bison dans ce pictogramme se distingue par ses sabots ronds et le tracé foncé qui semble indiquer son cœur.

Dans les années 1950, Selwyn Dewdney, guidé par des aînés ojibwés, a commencé à étudier les pictogrammes du Bouclier canadien. Dans son livre, « Indian Rock Paintings of the Great Lakes », il nomme ce pictogramme le « Bison de Bloodvein » (Bloodvein Bison) et le décrit comme ayant des proportions magnifiques.

Dans le livre susmentionné, corédigé avec Kenneth E. Kidd, on suggère que le pictogramme est à 100 milles au nord de l’endroit où les troupeaux de bisons erraient autrefois, et que la personne qui l’a fait provenait de la région ou avait parcouru une longue distance pour venir chasser à cet endroit.

4. Chaman

Selwyn Dewdney a donné à ce pictogramme le nom de « Chaman de Bloodvein » (Bloodvein Shaman). Le chaman tient un sac à médecines. M. Dewdney note que les zigzags au-dessus de la tête du chaman sont visibles dans d’autres pictogrammes et sont souvent interprétés comme des pensées ou des pouvoirs magiques. Il ajoute que « le grand canot en dessous du chaman et le porc-épic à gauche pourraient représenter les prouesses de combat ainsi que le clan du chaman ».

5. Gigoteurs

Pour désigner ce pictogramme, M. Dewdney parle de « deux curieux gigoteurs » (two curious wigglers) sans toutefois donner de détails sur ce qu’ils représentent. Dans le blogue « Ramblin’ Boy », l’auteur True_North suggère que les gigoteurs pourraient être une représentation du serpent de médecine.

Beaucoup des dessins de Pimachiowin Aki représentent des animaux et des personnes qui sont probablement inspirés d’esprits puissants et d’expériences vécues par l’artiste. Chaque pictogramme a sa propre signification. L’archéologue Jack Steinbring a écrit que « C’est souvent un rêve ou une vision, parfois causé par un jeûne ou un effort de concentration prolongé, qui donne naissance à l’image ».

Comment les gardiens de Pimachiowin Aki aident à préserver les pictogrammes

Les pictogrammes spectaculaires de Pimachiowin Aki sont bien préservés. Les gardiens s’occupent d’enlever les déchets au site et sensibilisent également les gens à l’importance de respecter les pictogrammes (de laisser des offrandes, de ne pas toucher ou mouiller les pictogrammes, etc.).

Nous ne savons pas la vitesse du processus de détérioration naturelle des pictogrammes. La plus grande menace à leur préservation est probablement l’empiètement du lichen.

Pour trouver les pictogrammes de Pimachiowin Aki

Les pictogrammes sont généralement sur les parois rocheuses abruptes qui surplombent les voies navigables de la forêt boréale.

Ils sont habituellement dans des endroits associés à des esprits puissants, par exemple près d’un cours d’eau, aux intersections entre le ciel, la terre et l’eau, sous terre ou sous l’eau.

Tous les emplacements des pictogrammes n’ont pas à être révélés.

« Il y a, à Dogskin, des peintures rupestres considérées comme sacrées parce que les gens de Little Grand Rapids croient qu’elles ont été faites par les Memegwesiwag (petits gens des roches) qui ont participé à la création et existent depuis le tout début. » – Joseph Levesque, Sr. (en traduction, 2014)

Pour communiquer avec les Memegwesiwag, les Anishinaabeg vont là où se trouvent certains pictogrammes et y font une offrande en signe de respect avant de demander de l’aide pour un voyage ou une chasse.

« Il existe [sur une certaine rivière] une peinture rupestre d’une tortue serpentine. Quand quelqu’un passait devant, il hachait du tabac et, mettant le tabac dans sa pipe, disait ‘Je vais tuer un orignal’. Et c’est exactement ce qui arrivait, la personne avait reçu la bénédiction de tuer un orignal. » – l’aîné Kenneth Owen de la Première Nation de Pauingassi (en traduction, 2007) explique l’importance d’un certain pictogramme pour communiquer avec les Memegwesiwag qui ont fait la peinture.

Pour obtenir plus d’images de pictogrammes, y compris un lien vers la version numérique du livre de Selwyn Dewdney et de Kenneth E. Kidd, cliquez ici :

https://archive.org/details/indianrockpainti00dewd/page/n1/mode/2up (anglais seulement)

Anishinaabe Pictographs On The Bloodvein: The Artery Lake Site (anglais seulement)

Sources

Selwyn Dewdney et Kenneth E. Kidd, Indian Rock Paintings of the Great Lakes
Jack Steinbring, Rock Paintings in the Eastern Lake Winnipeg Watershed Pimachiowin Aki Cultural (document de discussion)
Virginia Petch, Cultural Landscape – Macro Scale Document, août 2010

12 lieux désignés à découvrir dans la Première Nation de Poplar River

La Première Nation de Poplar River a récemment terminé une carte des toponymes traditionnels qui désigne 149 endroits, y compris des rivières, des lacs, des ruisseaux, des rapides, des pointes et des îles.

Depuis plusieurs années, les aînés de Poplar River transmettent leur savoir en vue de la création de la carte. Par exemple, ils ont parcouru le territoire avec nous afin de nous faire connaître des endroits et des objets que l’on connait seulement grâce à leur savoir et présence. Les histoires et les souvenirs des aînés sont désormais imprimés sur une gigantesque carte colorée qui sera affichée dans les espaces communautaires pour guider nos pas. La carte fait presque cinq pieds de largeur!

Pendant les déplacements sur le territoire, les Anishinaabeg racontent des histoires à propos des lieux désignés aperçus en cours de route; apprendre le nom des différents endroits permet une connaissance approfondie du territoire. Ce savoir est essentiel à la survie. Le nom de certains endroits est inspiré de la faune ou de la flore régionale et le nom d’autres endroits évoque un danger. Beaucoup de noms rappellent l’histoire de peuples qui ont traversé la région et utilisé ses terres.

Lieux désignés à découvrir dans la Première Nation de Poplar River

Voici douze lieux désignés à visiter à l’aide de la carte des toponymes de la Première Nation de Poplar River.

  • Nikaminikwaywining (crique où s’abreuvent les oies)
  • Pinanaywipowitik (rapides où se reposer les jambes)
  • Moozichisking (gros rocher en forme de croupe d’orignal)
  • Wapiskapik (île rocheuse peinte en blanc pour la rendre visible)
  • Kakinoosaysikak (lieu rempli de ménés)
  • Weeskwoywisaguygan (lac Marchand — en forme de ballon)
  • Moondeewiminitik (île nommée en l’honneur de feu l’aîné Mooni)
  • Kaminotinak (beau terrain élevé le long de la rivière Franklin où poussent de petits arbres)
  • Nayonanashing (endroit où s’arrêter pour le dîner)
  • Wapeegoozhesse’opimatagaywining (lieu où une souris a nagé à travers la rivière)
  • Paagitinigewening (rocher d’offrande de tabac)
  • Kakpikichiwung (chute au-dessus d’une falaise rocheuse)

Préserver le patrimoine culturel

Les 149 lieux désignés de la carte la Première Nation de Poplar River sont maintenant officiellement reconnus dans les bases de données toponymiques provinciales et nationales. En plus de nous guider sur les terres et les cours d’eau, la carte aide à préserver notre patrimoine culturel. Autrement dit, elle préserve l’histoire, les enseignements et les croyances de l’anishinaabemowin (langue des Ojibwés).

Entendre les noms de lieux et en parler donne l’impression de lire un livre. En outre, les désignations veillent à ce que les histoires perdurent. Quand mon père décrivait les endroits qu’il avait visités, il disait « kee’yapay namaytoowag », ce qui signifie qu’il pouvait encore y sentir la présence des gens qui l’avait précédé. Les histoires de nos ancêtres sont liées à ces endroits, tout comme nous, grâce aux noms de lieux.

Sophia Rabliauskas

Meegwetch (merci) aux aînés de la Première Nation de Poplar River qui ont été généreux et patients et ont donné de leur temps pour consigner les récits personnels et collectifs des gens qui ont traversé, observé et habité l’Asatiwisipe Aki, le territoire ancestral de la Première Nation de Poplar River.

Pour voir la carte toponymique complète de la Première Nation de Poplar River, cliquez ici et faites défiler la page vers le bas jusqu’à la carte.

D’autres cartes toponymiques de Pimachiowin Aki

La Corporation Pimachiowin Aki protège le patrimoine culturel des quatre collectivités autochtones de Pimachiowin Aki pour les prochaines générations. Ce patrimoine reflète l’identité et le mode de vie des collectivités. Il comprend tout ce que nous chérissons et transmettons d’une génération à l’autre, en plus des noms de lieux. Le patrimoine comprend aussi des itinéraires, des refuges, des chansons et des éléments du savoir traditionnel.

Nous franchissons terres et cours d’eau pour répertorier les sites culturels de Pimachiowin Aki, consignant notamment les lieux désignés, les pictogrammes, les nids d’oiseaux-tonnerres, les refuges, les campements et les sites de rituels. Les Premières Nations de Bloodvein River, de Pauingassi et de Little Grand Rapids font toutes, elles aussi, la collecte de ce type d’information afin de créer leurs propres cartes toponymiques.

Cet été, huit jeunes adultes ont vécu une expérience unique grâce à carte des toponymes traditionnels de la Première Nation de Poplar River. Pour connaître leur histoire : 13 Rapids with a Traditional Place Names Map in Hand (anglais seulement).

Tips on How to Smoke Fish and Meat

After 46 years as a commercial fisherman, Frank Young Senior retired last year. That doesn’t mean he has stopped fishing. Today he fishes to feed his family, to share with Elders in the community and neighbouring communities, and to pass on traditions to his children and grandchildren.

Frank and his wife Ellen raised two daughters and a son in Bloodvein River First Nation. He says that his daughter Lisa, who now lives in Winnipeg, wants to learn how to smoke meat, and his grandchildren are interested in fishing.  

“We go out on the lake in the boat with the net. They really enjoy that,” he says.

Learning to fish, hunt and trap are a right of passage for youth living in Pimachiowin Aki, and learning how to prepare and cook meat is passed down through generations. 

“When I cut up and dry meat, my daughter always wants to be there,” says Frank, adding that his grandchildren like to watch him filet fish.

Frank has also done a lot of moose hunting, sometimes traveling a long way to “get moose just about every year.” He says that he cuts the moose into quarters to haul it home, where he then cuts it up into smaller pieces.

“My daughter wants to learn how to cut up meat into slabs and hang it,” he says. She was helping me last year. She’s very interested in stuff like that.”

If you’re interested, too, here are some tips from Frank:

The Best Wood for Smoking Fish and Meat
“Look for dead poplar trees,” says Frank. He builds a fire out of dried poplar, found right outside his home. Poplar is best because it doesn’t have sap—trees with sap make a black fire.

Frank’s Tips on How to Smoke Meat
Historically, many people would smoke meat to dry it out, to preserve it. This was in the days before electricity and deep freezers, Frank explains. “Now that we have a freezer, I still smoke meat because I like the taste of it. It’s tradition.” 

Frank hangs pieces of moose meat on sticks and smokes them.

 “There was someone who was drying meat a couple of years ago and he used spices,” Frank says. “That’s not the traditional way of doing it. I don’t use spices, just salt. That’s how it was done when I was growing up so that’s the way I do it.” 

Unlike fish, which is smoked for flavour and then boiled or cooked afterward, smoked meat is eaten right away.

Frank’s Tips on How to Smoke Fish
Frank has his own smokehouse where he smokes catfish, whitefish and goldeye. “We don’t smoke pickerel filets,” he says. “We fry those with flour and butter.”

Franks recommends using birch sticks to pierce the fish. He smokes six to eight whitefish at a time. The fire should have a small flame, he says. 

Frank closes the door and just lets it smoke. “You don’t want to dry it out,” he warns. “Just smoke it long enough to have the flavour.”

Try this Duck Fat Potato Recipe!
Fish, moose, and duck are favourite traditional foods along with delicacies like smoked meats, white fish, and pickerel caviar.

Little Grand Rapids First Nation Guardian Dennis Keeper says that duck is one of his favourite traditional foods. He notes that the ducks are especially fat this year, so he looks forward to trying this duck fat potato recipe:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/duckfat-potatoes-recipe-1957259

You can watch a video with British Chef April Bloomfield making Duck Fat Potatoes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93404IQdSSY

The recipe is on page 238 in her cookbook ‘A Girl and Her Pig: Recipes and Stories’.

How a Meeting with Hunters and Trappers Led to the Idea for a New School Program

Melba Green grew up in Bloodvein River First Nation. Today, she is a Pimachiowin Aki Guardian; a responsibility she takes very seriously. “This is what I’m supposed to do, help people, help the youth and watch over the land,” she says.

With her one-year-old Rottweiler Rocky by her side, she takes daily walks on the land. “I stop and listen to hear activities like gun shots, walking, people hunting or on a quad,” Melba explains. “I check on the water, the plants, medicines and trees.” 

Melba also listens to the concerns of people in her community. She has regular meetings with local hunters and trappers who talk with her about what is happening on the land. It was during one of these meetings that the idea for a new school program was born—Melba often talks to the students in the Miskooseepi School about what it means to keep the land. When she shared this at a meeting, she quickly had four male volunteers who wanted to share their knowledge and meet with students regularly to discuss the roles and responsibilities of men and women. Melba pitched the idea to women in the community and, once again, had eager volunteers.

Melba Reflects on Her Childhood
Anishinaabeg have very specific roles within their families and in their communities. Melba grew up the oldest sibling with three brothers and one sister. She says that when boys turn eight years old, they go out onto the land to learn how to hunt. Melba was surprised when her own young brother was being taken out into the bush. “I was scared that something bad might happen to him,” she remembers. My mom told me, ‘That’s just how it is’.” 

“Girls are supposed to know what our mothers do at home; cook, clean, help with the kids… That’s what we’re taught, through oral lessons,” she adds.

While many young people learn from their own parents or grandparents, some children may not have a role model to teach them. “But they do have guidance in the community and at the school,” says Melba.

Looking back, she notes that she ran to her grandmothers when she wanted to know something. “Now when I see young kids, a lot of their grandparents are gone.” 

The new program will help young people understand their roles and learn the skills needed to become responsible adults. The COVID-19 school shut down has put the program on pause but Melba and her group of volunteers look forward to implementing it as soon as they are able.  

The Roles of Men and Women
Male students will learn about:

  • Hunting and trapping
  • Fishing
  • Being respectful towards the land
  • Being respectful to others

Female students will learn about:

  • Harvesting plants and medicines
  • Responsibilities caring for the home
  • Their moon time
  • Parental responsibilities

Today’s Culture Shock  
Without a high school, after grade 9, students go to live with extended families in urban centres like Winnipeg, Selkirk or Riverton to finish their schooling. 

“It’s culture shock,” says Melba. “We have to do our jobs to help the youth. We want to show them that there is another way of life.”

The new program will do just that—help students learn to survive on the land and live healthy lifestyles.

Bloodvein River First Nation is looking forward to completion of a new K-10 school within the community in August 2021. New K-12 schools being constructed in Poplar River First Nation and Little Grand Rapids First Nation are also expected to open in August 2021.

The Land that Gives Life to Birds

An Interview with Dr. Jeff Wells

Birds around the world are in trouble. North America alone has 2.9 billion fewer birds today than 50 years ago. Dr. Jeff Wells has been working with Poplar River First Nation to record bird sounds in Pimachiowin Aki using leading-edge technology—Songmeters—to record bird sounds and help identify any changes in bird populations over time. Jeff shares his concerns for the future of birds, as well as some of his favourite bird recordings.

Pimachiowin Aki is home to over 200 bird species, including up to 14 species of conservation concern. What makes the Land that Gives Life important habitat for this amazing diversity of birds?

The large, intact and healthy forests, wetlands, lakes, rivers, streams and other habitats of Pimachiowin Aki make it an ideal place for millions of birds to thrive as well as mammals, fish, insects, trees and other plants, and many other living things. 

As part of one of the largest intact forests left on the planet and one of very few large intact forests in the southerly reaches of the Boreal biome, Pimachiowin Aki is crucial as a refuge for the species inhabiting it today to be able to have healthy populations that are more resilient to climate change impacts.

The Songmeter project brings together Indigenous science and Western science. Tell us about your work with Poplar River First Nation.

We started the project in 2016 as a way to begin gathering more information on the birds on Poplar River First Nation lands within Pimachiowin Aki and to test a new tool (Songmeter) that could be deployed by people on the ground in the community who had the best idea for where it would be useful to know more.   

Norway Rabliauskas (now a Poplar River First Nation Guardian) took the lead and has since done the work of maintaining the Songmeters, making sure they are working properly and are programmed to record at the times we wanted, and placing them out on the land. 

The project uses Songmeters under the direction of Indigenous stewardship to decide what areas are best suited for and most in need of further bird inventory and monitoring efforts. This collaboration opens up new avenues for understanding and learning that will provide increased ability to monitor birds and other wildlife and plants in Pimachiowin Aki. 

How do Songmeters work?

Songmeters are sound recording devices in watertight, rugged containers. They can be programmed to turn on and off on a prescribed time schedule. The sounds are recorded to an SD card and the unit can be left out for months at a time. The sound recording files can then be downloaded to a computer to listen and identify the birds that can be heard singing or calling. Sophisticated software can also be used to search through the files and find sounds of particular high priority species. We usually have the units record for several hours at dawn and dusk each night when they are deployed for the summer breeding bird season.

Norway Rabliauskas (now a Pimachiowin Aki Guardian) helps Jeff Wells determine the best places to install Songmeters in Poplar River First Nation.

What findings concern you the most? 

The three recent scientific findings that have concerned me the most are:

  • The number of species around the world that are in danger of extinction has reached one million 
  • North America has 2.9 billion fewer birds today than 50 years ago 
  • There are widespread declines of insects occurring across the globe 

What findings make you most hopeful?

The findings that make me the most hopeful are:

  • Lands managed by Indigenous people have better biodiversity protection outcomes
  • Maintaining large, intact forest habitats have a large number of benefits to biodiversity and society
  • 70% or more of the North American boreal forest is still intact and healthy and through Indigenous governments and communities it is and can continue to be maintained and stewarded

What are some of your favourite recordings? 

Some of my favourite bird species recorded in the Songmeter recordings include:

  • A Barred Owl giving its “who-cooks-for-you” song that echoes through the woods 
  • Several Whip-poor-wills calling back and forth at night
  • A Canada Warbler singing exuberantly on a May day after returning from its wintering grounds in South America
  • The rattling calls of a Belted Kingfisher in the rain
  • Early morning choruses that include the sweet whistled songs of White-throated Sparrows, Magnolia and Tennessee Warblers and Ovenbirds and in the background the piping of a Bald Eagle and the yodeling cry of a Common Loon

The sound recordings provide an opportunity to share a type of virtual experience with people from all over the world to increase their interest in and support of Pimachiowin Aki and its communities.

Experience the birds of Pimachiowin Aki:

What are some of your fondest memories out on the land in Pimachiowin Aki?

On a trip to Aikens Lake and the Bloodvein First Nation in 2011, I got the chance to see, hear, photograph, sound record and video many birds, flowers (not sound record these of course), and beautiful scenes. It was incredible to see the ancient drawings at Aikens Lake, experience a drum ceremony at the falls on the Bloodvein RIver and thrill to the amazing birdlife throughout the forests and wetlands of Pimachiowin Aki. 

I have wonderful memories of watching and sound recording Bay-breasted and Blackburnian warblers in the tops of tall spruce trees, passing by a small rocky island on which were nesting Herring Gulls, hearing the loud, piping “Quick-three cheers” song from an Olive-sided Flycatcher sitting boldly upright at the top of a spindly tree in a bog, perhaps a bird just returned from its northern South American wintering grounds.

What’s next for the Songmeter project?

We were able to get a large number of recordings from four locations in 2016 from late May through early July. In 2017 we were unable to get the units out because of the fires and evacuations from the community. Norway deployed them again in 2018 and 2019. 

The Songmeters collected a large amount of recordings and processing them has been a challenge. We have only summarized the 2016 field season so far, and will be releasing in a joint report with Pimachiowin Aki in 2020. In the meantime, we have found that we can use the recordings to continue to engage the broader public to become aware of Pimachiowin Aki and its importance to birds by sharing short, lively segments of recordings of different birds through social media channels.

Have you used Songmeters in other areas, too? 

Yes, in the Northwest Territories with the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation to monitor birds on their Thaidene Nene IPCA. We deployed another version of this technology in the community of Deline on Great Bear Lake, also in the Northwest Territories. We have provided Songmeters to the Waswanipi First Nation within the Cree Nation in Quebec as well. The Moose Cree First Nation in Ontario has deployed these devices through their own project but has allowed us to use their recordings as they work to protect one of their most important watersheds, the North French River watershed.

Learn more about how Indigenous conservationists are tracking the impact of climate change on the boreal soundscape: https://www.canadiangeographic.ca/article/vanishing-birdsong

Dr. Jeff Wells is a scientist, conservationist and author. He is the Vice President of Boreal Conservation for the National Audubon Society, and a supporter of Pimachiowin Aki.  

Lost in Pimachiowin Aki? 4 Survival Tips

Parts of Canada are well known for fierce winds and dangerously low temperatures during the winter months. We asked the Pimachiowin Aki Guardians for tips on how to stay safe this winter.

1. Report to the Band Office

“Stop in to say hello, so that we know that you are out there,” says Bloodvein First Nation Guardian Melba Green.  

2. Travel with a Buddy

No matter how much experience you have in the outdoors, heavy snow and high winds can reduce visibility, making travel, especially on foot, very difficult. Little Grand Rapids Guardian Dennis Keeper warns, “It’s a good idea to travel with somebody, especially at this time of year.”  

3. Use Nature (and Your Buddy) to Stay Warm

Many years ago, trappers would walk to traplines as far as 100 kilometres away from the community. They knew how to survive the elements during these long outings. They would walk in winter and sleep out in the open, using shrubs and tree branches for mattresses and blankets. They would also build a fire, taking turns to stoke it during the night.

This knowledge has been passed down through generations to the many trappers and hunters in Pimachiowin Aki today who use the survival skills that they learned from their fathers and grandfathers.

Melba says, “Years ago, my dad, cousin and brother got lost coming back from the trapline and spent three days out in the woods. They made shelter, and huddled together, walking during the daylight hours through very deep snow.”

“Use old pine trees for firewood to make a fire,” says Colin Owens, Pauingassi First Nation Guardian. Colin also recommends building a shelter to stay warm if you are lost. Like Elder Leslie, he suggests using the branches from the trees for ground cover and as blankets.

Melba suggests using ferns, willows and young trees, which are flexible, and therefore ideal for building shelter. 

4. Eat Cat Tail Roots

Vegetation is scarce during the winter months, so foraging for food may be difficult. “You can dig up snow looking for berries, but you’re not always successful,” says Melba.

“Unless you know where the wild parsnips are,” Dennis adds. “You can also eat the roots of cat tails,” he says, noting that they are an acquired taste.

Learn more about seasonal trips, past and present, in Pimachiowin Aki: https://pimaki.ca/the-land-that-gives-life/habitation/

For more information about the Pimachiowin Aki Guardians program: https://pimaki.ca/keeping-the-land/guardians-program/