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Uncategorised

Fall Moose Hunt

September 16, 2019

A moose can provide six months of food for a family, but moose hunting is more than just practical. It’s a family tradition, passed down through generations. 

Norman Pascal of Pauingassi First Nation learned how to hunt from his grandfather, Bushie Pascal, when he was “old enough to know how to handle a gun,” at the age of 14. Today, he hunts duck, geese, moose, beaver and muskrat. He learned from past generations to only take what you need. “Just because you see five moose, you don’t shoot five moose,” he says. 

When someone kills a moose, they think about the whole community. If a family doesn’t have the capacity to hunt, hunters will share the meat with them. “We share the meat with whoever asks for it,” says Norman. 

Hunters will also hunt for the Elders in the community. Pimachiowin Aki Guardian Dennis Keepers says that there are eight people who look after the Elders in his community of Little Grand Rapids. They will harvest beaver and duck, and fish and hunt moose for them. Dennis says he “has lots of family in the area,” but the Elders he hunts for are not related to him. The Elders give him gas or other hunting supplies as payment. 

Moose hunting is so important to the Anishinaabeg of Pimachiowin Aki that many children enjoy official breaks from school in order to join their families on fall moose hunts. 

Dennis, who also learned how to hunt from his grandfather, plans to pass on his knowledge to his son when his son turns 10 years old. “I will take him and his friends out to learn how to survive out in the wild,” he says. 

In October, when moose are mating, you can hear the bellow of the males along the lakeshores.  Hunters use horns made of birch to call them. They typically lure the males by imitating the sound of a female moose (cow), or by imitating the sound of a male moose (bull).

Anishinaabeg are careful not to be wasteful. They honour the Creator’s gifts through the continued harvest of plants and animals in a manner that ensures continuity of all life on the land. The Guardians in each community of Pimachiowin Aki are constantly monitoring their areas, building relationships with hunters, and watching out for poachers and trophy hunters. 

In our ancestors’ time, a person who wasted an animal would be punished, explains Bloodvein First Nation Guardian Melba Green. “You take only what you need and don’t waste it,” she says. Today, community members report back to the Guardians, sharing what they observe when they go out onto the land. Any illegal activities or other areas of concern, including wastage, are passed along from Guardians to the relevant authorities. 

Anishinaabeg are respectful of all living things. Once a moose hunter skins the meat and hide, to share the good news of their successful hunt, they display the head in front of their home. It is a show of pride, but also a show of respect for the moose, which has given up its life to feed the people of Pimachiowin Aki. In an act of respect, the moose beard is hung in the trees. This tradition is to give back to the land, Norman points out.

Sadly, not all traditions are being kept alive. “The older generations used to make leather from the moose hide but there’s nobody doing this anymore,” says Norman.

Dennis stresses the importance of talking to the Elders, to learn from them. “All the knowledge they have, once they’re gone, it’s gone.” Knowing this makes Dennis’ job as a Guardian all the more important. A huge priority is to bring youth and Elders together on the land, he adds.

Photo: Hidehiro Otake

Filed Under: First Nation Communities, Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, Indigenous Youth, Uncategorised Tagged With: Elders, guardians, harvesting, moose, Pauingassi First Nation

Win a T-Shirt

July 2, 2019

Sign up for the Pimachiowin Aki newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram to keep up to date and be entered to win a Pimachiowin Aki t-shirt (Men’s or Women’s Large). Draw will take place on July 16. Official rules available here.

Filed Under: Uncategorised

Naming Our Ancestors

June 25, 2019

Aniin (Hello)! Languages play an important role in the daily lives of all people and contribute to the world’s cultural diversity. But thousands of Indigenous languages have been in danger of disappearing for many years. 

We are excited to share that in 2019, the International Year of Indigenous Languages, language preservation is happening all over Pimachiowin Aki. One such example is the work being done by Gerald Neufeld. Gerald grew up in Pauingassi. For almost 20 years, he has been meeting with every community in Pimachiowin Aki and going through ancestral photos with residents to help identify Elders. This is Gerald’s way of giving back. He knows that making a connection to the past is important to current and future generations.

Fairwind (Naamiwan), a renowned medicine man from Pauingassi
Fair Wind (Naamiwan)

Gerald has been giving presentations to schools and community members, and the Pimachiowin Aki Board of Directors. Pimachiowin Aki is grateful to Gerald for volunteering his time and energy to maintain the language, songs and stories that form the unique cultural link between Anishinaabeg and Aki (the land). You’ll hear more about Gerald’s work in a future newsletter—about the Elders he has identified, like Fair Wind (Naamiwan), a renowned medicine man from Pauingassi, and the people he is still looking for answers about. Maybe you’ll be able to help him identify a photo?

Named Places

By documenting our ancestors’ names, we recognize and honour them. This is true, also, of documenting named places.

Each place in Pimachiowin Aki is known, understood and named. Some places are named after the topography or plant life found in the area. Other names reflect the histories of the people who have traveled through, observed, and made use of the land—like Kookooko’oosagasawining (Owl Smoking Island) on Poplar River ancestral lands, named after a woman Elder named Owl, where smoking ceremonies took place.

When my father was describing where he had been, he would say to us kee’apay namaytoowag, which means he could still feel the presence of people who had been there before. The stories of our ancestors are connected to those places and to us by the place names. 

—Sophia Rabliauskas

Poplar River First Nation has researched and documented 150 named places, and forwarded them to the Canadian Geographical Names Database so that they will show up on official maps sold to the public, and on popular sources like Google Maps.

Connecting Youth

Truth, Honesty, Respect posters

Posters line the hallways of schools in the four First Nations communities in Pimachiowin Aki. The posters feature inspiring messages and named places, giving meaning to these places and helping to keep their stories alive.

Follow us on Facebook to see more photos and information about language, culture and Keeping the Land in Pimachiowin Aki.

Filed Under: Cultural Heritage, Indigenous Language, Uncategorised Tagged With: Anishinaabemowin, Gerald Neufeld, Mapping, Named Places, Pauingassi First Nation

Pimachiowin Aki launches new website!

June 20, 2019

It’s here!  After many months of design work, programming, testing, and a new domain name, the Board of Directors is pleased to announce the launch of our website: https://pimaki.ca.

The new and dynamic website is our most visible asset, and provides information about who we are, what we do, why Pimachiowin Aki matters, and offers opportunities to collaborate, engage and learn about Canada’s newest and only natural and cultural World Heritage Site. Contact us as we navigate this big beautiful place and explore our possibilities!

Filed Under: Uncategorised

In other news…

June 18, 2019

Pimachiowin Aki is on social media!  Please visit and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Tapacheemowin! (More news to come!)

New Executive Director:  After a full-cycle recruitment and selection process, the Board of Directors welcomes Alison Haugh as Pimachiowin Aki’s new Executive Director.  Alison brings a depth and breath of experience to the position, demonstrating leadership and acumen in addressing new challenges and opportunities.  We invite you to subscribe to our newsletter and look forward to future dialogue with you.

Memorandum of Agreement:  an agreement between the Red Lake Regional Heritage Centre and Pimachiowin Aki Corporation was concluded in Red Lake, Ontario.  This agreement affirms our commitment to collaborate and create a presence for Pimachiowin Aki in Ontario, including a sub-office at the Centre.  Thank you to the Centre for this partnership opportunity and for hosting our Annual General Meeting!

Pimachiowin Aki Guardians Network:  Guardians have been part of Pimachiowin Aki forever.  The Anishinaabe tradition of Ji-ganawendamang Gidakiiminaan – keeping the land – is what Guardians do.  This year, we have seen significant and measurable progress in our Guardians’ work to observe, record and report on the cultural landscape and ecosystem health of Pimachiowin Aki.  Thank you to the Indigenous Guardians Joint Working Group and Environment and Climate Change Canada for supporting our Network – the only World Heritage Site chosen in Canada for the pilot project in 2018-19.

Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged With: guardians

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