guardians

Year of Collaboration: 7 Highlights

December 8, 2025

This year, Pimachiowin Aki achieved several milestones that highlight the power of collaboration. Residents and visitors can now see new site signs, Guardians strengthened their skills through hands-on training, and communities are working to restore traditional place names for ancestral lands. We also welcomed new Board members, prepared to share our OUV in Anishinaabemowin, and launched our first online shop! These accomplishments reflect the dedication of communities and partners to care for the Land that Gives Life. Here are seven highlights:

1. New Signs on the Land

This summer, five new World Heritage Site signs appeared along PR 304, our very first in Manitoba! Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure (MTI) worked with Pimachiowin Aki to design and install the signs, which mark the site boundary and help travellers find their way. These signs follow provincial road standards and UNESCO guidelines, making them official and built to last.

Pimachiowin Aki partners are grateful to everyone at MTI and UNESCO who helped bring this long-awaited project to life.

2. Guardians Complete 200-Hour Program

Pimachiowin Aki Guardians Melba Green and Owen Bear completed the intensive five-week Land Guardian Program through the Natural Resources Training Group. They attended lectures, trained in the field, learned to identify plants, birds, fish, wildlife and habitat, and sharpened their environmental monitoring skills.

The program strengthens the important work happening right now in Bloodvein River and Poplar River, provides opportunities for future employment in land management and environmental protection, and meets academic requirements for an Applied Biology Technician program.

Congratulations, Melba and Owen!

3. New Leaders Join the Board

Enil Keeper
Little Grand Rapids First Nation has a new representative on the Board. Enil Keeper—former Chief, long-time Councillor, RCMP officer, assistant Conservation Officer, Home-School Coordinator, and lifelong learner—brings deep community knowledge and decades of experience to this position. Born on Sharpstone Lake and raised on the land, Enil has been part of the Pimachiowin Aki journey from the beginning. He follows Augustine Keeper, who contributed more than a decade of leadership and vision.

Rob Nedotiafko
Rob Nedotiafko was appointed to represent the Government of Manitoba on the Board of Directors. Rob worked closely with Poplar River First Nation on the Asatiwisipe Aki Land Management Plan and now serves as Director of Parks for Manitoba Environment and Climate Change. He steps into the role held for 16 years by Bruce Bremner, whose dedication continues to shape our work today.

Waajiye/Welcome, Enil and Rob
Aapiji miigwech/Many thanks to Bruce and Augustine

4. Our OUV—Now in Anishinaabemowin

The translated OUV, still in its draft stage

Pimachiowin Aki’s Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) will soon be available in Anishinaabemowin—in Roman orthography and syllabics. This translation, completed by Carol Beaulieu and supported with a grant from Parks Canada, brings the language of the land to this important UNESCO text.

The OUV explains why Pimachiowin Aki matters to the world and has cultural and natural significance for all peoples, now and for future generations.

The translated version will be shared on our website and with schools once approved by Pimachiowin Aki partners. Please contact your Director if you would like to review the draft statement.

Outstanding Universal Value means cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity. As such, the permanent protection of this heritage is of the highest importance to the international community as a whole.
—para. 49, Operational Guidelines for Implementation of the World Heritage Convention

Carol shares her story about the translation process > Guided by Teachings—Carol’s Approach to Translation

5. Bringing Traditional Place Names Back to the Map

Mapping in Little Grand Rapids First Nation

Little Grand Rapids and Pauingassi First Nations continued their Traditional Place Names Projects this year, working with Elders, knowledge keepers, Manitoba’s Provincial Toponymist, and a Master’s student. Draft maps are now ready for community review—the moment where Elders confirm spellings, stories, and accuracy.

Once complete, maps will be shared in schools and community spaces. The First Nations will also decide which names to make official so they can appear on Google Maps and future topographical maps.

Miigwech to Manitoba’s Lands and Planning Branch for providing GIS mapping support and helping this project grow.

Excerpt from Little Grand Rapids First Nation

6. A Top Score for Pimachiowin Aki

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Heritage Outlook assesses the health of natural and mixed World Heritage Sites every 3–5 years. In 2025, Pimachiowin Aki received the highest possible conservation outlook.

Drawing on insights from hundreds of experts and partners, this global assessment tracks the state of conservation of all natural and mixed World Heritage sites and raises awareness of their importance. It also serves as an early warning system, helping identify threats and guide actions needed to safeguard the world’s wonders.

Pimachiowin Aki’s outlook is a powerful reminder that when communities, governments, Guardians, and supporters work together, we can protect one of the world’s most important ecosystems and cultural landscapes. The full report is available here: https://worldheritageoutlook.iucn.org/explore-sites/pimachiowin-aki

7. Our New Online Shop

*Page from Obaawingaashiing Gichi-Aabijitaawinan – The Pauingassi Collectio*n

Pimachiowin Aki has launched an online store! For now, supporters who donate $300 or more to the Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage Fund at The Winnipeg Foundation receive a copy of Obaawingaashiing Gichi-Aabijitaawinan – The Pauingassi Collection as a thank-you gift. Miigwech to everyone who made this possible, including:

Maureen Matthews, Elaine and Joshua Owen, (late) Roger Roulette, and Carol Beaulieu for creating the book
Manitoba Museum for publishing the book as part of the Nametwaawin Outreach Project funded by Heritage Canada with a contribution from Pimachiowin Aki
A donor-advised fund at The Winnipeg Foundation for a significant contribution toward the cost of printing the books
Peaceworks Technology Solutions for programming our new Shop page
Everyone who invested in Pimachiowin Aki this year through your donations, grants to our programs, and in-kind contributions. We thank you for placing your trust in us to steward these resources and maximize their impact

Every Dollar Helps Protect Pimachiowin Aki
In the future, we hope to offer books, maps, posters, and even branded apparel directly through the Shop to support our programs.

Donate Today

More Guardians to be Hired

September 17, 2024

Next year, each of the four Pimachiowin Aki communities will receive funding for a second Guardian through the Common Tern Restoration Project in collaboration with the National Audubon Society. This Project aims to restore species injured by the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“It’s enough operating money for three to five years,” says Pimachiowin Aki Director Alison Haugh. “We are very fortunate to be successful because a lot of people applied for it,” she adds.

Pimachiowin Aki Board Director William Young says that a second Guardian will address safety concerns. “Bloodvein River is a vast area for our one Guardian to monitor. The river system flows pretty fast. She’s alone and a lot can happen.”

The US federal and state agencies tasked with restoring species injured by the 2010 oil spill proposed a project to fund Indigenous Guardians to protect and manage nesting Common Terns at key colonies in Manitoba. Through hands-on stewardship and monitoring, the project aims to help 2,000 nesting pairs of Common Terns produce more baby birds that survive to fledge from their nests. More babies results in a stronger, healthier population overall that can recover from the losses that the oil spill dealt.
https://www.audubon.org/news/common-tern

Expanding the Guardians Program

Pimachiowin Aki is working to acquire funding for even more Lands Guardians positions and is positive about the future.

“It’s taking time, but we’re going to do it,” says Alison.

A proposal was submitted to the Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk in fall 2023. If successful, funding would be used to hire more Guardians to conserve and protect species at risk in Pimachiowin Aki.

Photo: Ōtake Hidehiro

An Ethical Fall Moose Harvest

September 17, 2024

As the fall moose harvest approaches, Pimachiowin Aki wants to remind community members and all hunters to help Guardians during this busy time. If you see any waste, reckless hunting, or hunters being disrespectful, tell your Guardian. Guardians will, in turn, report concerns to their communities and to provincial staff.

Moose Population

Pimachiowin Aki is communicating with our provincial government partners to renew our working relationship and talk about the moose population and concerns about harvesting.

“We want to be part of the decision-making process. We want to be part of the consultation and plans,” says Pimachiowin Aki Director William Young, Bloodvein River First Nation.

Having conversations and sharing information with government partners will allow us to make the best decisions for the moose, adds Pimachiowin Aki Executive Director Alison Haugh. “How are moose doing in the area? Do we need to close areas or limit the hunt because moose are not doing well? If they are not doing well, is it due to habitat or hunting pressure? These are important answers to have.”

Watch for updates on our work with wildlife and habitat.

Did You Know?

Most of Pimachiowin Aki is caribou habitat, but because of the wildfire cycle, we could see more moose in five to 10 years from now.

infographic denting 100 years of resources following a wildfire

Photo: Ōtake Hidehiro

Air Quality in Pimachiowin Aki

June 20, 2024

For the first time, people in Bloodvein River and Little Grand Rapids can check online to find out what the air quality is like in their communities, in real time. Guardians installed PurpleAir sensors to help residents make decisions about their health, such as when to stay indoors to avoid breathing in harmful wildfire smoke and other airborne pollutants. At 3:20pm today, the reading was 1 in Bloodvein River and 3 in Little Grand Rapids. The lower the number, the better the air quality.

Thanks to the First Nations Guardians, Pimachiowin Aki has filled a gap in Canada’s air quality monitoring system and joined a network of sensors set up all over the world!

To see current air quality readings for Bloodvein River and Little Grand Rapids, go to PurpleAir.com and search your location on the real-time map.

Wildfire Maps

You can also check out interactive maps for details on wildfires burning in Manitoba and Ontario. The maps provide information about specific wildfires, including:

Locations
Causes
Danger ratings
Status (such as active or out, under control, or out of control)

6 Days of Cultural Experiences with Pauingassi First Nation Guardian Colin Owens

December 18, 2023

Notes & photos from nature photographer Ōtake Hidehiro

1. Thursday | Net Fishing, Sacred Rock & Plant Medicine

Colin and his wife Cora took me to set a fishing net. We boated for 4.5km to get to the netting point and put the net into water. The net was 40-50m long or so.

Colin took me to a sacred rock. He put tobacco under the rock. It should avoid the direct sunlight and wind so that it won’t blow away, he said. It is also a good hunting spot for geese. He showed me the blind made by rocks to hide the hunter from geese.

Along the shore Cora was collecting medicine plants. She took just the tip of the twig of the shrubs to get buds. “It is good for your heart,” Colin said. It has a minty, herby, refreshing taste!

Colin also tried to get a root of sweetflag from the muddy ground for medicine.

2. Friday | The Catch

Surprisingly, we caught many fish just for overnight! We kept 32 walleyes, two big northern pike and 14 whitefish. We put a net into water again. Colin and Cora were busy cutting fish even after dark! We went to get the net out from the water in the evening. We caught a few more fish to cut!

3. Saturday | Smoke House

Colin built a smoke house for whitefish with fresh green birch trees for poles. He carefully selected the right size of tree, which would easily bend and be strong enough at the same time.

Cora cooked fried bannock and fish (northern pike) for dinner.

4. Sunday | Smoking Fish

Colin started smoking whitefish around 11am. He needs old aspen trees for the smoke. He prefers almost-rotten logs, which produce a lot of smoke. He kept feeding the fire and checking the condition of the frame and temperature. It took 6-7 hours to finish. He was checking the colour of the fish meat to know if it is done or not.

Cora cooked moose stew for dinner! It was so tasty!

5. Tuesday | Moose Call

Today Colin showed me how to make a moose call out of birch bark. Colin looked for the right size tree around town but most of the trees were too old or too small. The moose call we made became a bit shorter than usual. After we made the moose call, we drove Colin’s truck to the edge of the town and tested it on a hill. “It should work. We will try it in the bush tomorrow,” he said.

Pauingassi First Nation Guardian Colin Owens tests a moose call that he made of birch bark.

6. Wednesday | Boat Ride, Pictograph & Moose Call

Colin took me on a boat ride! We visited a pictograph. It was very interesting to see. Colin told me that looks like three turtles and some kind of animal below it.

He brought a shotgun and rifle in case we could see any ducks, geese or moose.

We tried to call a moose in two different locations and waited for quite a long time. Unfortunately no moose came out, but it was wonderful to learn the Anishinaabe way of life on the land.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with me, Colin!

Photos: Ōtake Hidehiro

5 Years, 5 Moments to Celebrate

June 13, 2023

Pimachiowin Aki was inscribed on the World Heritage List on July 1, 2018 during the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee in Manama, Bahrain.

It has been an exciting five years since Pimachiowin Aki became Canada’s first mixed UNESCO World Heritage site. With so many incredible moments to choose from, it was difficult to decide which ones to celebrate with you today. We are humbled and proud to share these highlights:

1. Guardians Network is established

When Pimachiowin Aki launched its Guardians Network in 2018, we had no idea how quickly the program and Guardians’ capacity would grow. In addition to monitoring the lands and waters of Pimachiowin Aki, Guardians have documented and shared customary laws, recorded place names, collaborated with researchers, operated drones, spoken at conferences, conducted bird surveys and recorded bird songs, harvested food for Elders, taken youth on land-based learning trips, and more. We thank you for your care of people and places, for connecting with the land and each other, and for sharing your knowledge and skills. You have strengthened our communities and are a gift to us all.

Pimachiowin Aki Corporation was one of 28 successful applicants in Canada for the early round of funding from the Environment and Climate Change Canada Indigenous Guardians Pilot Program in 2018. The program has since secured annual funding and established the Pimachiowin Aki Guardians Fund to carry it into the future.

2. The World Visits pimaki.ca

World Heritage status creates a tremendous opportunity to enhance understanding of Pimachiowin Aki’s cultural and natural values and share these values with the world. Since the launch of our newly designed and reprogrammed website, Pimachiowin Aki has been sharing information about The Land that Gives Life with people from around the globe. The new website has received many positive reviews, including praise for the amount and quality of information and how easy it is for people to find what they’re looking for.

The website even caught the eye of Dr. Gemma Faith, who, at the time, was a PhD researcher at Ulster University in Northern Ireland. Gemma made Pimachiowin Aki the focus of her research, which won an Outstanding PhD Thesis award. Gemma’s thesis explored how pimaki.ca communicates the unique bond that Anishinaabeg have with the land to people around the world.

3. The Pimachiowin Aki Endowment Fund Hit $5 Million

For the first time since it was established in 2010, the fund reached its highest-ever value of $5 million last year. Thank you to our generous donors who have helped us reach this milestone. Your donations help grow the fund, which is held at The Winnipeg Foundation. Annual revenue from the fund helps Pimachiowin Aki operate the Guardians Network, create and support cultural heritage education and Indigenous knowledge programs, provide training and capacity-building, and lead and support research to ensure that the world understands and respects this special place and all who live here.

Pimachiowin Aki is a small not-for-profit charitable organization with big ideas, and a mission to safeguard Pimachiowin Aki for the well-being of Anishinaabeg and the world, forever.

4. We Built a Digital Library

Along the journey to becoming a UNESCO World Heritage site, we acquired over 12 thousand photos of the people and places of Pimachiowin Aki. For over two decades, people involved in the project have been documenting their experiences and sharing photos – from large community gatherings to wildlife sightings to touring UNESCO representatives on evaluation missions across the waters of Pimachiowin Aki. Many of the photos you see in our communications date back to this time.

Today, these photos, along with a vast amount of information and data collected for First Nations’ land use planning and the World Heritage site nomination, are neatly accredited and organized into folders in the Pimachiowin Aki digital library. The library continually grows as Guardians, community members, professional photographers, researchers and visitors share photos and information with us.

The Pimachiowin Aki library is an important achievement as it provides a fuller picture of the World Heritage site and offers layers and layers of information. Each time Pimachiowin Aki creates a map, such as place names maps, more detail and meaning is added from our library.

The extensive library also provides local teachers with valuable information as they incorporate the cultural, natural and educational values of Pimachiowin Aki into their curricula.

5. We Published Bilingual Anishinaabemowin/English Books

In partnership with Manitoba Museum, we contributed research and expertise developed during First Nations’ land use planning and the World Heritage site bid to create resources for schools in the Pimachiowin Aki communities.

The project is coming to completion, and five books will soon be delivered to all schools in Pimachiowin Aki, and potentially to every school in Manitoba. The books will be also available for purchase at Manitoba Museum. The books are:

Omazinaakizonan Mishibaawitigong | Photos From Little Grand Rapids
Gikino’amaagedaa Anishinaabemowin | Let’s Teach the Ojibwe Language
Onji’aawasowinan | “do’s and don’ts“ Traditional Anishinaabe Teachings (colouring book)
Azauuwiziibing Gaa-nitaawigigin | Poplar River Anishinaabe Plant Guide
Obaawingaashiing Aabijichiganan | Pauingassi Collection

Thank you to our two special donors whose generosity helped to finish this project.

This is what the children should be taught. That they should never forget their Anishinaabe language, the way the language was spoken long ago.
OMISHOOSH (ELDER CHARLIE GEORGE OWEN), PAUINGASSI FIRST NATION