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guardians

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

Filed Under: Land Guardians Tagged With: guardians

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

Filed Under: Harvesting, Land Guardians, Management & Protection, Uncategorised, Wildfire Tagged With: guardians, harvesting, hunting, wildfire

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)

Filed Under: First Nation Communities, Wildfire Tagged With: air quality, Bloodvein River First Nation, guardians, Little Grand Rapids First Nation

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

Filed Under: Cultural Heritage, Food, Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, Plants, Uncategorised Tagged With: birch harvesting, fishing, guardians, moose call, net fishing, Pauingassi First Nation, Pictographs, smoke house, smoking fish, sweetflag

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 

Filed Under: Cultural Heritage, Indigenous Language, Uncategorised, UNESCO World Heritage Tagged With: Anishinaabemowin, guardians

Songmeter Project – First Results Are In

March 21, 2023

Thank you to contributors Councillor Eddie Hudson, Poplar River Lands Guardians Norway Rabliauskas and Brad Bushie, Dr. Jeff Wells, and Elisha Corsiga (writer)

Our Elders and their ancestors have cared for our Traditional Lands for over 6,000 years.

Protecting Pimachiowin Aki, which over 200 bird species rely on for survival, is an important example of how we care for the land,” says Poplar River First Nation Lands Councillor Eddie Hudson.

Since 2016, Poplar River Lands Guardian Norway Rabliauskas has been collaborating with scientists from Audubon’s Boreal Conservation program to better understand how songbird populations are changing in the face of climate change.  

The first results of the ‘Songmeter Project’ are in.

“Songmeters record bird sounds,” says Guardian Brad Bushie, Poplar River Lands Guardians Program. Using knowledge of the land, Poplar River Lands Guardians placed the recording units at four sites across the traditional territory, he explains.

The number of bird species recorded allows us to analyze population changes over time,” adds Dr. Jeff Wells, Vice President for Boreal Conservation at National Audubon Society.

Map of survey sites in Poplar River First Nation and its location within Pimachiowin Aki, courtesy Audubon

  • Guardians placed Songmeters in four survey sites in Poplar River First Nation throughout the spring of 2016
  • 71 bird species were detected
  • At least 18 of the species detected have more than 70% of their breeding range confined to the Boreal Forest biome, meaning their survival relies heavily on healthy landscapes like Pimachiowin Aki 
  • Two species were detected on more than half of all recordings: 
    • White-throated Sparrow 
    • Swainson’s Thrush  
  • Five species were detected on more than 30% of all recordings:
    • Blackburnian Warbler
    • Ovenbird 
    • Song Sparrow 
    • Bald Eagle
    • American Crow
Song Sparrow
Photo: Hidehiro Otake
Bald Eagle
Photo: Lorne Coulson
  • At least 20 species listed as special concern, threatened, or endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) are believed to occur within Pimachiowin Aki. The Songmeter project captured recordings of three of the bird species listed by COSEWIC: 
    • Common Nighthawk
    • Eastern Whip-poor-will
    • Canada Warbler  
Common Nighthawk
Photo: Christian Artuso
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Photo: Christian Artuso
Canada Warbler
Photo: Christian Artuso
  • National Audubon Society’s recent study, Survival by Degrees, found that over two-thirds of North American birds are moderately or highly vulnerable to a global average temperature increase of 3°C by 2080. This includes many species detected at Poplar River First Nation, such as:  
    • Bay-breasted Warbler
    • Cape May Warbler
    • Canada Warbler
    • Blackburnian Warbler

How the collaboration began

“We first talked with the Guardians and community, and asked if they would be interested,” says Jeff.

Norway says the project is a good fit for his community. “One of our goals is to develop new research partnerships. Plus, the project builds on the monitoring work we have already been doing.”   

Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science come together

The Songmeter project relies heavily on Guardians, and the process of collaborating starts with listening and respect. 

Listening to Guardians’ advice is crucial in a project like this, where Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science combine to create strong, respectful conservation efforts, says Jeff. “Things always overlay with Indigenous knowledge.” 

Guardians serve as stewards and scientists and are central to a program that pairs data collection with Indigenous ecological knowledge to track changes across the site over time. 

Chad Wilsey, Vice President and Chief Scientist, National Audubon Society, in his blog about his work and experience in Poplar River First Nation

Guardians have a good understanding of the land and decide where to install Songmeters.

“Our Guardians’ hard work and understanding of the land have contributed to the project’s success,” says Councillor Eddie Hudson. “We are proud of the work they do.”

Guardian Norway Rabliauskas installs a Songmeter.

Songmeters last for a long time between battery changes. Recordings are saved onto SD cards for researchers to analyze.

The project continues

This past year, Guardians installed Songmeters in the same four locations as 2016. The 2017-2021 recordings have yet to be formally processed but since the start of the project, the number of species the team has identified has “greatly expanded,” Jeff says.  

Thousands of hours of song

Analyzing bird sounds can be a difficult and time-consuming task.

“What happens with this kind of work is that you can get thousands of hours of recordings, and you can imagine someone sitting down and listening… You can only get through so much,” says Jeff.

The relatively small team picked random samples, listening to four 10-minute recordings from each day collected in 2016.

187.3 hours of recordings were sampled between May 27 and July 1, 2016 

Birds of Poplar River Project – First Results

New technology to speed up the process

Recently, the team implemented BirdNET in their identification process. BirdNET is an artificial intelligence algorithm developed by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. This bird identification machine can quickly go through recordings to identify specific bird species. 

The team will use BirdNet to help identify the recordings taken in Poplar River First Nation from 2017–2021. 

Looking forward

In the upcoming year, National Audubon Society and Poplar River First Nation Lands Guardians  Luke Mitchell, Brad Bushie and Youth Guardian Aiden Heindmarch will work together to expand the areas where Songmeters are placed. They plan to set up Songmeters in deeper and more remote areas of the forest.

“One place takes a couple of days to get to by boat,” Jeff says. “It’s exciting to see what we might find in these places.”

He hopes that over the years more First Nation communities can use Songmeters when developing their monitoring programs. He also hopes for more collaborative initiatives with communities in Pimachiowin Aki.

“If that’s what communities want to be a part of,” he says, “there are a lot of interesting things to discover.”

Filed Under: Birds, Indigenous Traditional Knowledge, Management & Protection, Species of Conservation Concern, Uncategorised, Wildlife Tagged With: Audubon, bald eagle, canada warbler, Common Nighthawk, Eastern Whip-poor-will, guardians, Poplar River First Nation, song sparrow, songmeter

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