THUNDER BAY — The First Nations involved in three Ring of Fire road projects came together this week and reafirmed their commitment to Indigenous-led development.
Marten Falls and Webequie First Nations held a ceremony where their respective chiefs, council members, elders and community members were joined by staff of the mining company Wyloo in the deconstruction of a teepee, said a media release issued by Marten Falls.
The First Nations are the proponents behind the Marten Falls Community Access Road, the Webequie Supply Road and jointly, the Northern Road Link project that would connect the two, roads which would connect their communities to the provincial highway system, as well allowing access to the mineral-rich Ring of Fire region.
“Our people have been stewards of these lands since time immemorial, and that will not change through this process or the development of the Ring of Fire,” Chief Cornelius Wabasse of Webequie First Nation is quoted saying in the release.
“We want to ensure that future opportunities benefit our people, and that any work done in our ancestral lands happens with our complete involvement, in compliance with our ways and our laws," Bruce Achneepineskum, Chief of Marten Falls First Nation, is quoted saying.
The ceremony involved the dismantling of a ceremonial teepee erected last year in collaboration by the two First Nations and the mining company as a promise to a shared commitment of an Indigenous-led development process for The Ring of Fire.
The First Nations are highlighting thier "non-negotiable" needs for the construction of the major project, including traditional and ancestral land acknowledgements, the need for meaningful consultation that includes co-planning and co-development of the area, and the fulfillment of the Crown's duty to consult, which brings both provincial and federal governments to their territory as partners.
“We are leading the planning and assessment of the road projects in the region to ensure that environmental risks to our traditional ways of life are thoroughly assessed and mitigated, and that opportunities for First Nations people are maximized,” said Wabasse.
“This area is important to both of our communities,” Achneepineskum said.
Through this process the two First Nations will continue to respect the inherent and treaty rights of First Nations across their neighbouring territories and continue to look for ways to collaborate in an inclusive process.
“Marten Falls has worked on land use planning in this area for the past 15 years, mapping sacred sites, birth sites, burial sites, culturally significant sites related to moose harvesting and fishing and other ecological sensitive areas that are known to our people,” Achneepineskum said.
“We want to see development that recognizes our special connection to this land and involves us in all aspects of the work,” he said.
