Indigenous partners’ projects promote love and respect to Mother Earth

“Future generations stand to inherit a greatly spoiled world. Our children and grandchildren should not have to pay the cost of our generation’s irresponsibility.” – Pope Francis Addressing energy leaders at the Vatican, 2019

“Nature, the First People, and the spirit of our ancestors are giving you loud warnings. Today, December 10, 1992, you see increasing floods, more damaging hurricanes, hailstorms, climate changes and earthquakes as our prophecies said would come. Even animals and birds are warning us with strange change in their behavior such as the beaching of whales. Why do animals act like they know about the earth’s problems and most humans act like they know nothing? If we humans do not wake up to the warnings, the great purification will come to destroy this world just as the previous worlds were destroyed.”  -The Hopi Message to the United Nations General Assembly By Thomas Banyacya, Kykyotsmovi, Arizona, December 10, 1992

In 2009, the United Nations declared April 22 as International Mother Earth Day, more commonly known as Earth Day. The relationship between Indigenous peoples and Mother Earth is sacred. Indigenous peoples celebrate and honour Mother Earth every day through actions of love and respect and by promoting stewardship of our planet.

Through partnerships, PWRDF has joined in the efforts of Indigenous peoples and communities and has learned strategies and practices for the conservation and protection of their lands and natural resources. Indigenous values and principles dictate that Indigenous territories are a trust which must be respected to ensure that traditional land use and occupancy remain unimpaired for future generations.

In celebration of Earth Day 2023, we are sharing stories of partners’ programs that foster awareness of caring for Mother Earth and practices which promote the preservation of traditional knowledge to ensure the legacy of environmental stewardship for generations to come.

Trails of our ancestors

In 1998, a visionary and innovative project called the Trails of Our Ancestors was successfully implemented by the Tlicho Nation. This project began with only five canoes and 30 people, but  by 2002, the project was able to operate independently, involving 150 people directly and approximately 1,000 more when the canoe trips arrive at the end of their journey “in the bush.”

Elders and youth alike were successfully engaged in this project, which sought to reconnect the Tlicho people to the land, Mother Earth. The land was used as a marker for oral and traditional history and for recovering the trails of the ancestors over the land and rivers between the Great Slave Lake and the Great Bear Lake. Some of the direct benefits of this project were the involvement of Elders, traditional knowledge keepers, who were happy to be involved and were able to transmit ancestral knowledge to new generations through oral traditions and teachings.  In addition, youth involved in this project received high school course credits for their experience and the school board was pleased to incorporate the project into the secondary school curriculum.

Learn more about “Trails of our Ancestors” – A Tlicho Nation program supported by PWRDF from 1998-2006

Preserving water for generations to come

The Interfaith Council on Hydropower (ICH) has been involved in policy analysis and public engagement on hydropower issues since mid-1970s. Their work seeks to build relationships with people and communities affected by hydro, and share their stories. Hydro development has been the cause of significant loss of land, water and livelihoods, causing massive destruction to communities. More than 50 years of hydro development have left people struggling and feeling helpless to confront problems and find meaningful paths forward.

In August 2023, ICH will invite two grandmothers and two youth from eight Cree communities affected by hydro (16 grandmothers and 16 youth) to meet and discuss how to reconnect youth with traditional ways of life which made the Cree people resilient and strong. The grandmothers believe that as keepers of water, they are obligated to ensure that water is clean and easy to access. They want water to continue to fulfill its spiritual role for their communities, grandchildren and future generations. These participating wise women must find a way to heal from the devastation of the waterways which surround their communities. Water is the blood of Mother Earth.

Seed sanctuary in Ontario

In November 2021, Fireweed Learning Community in collaboration with the Métis Nation of Ontario Highland Waters Métis Council carried out their Seed Sanctuary program. The goal was to reconnect Indigenous food and farming practices to Indigenous culture and knowledge recovery. The program also taught the community about best practices for the protection of nature and the environment. The project programming gained recognition as a public venue to host events and teach the local Métis members and others about planting seeds, growing food, and perennial and medicine plants – all of which are welcomed as gifts from the land, Mother Earth.

“[It] has been a beautiful project for building relationships,” says the partner, “and enhancing their work reaching out to more communities eager to learn about Indigenous teachings… It helps bring people to the area and it has helped cottagers feel more called to stewardship and understanding the local Native landscape.”

PWRDF is walking side-by-side with partners in promoting love and respect to Mother Earth.

Read more about our programs and partnerships with Indigenous communities.