Kitaskeenan Kaweekanawaynichikatek, the land we want to protect: members of five Cree nations reflect as they seek to protect land devastated by hydroelectricity
The Narwhal: Eight community members share their histories, hopes and plans for the Kitaskeenan Kaweekanawaynichikatek proposal, which translates to “the land we want to protect.”
Five First Nations in northern Manitoba’s Hudson Bay lowlands say an era of healing, hope and self-determination is on the horizon.
As the first brisk winds of fall arrived, members of York Factory, Shamattawa, War Lake, Tataskweyak and Fox Lake First Nations gathered at a cultural camp on the banks of the Nelson River northeast of Gillam, Man., for a landmark event.
After four years of patient work and community consultations, the five Cree — or Inninew — nations were ready to launch their proposal to establish an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) across their shared homelands.
Called Kitaskeenan Kaweekanawaynichikatek, which translates to “the land we want to protect,” the proposal would recognize the nations’ long-time stewardship of the region and offer an historic opportunity to formally manage and protect the land and waters under Indigenous laws and governance.
More than 50 Indigenous-led conservation projects like this one have popped up across Canada since the federal government introduced funding in 2018, in an effort to preserve biodiversity and nudge the country toward its goal of protecting 30 per cent of lands and waters by 2030.
For the five Inninew nations, Kitaskeenan is about a lot more than meeting conservation targets. The nations were once a single community living along the coastline around York Factory, at the mouth of the Hayes River. But they have been separated from each other — and their homeland — as industrial developments expanded across the north.
Most impactful: a series of hydroelectric developments on the Nelson River that came with what Fox Lake’s leader, Morris Beardy, called “devastating” consequences.
Manitoba Hydro dams along the river caused widespread flooding, erosion and mercury contamination. The Nelson was once a key transportation corridor for the nations, as well as a source of sustenance and clean drinking water. Today it’s too dangerous to travel on and too polluted to drink.
“We’re a resilient people. We’ve been through much,” Beardy says. “We just have to adapt.”
Kitaskeenan offers an opportunity to do just that. While any formal protected area designation is still many years away, the nations are hopeful the project could help to mend the divisions of the past and redefine the region’s future by preserving the land, water, language and culture for generations to come.
Here’s what the project — and the land — means to those who hope to protect it, in their own words.
Julia-Simone Rutgers is The Narwhal’s Manitoba reporter. Her position is part of a partnership with the Winnipeg Free Press. She joined The Narwhal after writing daily news for the Winnipeg Free Press and the Star Metro Halifax.