THUNDER BAY – Bertha Sutherland, Constance Lake First Nation’s land and resource officer, appreciates the work of the Four Rivers Regional Guardians Network.
A grad student with Four Rivers “has been with us for almost two years now and she’s doing an excellent job,” Sutherland said at the announcement of a major development for the Canada-wide Guardians environmental initiatives program.
Four Rivers, an initiative of Matawa First Nations Management, is part of that of the National Guardians Network and has been helping Constance Lake figure out what happened in late 2021 when the First Nation northwest of Hearst was hit by an outbreak of fungal infection called blastomycosis.
Caused by spores found in soil and rotting wood, blastomycosis often has little or no effect on a person’s health, but other times it can be life-threatening.
More than 50 people were infected and five died as a result of the outbreak in Constance Lake.
Four Rivers and Laurentian University worked with the First Nation to successfully detect the fungus’s DNA on the reserve.
The outbreak is long over, but Sutherland said she looks forward to more investigation and hopes “we can continue to find ways of trying to help our community to be better in the future coming up.
“So that’s what I wanted to just share today and I’m glad to be here this morning,” she said Friday at the announcement of funding for Four Rivers and 79 other First Nations environmental initiatives.
Steven Guilbeault, Canada’s environment minister, was joined by local members of Parliament and Indigenous leaders in the announcement of $27.6 million in funding to support 18 new and 62 existing First Nations Guardians initiatives across Canada.
The Four Rivers Regional Guardians Network leads environmental stewardship and capacity-building for Constance Lake and Matawa’s eight other member First Nations.
“The Four Rivers Regional Guardian Network will engage in virtual and in-person networking to expand its knowledge and capacity, including cultural exchanges within the network,” said a media backgrounder for Friday’s event.
Four Rivers is to receive $389,771 while two other Northwestern Ontario projects are to get $850,000 in total.
A partnership of Wauzhusk Onigaming (Rat Portage) and three other First Nations near Kenora is receiving $500,000 for Charting the Path Ahead – Anishinaabe Aki Shkabewisag, a two-year initiative environmental protection initiative.
Biinjitiwaabik Zaaging Anishnaabek (Rocky Bay) is receiving $350,00 in funding for a two-year initiative to, according to the National Guardians Network, “implement sturgeon and mining site protocols, conduct environmental monitoring analysis, map the Lake Nipigon basin and integrate the data into a geographic information system database.”
Friday’s announcement also marked the first time Guardians program funding has been independently managed by the First Nations National Guardians Network, which a government news release said is “the world’s first Indigenous-led national stewardship network.”
“Indigenous-led stewardship offers profound and transformative benefits for communities and the environment,” said Guilbeault, the federal environment minister.
“I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the First Nations National Guardians Network for their dedication and success in administering this year’s program.”
“Our government has been working to not only be a good partner from an equity perspective to Indigenous peoples, but also to transfer the tools of self-determination,” Patty Hajdu, who is minister of Indigenous services and Thunder Bay-Superior North’s member of Parliament, told Dougall Media.
“With today’s announcement, we recognize the essential role of Indigenous leadership in protecting biodiversity and promoting sustainability,” added Marcus Powlowski, MP for Thunder Bay-Rainy River.
“I am happy to see the incredible impact this investment will have on local communities and future generations.”
