Pikangikum First Nation
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[edit] Overview
Pikangikum is an Oji-Cree reserve in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Kenora District approximately 100 kilometres north of Red Lake. The First Nation community is accessible primarily by airplane at the Pikangikum Airport, although it has winter road access to Red Lake and Highway 125.
The community has a population of approximately 2,300. A 2005 Wawatay Native Communications Society survey found that the residents of Pikangikum have one of the highest rates of original language retention of any First Nation in Northern Ontario. (See Anishininimowin language.) Unemployment rates are estimated to be around 70% in Pikangikum. The First Nation reportedly has the highest suicide rate in the world.(1)
[edit] Whitefeather Forest Initiative
Since 1996, Pikangikum First Nation has been pursuing its Whitefeather Forest Initiative, a land-based community economic development renewal and resource stewardship initiative. Through this Initiative the First Nation is working with the Province of Ontario to manage the Whitefeather Forest, 1.2 million hectares of Crown land in the Pikangikum customary land-use area. In 2006 the First Nation completed their Land Use Strategy, Keeping the Land, which was approved by the Province through the Ministry of Natural Resources. The Land Use Strategy provides guidance for the future management of proposed new land-use activities, such as commercial forestry, protected areas and eco-cultural tourism. Keeping the Land provides a vision for the management of proposed new land uses rooted in the indigenous knowledge and customary stewardship traditions of Pikangikum people. Keeping the Land is made up of three key components (WFMC 2006):
- Stewardship Strategy - an obligation to respect all living beings
- Customary Activities - all those physical, mental and spiritual states of well-being that are needed for survival on the land.
- Economic Development - new livelihood practices adapted to customary stewardship approach to provide for the survival of Pikangikum people in a contemporary cultural context.
[edit] External links
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| Independent First Nations Alliance Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug | Lac Seul | Muskrat Dam | Pikangikum | Whitesand |
| Keewaytinook Okimakanak Council Deer Lake | Fort Severn | Keewaywin | MacDowell Lake | North Spirit Lake | Poplar Hill |
| Matawa First Nations Aroland | Constance Lake | Eabametoong | Ginoogaming | Hornepayne | Long Lake 58 | Marten Falls | Neskantaga | Nibinamik | Webequie |
| Mushkegowuk Council Attawapiskat | Chapleau Cree | Fort Albany | Kashechewan | Missanabie Cree | Moose Cree | Taykwa Tagamou |
| Shibogama First Nations Council Kasabonika | Kingfisher Lake | Wapekeka | Wawakapewin | Wunnumin Lake |
| Wabun Tribal Council Beaverhouse | Brunswick House | Chapleau Ojibwe | Matachewan | Mattagami | Wahgoshig |
| Windigo First Nations Council Bearskin Lake | Cat Lake | Koocheching | North Caribou | Sachigo | Slate Falls | Whitewater |
| Independent NAN Communities Flying Post | Mishkeegogamang | Mocreebec Council | Sandy Lake | Weenusk |
