The Georgian Bay Biosphere is situated in Anishinaabek territory, as recognized in the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850 and the Williams Treaty of 1923. Indigenous peoples in the area are of Ojibway, Chippewa, Odawa and Pottawatomi lineage who are united by a common language, kinship and clan memberships. Mohawk people from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy also reside in the area and have historical connections to both southern and eastern Ontario. Parry Sound area is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples.
We at GBB are partners in service of mother earth – her body, the water, the fluid in her veins and the air that she brings as she gazes to the sky world, to grandmother moon and grandfather sun on which the UNESCO Georgian Bay Biosphere (GBB) is fortunate to be situated.
Kyla Judge, Indigenous Youth Coordinator, Georgian Bay Biosphere
The GBB is grateful to our Anishinaabek hosts: Dokis First Nation, Henvey Inlet First Nation, Magnetawan First Nation, Shawanaga First Nation, Wasauksing First Nation, Moose Deer Point First Nation, Chimnissing First Nation and Wikwemikoon Unceded Territory, for reminding us that we are accountable to All of Our Relations.
GBB is also accountable to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and honours the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s calls to action. Below you will find a collection of resources put together for cultural learning. If you have other resources to share, please contact Kyla Judge Cultural Programs Manager or Sherrill Judge Maawaanji’iwe Manager/ Gets People Together
Anishinaabek Territory
Source: Anishinaabek Nation
Cultural Centres
Anishinaabemowin Language
- Android App
- Ojibwemowin Field School Workbook, University of Winnipeg
- The Ojibwe People’s Dictionary
Anishinaabek Governance
- Looking after Gdoo-naaganinaa: Precolonial Nishnaabeg Diplomatic and Treaty Relationships by Leanne Simpson
- Alan Corbiere, The underlying importance of wampum belts
Colonial Treaties with the British Crown & Canada
Royal Proclamation of 1763
- Royal Proclamation of 1763 – Fact and Summary Sheet
- Royal Proclamation of 1763 – Relationships, Rights and Treaties
- The Royal Proclamation October 7, 1763
Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850
Anishinaabek First Nations
First Nations territory within the UNESCO Georgian Bay Biosphere:
- Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory
- Dokis First Nation
- Henvey Inlet First Nation
- Magnetawan First Nation
- Shawanaga First Nation
- Wasauksing First Nation
- Moose Deer Point First Nation
- Chimnissing First Nation
Mohawk Communities
Métis Communities
- Métis Nation of Ontario
- Georgian Bay Métis
- Moon River Métis
- French River Métis
Indigenous Partners & Organizations
- Anishinabek Ontario Fisheries Resource Council
- French River Visitor Centre Aboriginal and Cultural Advisory
- Parry Sound Friendship Centre
GBB Reflection Paper
Selected Learning Resources “GBB Staff Picks”
Books
- Dancing On Our Turtle’s Back by Leanne Simpson
- The Mishomis Book: Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Banai
- Three Day Road and The Orenda by Joseph Boyden
- Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson
- The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
- Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice
- Legacy by Waubgeshig Rice (note parts of violence toward Indigenous women)
- Waub Rice website – Moon of the Crusted Snow and Legacy.
- 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act by Bob Joseph
Videos
Podcasts
- Red Man Laughing Ryan McMahon “Red Man Laughing” (Note: “Thunder Bay” can be very difficult as it has painful content.)
- Stories from the Land
- Think Indigenous
- The Language
- Good Fire
Knowledge-Sharing
- Indigenous Food Sovereignty
- Indigenization is Indigenous
- How to be better Ancestors
- What Ecologists are Learning from Indigenous People
- Don’t Resist, Return to Who You Are
- The Science Behind the Healing Power of Storytelling
Tool Kits & Organizational Training
- Indigenous Ally Toolkit
- Decentering Whiteness
- Decolonial Atlas
- Indigenous Cultural Competency Training
- #Next150 Challenge
- Reconciliation in Action: Building Meaningful Relationships in Canada’s Biospheres
- Indigenous Art Protocols
U.N. Year of Indigenous Languages
Do you have suggestions for more resources and learning tools? Contact us!
We recognize that there is much to be learned; the Anishinabek culture and language provides a strong sense of individual and collective responsibility and accountability to land, water and sky world and each other. In our learning, we are called to acknowledge past and ongoing harms (Truth) and actively seek means to support community in the roles they define for us (Reconciliation). To this end, we are starting to explicitly ask of ourselves and the community what specific actions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission findings GBB should be undertaking and how local Indigenous communities want to engage with GBB.
Greg Mason, General Manager, Georgian Bay Biosphere