THUNDER BAY — Getting a resolution for water protection passed at a recent Assembly of First Nations general assembly was a big win for the Ojibways of Onigaming community, Chief Jeffrey Copenace said recently.
“To be able to have that support and to have our delegation acknowledged by the delegates that were present – that’s so meaningful for our young people, to see that we’re supported, that there’s hope that we are going to protect our waters and our way of life,” Copenace said during a break in a Land Defence Alliance meeting.
His small First Nation near Sioux Narrows saw their resolution for the “protection of drinking water for Anishinaabe” pass with the support of chiefs from across Canada on July 11 at the AFN’s annual general assembly in Montreal.
The resolution supports Onigaming in its call for a moratorium on mining and exploration activities in their traditional territory.
As well, it directs the AFN to “advocate to the government of Canada and the Ontario government for the full protection and conservation of the sacred, inter-connected lakes in the traditional territories of the Ojibways of Onigaming.”
“The AFN resolution was really important to us, to get the consensus of First Nations across the country to support the Ojibways of Onigaming,” Copenace told NWONewswatch.
All First Nations in the Land Defence Alliance feel isolated and a “lack of support at times. . . not just from Canada and from the province, but from other First Nations,” he said.
The Land Defence Alliance is a coalition of six First Nations in Northwestern Ontario. Onigaming joined in January 2024.
Onigaming had “a difficult time at first” getting the resolution to the floor, he said.
But National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak “did everything she could to assure us that our resolution would hit the floor as a stand-alone resolution, and it did. So we commend her leadership and we’re happy,” Copenace said.
“I know our Elders were really happy to be acknowledged. When we got a standing ovation at the very end, and the resolution passed, I know that people back home were pretty happy about that.”
Navigating the resolution to passage was hampered by the wide spectrum of viewpoints among the country’s hundreds of First Nations, he said.
“The reality is that there’s a number of different views amongst First Nations when it comes to development,” he explained.
“And it was difficult to get consensus for a moratorium on so many different methods of economic development.
“You know, our resolution was a little bit stronger at the start. We were actually asking for First Nations to return money back to the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, for example, and we were asking organizations to return monies back to mining companies.
“And we were told by the Assembly of First Nations that there wasn’t consensus on that, but we were able to negotiate. We were able to negotiate wording that was strong enough, at least for us.”
Onigaming and its Land Defence allies are opposed to the deep geological repository being proposed by the Nuclear Waste Management Organization, a federally mandated body funded by Canada’s nuclear power producers.
The NWMO is choosing between two potential sites for the deep-underground facility: a spot between Ignace and Dryden and a location near Lake Huron.
A site decision is, according to the NWMO, going to be made by year-end.
Onigaming’s resolution passed one day after Ignace’s township council voted to continue as a potential host community for the nuclear waste repository.
Copenace and Onigaming council are opposed to the project, partly out of concern for the safety of area waterways.
