Tag Archive for: New World Pharmers

Learn Anishnaabemowin with the Challenge4Change app

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Learn Anishnaabemowin with the Challenge4Change app

The article is originally from https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/staff-tries-video-our-reporters-learn-nishnaabemwin-with-the-challenge4change-app-964009

Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory and Synergiq Solutions have launched an app called Challenge4Change — a free download from the app store comprised of games, video lessons, and individual and team leaderboards to encourage learning Anishnaabemowin: the language of the Anishinaabe.

To celebrate both Indigenous History Month and National Indigenous Peoples Day, our reporters installed the app and gave it a try. They learned a lot, failed, succeeded, and generally just had a lot of fun.

Watch the video here to see how they did, and download the app so you can learn as well.

Download it for free, by following one of these links:

For Apple: via the App Store

For Android: via Google Play

Also, you can download directly from the Challenge4Change website.

Gchi miigwech to Ogimaa Duke Peltier and the community of Wiikwemkoong for sharing this knowledge.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][/vc_column][/vc_row]

Can Thanksgiving Be Redeemed?

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Autumn weekends in Wasauksing First Nation can provide a breathtaking reminder of the Creator’s glory.  The rich fall colours not only inspire with their beauty, but they serve to remind us of nature’s endless cycle of life.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_single_image image=”1334″ img_size=”full”][/vc_column][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]October also brings the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, a holiday that stirs many negative feelings among Indigenous Canadians.  Fall harvest gatherings have long been part of Native society, particularly in Eastern Woodlands culture, and October is traditionally when some of our communities would plant the “Three Sisters” (corn, beans, & squash) for next year’s bounty.  In days past, many tribes would hold large harvest Pow Wows as a final opportunity to be together before hunkering down for the long winter, a chance for storytelling and passing down our oral tradition.

So, while many of us appreciate and hold dear the harvest gathering spirit that is often associated with Thanksgiving, we can’t separate it from the other main element of the holiday – a “celebration” of European colonization of Turtle Island and the romanization of early settler culture.

Although Canadian Thanksgiving has its own origins dating back to 1606, much of the mythology and imagery (how many items with big-buckled Pilgrims can you find at the store right now?) that we associate with Thanksgiving comes from the American Plymouth Rock “story”.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]

The Thanksgiving myth is built upon the idea of the noble, civilized Europeans sharing a meal with the
“friendly savages” from the local Indigenous population.  While there was, indeed, a “First Thanksgiving” gathering between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag it was far different than what history has so long taught.  More importantly, the legacy that it spurred was not of friendship, but of betrayal and bloodshed.

“It would be very good to say that this friendship lasted a long time; but, unfortunately, that was not to be. More English people came to America, and they were not in need of help from the Indians as were the original Pilgrims. Many of the newcomers forgot the help the Indian had given them. Mistrust started to grow and the friendship weakened. The Pilgrims started telling their Indian neighbors that their Indian religion and Indian customs were wrong. The Pilgrims displayed an intolerance toward the Indian religion similar to the intolerance displayed toward the less popular religions in Europe. The relationship deteriorated and within a few years the children of the people who ate together at the first Thanksgiving were killing one another in what came to be called King Phillip’s War.”  (Read more at http://www.manataka.org/page269.html#THE PLYMOUTH THANKSGIVING STORY)

We know what would happen to our communities in the years, decades, and centuries that followed the First Thanksgiving.  Smallpox, stolen land, violent wars, broken promises, ignored treaties, forced migrations, residential schools, sixties scoops, cultural genocide.  It was never about working together, it was about exploiting, converting, and getting rid of an inconvenient Indigenous population.

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Is this really something to celebrate?

I think that question answers itself.  A more interesting question, though, is can Thanksgiving be redeemed?  I’ll leave you with the words of historian Christine Sismodo.

“A good start would be to acknowledge that Europe had pre-contact harvest feast traditions of their own, but to stop pretending Europeans invented Thanksgiving in Canada or the United States and, instead, consider how to repurpose the holiday to redress historical wrongs—and imagine a new Canadian identity.”

So, if you are “celebrating” Thanksgiving this weekend put away the Plymouth Rock imagery, think about the real history of the holiday, and consider what we can do to change its future. Maybe the change of this holidays meaning should be about reconciliation in all that the Anishinaabe people have sacrificed.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

We just wrapped up 3 days of successful meetings in beautiful Montreal and Ottawa.

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We just wrapped up 3 very exciting days of meetings in Montreal and Ottawa dedicated to creating 21st Century Indigenous Economies from within First Nation and Inuit communities themselves for Seven Generations.

We are very excited in the direction that FNG is headed across Canada providing the following Indigenous infrastructure and added value self-sustainable living community services that include:

  • Indigenous Fresh Foods Indoor Community Garden Farming Markets.
  • Natural Water Treatment-Chemical Free for advanced organic Rotary Hydroponic Agriculture and Human Consumption.
  • Indigenous Community Waste Resource Management & Diversions.
  • Renewable Energy designed for the most remote Canadian community, including geothermal, wind, solar and battery backed-up power storage that now includes newly found combustible energy resources to operate as a community “net-positive” entity while helping to eliminate the use of diesel fuels in indigenous communities helping to leave a cleaner footprint.
  • Seven Generation Indigenous Capacity Building and Development.
  • Professional Online Medical/Pharmaceutical Drug Awareness Education Seminars.
  • Indigenous Medicine, Erbs’ and Spices Research & Brand Development.
  • Health Canada Licensed Producer of Medicinal Medicines for Medical Purposes Consulting and Application Processes including Start-Up Implementations.
  • Indigenous Wealth Creation & Management Expertise through the development of “Self-Sustainable 21st Century Community Circular Economies” from within First Nation and Inuit communities themselves.

 

Our intentions are to create First Nation communities with self-sustainable living solutions through the fostering of 21st Century Indigenous Circular Economies from within each of the individual indigenous community themselves.

 

OTHER FNG ADDED VALUE COMMUNITY NETWORK SERVICES

  • National Distributor of Wholesale Fresh Produce & Natural Foods
  • Indigenous Community Design, Installation, and Support in IT Networks
  • Environmental Friendly Earth & Mining Application Consulting
  • Land Remediation & Reclamation Services
  • Mining Waste Recovery Treatments and Mine Tailings Extraction; (including the revitalization of natural rivers, and inland lakes)
  • Community Maple Syrup Start-Up Expertise & Global Marketing Services
  • Indigenous Elder Retirement & Assisted Living Centres

 

Our goal is to make available “new gen” community infrastructure services and added value self-sustainable community living solutions to First Nation and Inuit communities across Canada, where said services include one or more of the following self-sustainable living solutions, that when encompassed, create a 21st Century Indigenous Self-Sustainable Circular Economy from within the indigenous community themselves.

 

We are presently preparing to build our first Community Garden Farming Market as well as begin the construction of our first Health Canada Licensed Producer (late approval stage applicant) of Medicinal Medicines  for Medical Purposes on indigenous lands, with shovels to hit the ground April 1st, 2018.

We very much look forward to creating Indigenous self-sustainable community living solutions across Canada from within indigenous communities themselves through the fostering of 21st Century Indigenous Circular Economies.

Dawn Tabobondung is a proud member of Wasauksing First Nation and the Chief Executive Officer of First Nation Growers.

First Nations Growers builds indoor “Community Garden Market Farms” that provide Indigenous & Inuit communities with a financially viable, year-round opportunity to grow their own nutritionally rich fresh produce and foods.

Be sure to follow First Nation Growers on Facebook.

The Shoganosh have failed in protecting Mother Earth and the Anishinaabe.

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In my article last week, I wrote that Indigenous Peoples have been forced to live within the Indian Act and rely on non-Native solutions. Time and time again, the Shoganosh have suggested their own “solutions” that have been consistently incompatible with our Indigenous lifestyles.

Ever since contact, the Indian Agent and his successors have outright failed at supporting our communities and people in too many ways to list. The few solutions offered to Indigenous Peoples since contact rarely respect those that have come before us, and almost never look to protect those yet to come. 7 Generations Philosophy is inclusive of those who came before us, those of us here today, and those to follow in our footprint in the future.

The Anishinaabe are the protectors of Mother Earth, the time has come for us to make a stand and protect the planet for 7 Generations.

Let’s be honest, the Shoganosh have not only fallen miserably short in their treatment of the Indigenous Peoples, they have neglected to honour their own Treaties and have failed Mother Earth in so many ways. What the Federal Government has tried to do with First Nations and Inuit peoples of Canada has failed the smell test of time.  Most of the suggestions on how we should live have not even remotely approached solving the problems that we face today, faced in the past, or need to be addressed our future. They simply have not taken into consideration how the Anishinaabe have lived, and live, within our own culture and traditions.

Mother Earth

How can anyone foreign to another’s culture remotely suggest how one should live when the other knows nothing of our culture and traditions? Can we maturely look at the failures and the successes of the past and finally be honest with each other as Canadians?

It makes no sense for Non-Natives to tell the Anishinaabe people of Turtle Island how we should live or how we should protect our own lands. How does that happen? Who are you to tell us?

How would you know how we have lived in harmony with Mother Earth since the beginning of time. You have never asked.

It is time for the Federal and Provincial Government’s to stop telling Indigenous people how we should live!  Instead of insisting on their way of life on the Anishinaabe, it is time for both the Federal and Provincial Governments to start listening to the Anishinaabe!

It is time for the Federal and Provincial Canadian Government’s to allow Indigenous People to explain how we as a People – and as Nations – wish to live our lives within our own clan cultures and traditions, just as we have since the grass has grown, the rivers have flowed, and the sun has shined.  We can do so in a fiscally responsible manner – we simply need the opportunity to finally demonstrate to the Federal and Provincial Governments – and to all Canadians – how much of what has transpired since contact, simply has not worked.

Just ask the United Nations!

I am certain that we can show all Canadians how First Peoples can help the Federal Government operate annually as a net positive to all Canadians.

We as Canada’s First Peoples have never asked for a handout – never – not once!  We have been forced to succumb to the way of life the Indian Agent of the past, controlled by governments not made up of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples, who have little to no idea of our culture or traditions. Unfortunately, what the Government of Canada has bestowed on Indigenous Peoples of Canada has failed.

It is not rocket science why it has failed, most have been completely oblivious to our culture yet insist on telling us how to live.  Why?

Some Anishinaabe have been forced to live in Third World conditions. Many have had their homes, their culture, their tradition, and their honour stripped away.

Who does that to another human to another culture?

First Nation Growers is a full-service, 7 Generations focussed, Indigenous Sustainable Living Solutions Network Organization made up of professional, successful, Native community leaders and non-Native allies from all walks of life.  Our team is committed to help encourage Indigenous communities to create self-sustainable economies from within.  We intend to now show the way, the Anishinabek way, of how to live and flourish.

We have the experience here in Canada and on Turtle Island protecting Mother Earth the since the beginning of time!

We have the plan that can save the Federal Government billions of dollars annually if we are finally afforded the time to grow Canada in the spirit of our Ancestors and Mother Earth herself . We want nothing for nothing and believe our way, the Anishinaabe way, can be a “net positive” to the Canadian tax payer.  What has been offered to the Anishinaabe since contact simply has not worked, it’s time the Anishinaabe were allowed to show all Canadians and the world how we can live in harmony with Mother Earth and live as a “net positive” Nation.

Our time has come.  At First Nation Growers, we are ready to lead the Anishinaabe way in the best interest of Mother Earth and all Canadians.

Dawn Tabobondung is a proud member of Wasauksing First Nation and the Chief Executive Officer of First Nation Growers.  First Nations Growers builds indoor “Community Garden Market Farms” that provide Indigenous & Inuit communities with a financially viable, year round opportunity to grow their own nutritionally rich fresh produce and foods.  Be sure to follow First Nation Growers on Facebook.

Lessons from Supreme Court decisions on Indigenous consultation

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This article was originally published on National Post, an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts. Disclosure information is available on the original site.

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Authors: Justin Safayeni, Adjunct Professor in Administrative Law, York University, Canada and Nader R. Hasan, Adjunct professor, U of T Faculty of Law, University of Toronto

In July, the Supreme Court of Canada released two major decisions on the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate Indigenous peoples. Those decisions provide important guidance that can help to ensure Indigenous peoples’ constitutional rights are better recognized and respected moving forward.

The principles set out in the two Supreme Court cases — Clyde River (Hamlet) v. Petroleum Geo-Services Inc. and Chippewas of the Thames First Nation v. Enbridge Pipelines Inc. — will help define what adequate consultation and accommodation now requires, and the responsibilities of various government decision-makers in fulfilling and evaluating whether the duty to consult has been met.

Let’s be clear: the Clyde River and Chippewas decisions are not a cure-all for Indigenous peoples’ struggle to have their constitutional rights respected in regulatory decision-making. But if the lessons from these Supreme Court decisions are heeded, they will help advance that struggle.

Both Supreme Court decisions involved the review of project approvals by the National Energy Board (NEB). In Clyde River, the Supreme Court overturned an NEB order authorizing seismic testing for oil and gas deposits in the waters off the coast of Baffin Island, where the Inuit of Clyde River have a treaty right to hunt and harvest marine mammals.

In Chippewas, the NEB approved an application to modify Enbridge’s Line 9 pipeline, which crosses the traditional territory of the Chippewas, by reversing the flow of part of the pipeline, increasing its capacity and enabling it to carry heavy crude oil. The Supreme Court dismissed the Chippewas’ legal challenge to stop the project.

Guidance on what “deep consultation” requires

Although the Clyde River and Chippewas rulings both specifically concerned the NEB’s actions, their consequences extend more broadly to every kind of government decision-making or regulatory approval process.

Part of the importance of the Clyde River decision stems from the fact that it is the first Supreme Court case to consider whether a regulatory process meets a duty of consultation at the “deep” end of the consultation spectrum described in Haida Nation v. British Columbia — that is, where the Indigenous peoples’ claim to the right is strong (e.g. treaty rights) and the potential harm to that right is severe (e.g. irreparable harm to marine mammals).

Given this duty of deep consultation, the court concluded that the process in Clyde River was “significantly flawed” for several reasons, among them the fact that although the NEB considered the environmental effects of the proposed seismic testing, it failed to take into account the impact of that testing on the Inuit’s treaty rights.

As the court put it, the Inuit’s rights were “an afterthought to the assessment of environmental concerns.”

Second, the Crown failed to make clear that it was relying on the NEB’s process to fulfil its duty to consult in Clyde River, and failed to explain the significance of that process to the Inuit.

Further, there were no oral hearings. No funding to the Inuit of Clyde River. No written explanations of how the Inuit’s rights were considered. No meaningful ability to submit scientific evidence, and no ability to test the project proponents’ scientific evidence.

It is noteworthy that the Court cited and re-affirmed the process in the 2004 Taku River Tlingit First Nation v. British Columbia — a case where the affected Indigenous groups not only received what’s known as participant funding, but participated as part of the committee that was the driving force in the assessment process.

In a strong signal of the kind of process that may now be necessary in these cases, the Supreme Court ruled in its Clyde River decision that “procedural protections characteristic of an adversarial process… may be required for meaningful consultation.”

While it’s clear all future cases will be assessed on their own unique facts, the Supreme Court is making clear it takes a far more robust view of consultation than some lower courts across the country.

So what are the key practical lessons for Indigenous consultation, following these landmark rulings?

1. Participant funding

One major point of distinction between Clyde River and Chippewas was that the appellants in Chippewas case received participant funding from the NEB, while the Clyde River appellants did not. Without that funding, the Inuit were unable to retain counsel or properly address the scientific evidence on seismic testing — and this was one reason that the consultation in Clyde River was found to be inadequate.

Indigenous groups impacted by resource projects should always request participant funding in order to ensure their interests are properly represented in the regulatory approvals process.

The need for funding is even more acute if the case requires putting forward complex scientific or expert evidence. Even if such requests for funding are ultimately unsuccessful, the fact that they were made strengthens the record for an appeal or judicial review.

2. Understanding and designing the consultation process

The court’s decision to single out Taku River as an example of adequate consultation is an important reminder that Indigenous groups can — and should — demand a greater say in actually designing or driving the consultation process.

The court’s decisions in Clyde River and Chippewas also required the Crown to determine whether an existing regulatory process meets its duty to consult and accommodate. Nailing down what is being offered as consultation will allow for Indigenous peoples to make more educated decisions about whether to participate in that process, and what kinds of requests may be made in terms of additional consultation efforts.

Indigenous peoples should go on record with any demands for additional consultation or accommodation, and make them known as early as possible. The court has provided a list of potential ways that the Crown can improve the consultation process, including making legislative or regulatory amendments, and/or making submissions to the decision-making body.

3. Participate, but make objections & concerns known

Demand a better regulatory process while participating in that same process. Now that bodies like the NEB must also assess the adequacy of consultation and accommodation, it’s critical for affected Indigenous groups to communicate any concerns on these issues to the regulatory agency or tribunal and to avoid raising them for the first time on appeal or judicial review.

At a more fundamental level, for the promise of the Clyde River decision to be fulfilled the regulatory process must function in a fair manner that fully respects Indigenous rights. At the moment, it does not. Indeed, there is a widespread acknowledgment — among Indigenous leaders, environmentalists and the government itself — that the current NEB and Environmental Assessment (EA) processes are broken.

The federal government commissioned two expert panels to recommend changes to the NEB and EA processes. Those expert panels have recommended overhauling these processes and replacing them with a regulatory process that fully takes into account Indigenous rights and incorporates the principle of free, prior and informed consent.

Indigenous peoples now have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with those recommendations and demand meaningful reform.

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Sources: https://nationalpost-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/lessons-from-supreme-court-decisions-on-indigenous-consultation/amp

Wasauksing First Nation Pow Wow Gathering

Pow Wows, Family, and the Seven Generations Teachings

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G'maa Warren Tabobondung

G’maa Warren Tabobondung & Ontario Regional Chief Isadore Day in 2016

August is one of my favourite months of the year.

The Georgian Bay sands are warm by day and cool for sleeping by the bay.  Nature’s glory is in full bloom, the pace of life slows a bit as the harvest moon begins to prepare for fall and, best of all, this time of year includes the annual Wasauksing First Nation Pow Wow Gathering! A Pow Wow gathering where our ancestors would gather each year to share, barter, trade, sing, and dance together…the Anishinaabe Way.

This year’s gathering took place on August 5th and 6th.

Watching the stunning singers and amazing dancers reminded me of the special connection we have to the gathering of our peoples’, a gathering of voices and sound and dance that reflects both our past and our future.

While young people always bring new innovations to their music and dances, the energy continues to flow through our generation, my mother’s generation, and those that have come before her; we can feel our ancestors always in the singing the drumming and the dance at our gatherings.

Wasauksing First Nation Pow Wow Gathering  Wasauksing First Nation Pow Wow Gathering  Wasauksing First Nation Pow Wow Gathering

It is our duty to ensure that our children, our grandchildren, our great grandchildren and the many generations to come soon after have the same connection decades and centuries from now, where they all feel the warmth of the fires burning, the sacred drum beating, and hear the voices of our ancestors in the connection between past, and present. These thoughts of the future are not just some nice feelings that I get at a Pow Wow gathering.  They are the sound of the Indigenous inner core philosophy that drives First Nation Growers.

4 Seasons, 7 Generations

In my previous blog article, I talked about how our Vision for First Nation Growers has evolved over the past 2 years.  When we started on our journey, part of the path was clear – we knew that we wanted to provide communities with year-round access to fresh, nutritious foods – a holistic approach covering all 4seasons.  What good is solving a Food Crisis, and supporting individual indigenous self-sustainable economies, if the very communities we support – and the land they live on – cannot be sustained?

What if the very communities we support – and the land they live on – can be self-sustained?

Access to affordable, healthy food options is essential, but so are real jobs, ongoing independent revenue streams, clean energy, and safe water not just today, but for 7 generations to follow.

Consider the Anishinaabe term “anishinaabemaadziwen” the Anishinaabe Way, or “minoyaawaat” in Ojibwa, meaning “to get better, to have good health”. That understanding of where we fit into the Creator’s plans is at the heart of First Nation Growers and 7 Generations philosophy.

Wasauksing First Nation Pow Wow Gathering Wasauksing First Nation Pow Wow Gathering Wasauksing First Nation Pow Wow Gathering

We are merely caretakers of Mother-Earth for those who follow.

As I revealed last month, we are committed to applying 7 Generation solutions in the following areas:

  • Indigenous Community Financial Planning for 7 Generations
  • Fresh Produce & Natural Foods
  • Herbs & Sacred Indigenous Medicines
  • Natural Water Treatment for Rain Forest Plant Life & Human Consumption
  • Natural Soil Revitalization Treatment
  • Waste Resource Management that includes Waste Minimization Solutions
  • Indigenous Community Renewable Energy Needs and Shortfalls

FNG has recently become a “Full Service 7 Generations Indigenous Sustainable Living Solutions Network” that serves First Nation and Inuit communities across Turtle Island.

For too long, we have been forced to live within the Indian Act and rely on non-Native solutions.  Time and time again, the people suggesting these “solutions” have been incompatible with our Indigenous lifestyles or did not take the time to understand our culture and traditions. Most have failed at supporting our communities and people in so many ways.

The few solutions offered to indigenous Peoples since contact rarely respect those that have come before us, and almost never look to protect yet to come.

The Anishinaabe are the protectors of mother-earth, the time has come for us to make a stand and protect mother-earth for 7 Generations.

Dawn Tabobondung is a proud member of Wasauksing First Nation and the Chief Executive Officer of First Nation Growers.

First Nations Growers builds indoor “Community Garden Market Farms” that provide Indigenous & Inuit communities with a financially viable, year round opportunity to grow their own nutritionally rich fresh produce and foods.  Be sure to follow First Nation Growers on Facebook.

Summer Check-In

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Hello everyone!  It is hard to believe that July is almost over!

Summer on the Wasauksing First Nation is an amazing time of year.  Whether it is family time, walks in nature, fresh blueberries, boating, or attending Pow Wows, this season really makes you appreciate the incredible world that the Creator has provided to us.

Over the past few months, our team at First Nation Growers has had the privilege of seeing the natural beauty of many First Nations communities and receiving the wise council of Indigenous leaders from across the land.  Our travels have helped us better define the Mission of First Nation Growers and expand our circle of stakeholders.

The First Nations Growers Advisory Panel

I am honoured to introduce the First Nations Growers Advisory Panel.  We have assembled an innovative, forward thinking advisory panel made up of individual industry leaders that provide project added value services that include Indigenous pre-care & after-care support, development & training.

Each of our corporate advisory panel members is indeed a true and sincere friend of the Anishinaabe.

Our shared goal is to create Indigenous long-term, sustainable employment opportunities and newfound revenues from within First Nations and Inuit communities themselves, helping to create self-sustaining indigenous economies producing cold-climate 4seasons, indoor, chemical free, clean & green natural organic fresh produce at prices all families can afford for 7 Generations.

A Broader Mission

You may be wondering why we’ve added an Advisory Panel.  The answer is simple.  During my travels over the past six months, I have learned that our Community Gardens are just one piece of the solution to the Indigenous Food Security Crisis.  Some communities we visited do not have enough power to build one additional community home, let alone a Community Garden Farm.  We can’t leave those communities behind – we need solutions that address the entire scope of the Food Crisis.

Our goal is so much broader now than when we started this journey.  Working with our Advisory Panel, First Nation Growers is committed to providing holistic solutions for sustainable and self-sufficient First Nation communities.  This can only be achieved by applying 7 Generation solutions in the following areas:

  • Fresh Produce & Natural Foods
  • Traditional Medicines & Remedies
  • Water & Soil Treatment
  • Waste Resource Management & Waste Minimization Solutions
  • Indigenous Community Energy Needs and Shortfalls
  • Licensed Medical & Recreational Indigenous Medicine Production Facilities

Moving Forward

2017 has been an enlightening year for me.  I have been equally frustrated by the scope of the Food Crisis and inspired by my Indigenous Sisters & Brothers who remain strong in the face of suffering.  In the coming weeks, I’ll have updates for you on various projects being undertaken by First Nation Growers and our partners, as well as information about our Wasauksing First Nation showcase facility.

Thank you for your amazing support, feedback, and wisdom that you’ve provided on our journey so far.  I look forward to what the rest of the year brings!

Dawn Tabobondung is a proud member of Wasauksing First Nation and the Chief Executive Officer of First Nation Growers.  First Nations Growers builds indoor “Community Garden Market Farms” that provide Indigenous & Inuit communities with a financially viable, year round opportunity to grow their own nutritionally rich fresh produce and foods.  Be sure to follow First Nation Growers on Facebook.

 

Clean Water for All

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In previous articles, I’ve written about the Northern Food Crisis and its impact on Indigenous People.  Sadly, for many of my sisters and brothers, access to fresh food isn’t the only challenge they face as access to clean, safe drinking water……….…the foundation of life……….…is far from guaranteed.

According to a recent Globe & Mail report, 91 First Nation communities were under drinking water advisories earlier this year and a staggering 1/3 of First Nation communities were at medium to high risk of producing unsafe water.

Access to clean, safe drinking water is not a privilege – it is a basic human right – yet 2/3 of First Nation communities have suffered drinking water advisories during the past decade.  I am committed to supporting my Indigenous brothers and sisters and our communities across the country in achieving that right.  That’s why I am proud to introduce our latest initiative, the First Nation Growers Indigenous Community Water Solution.

7 Generations

At FNG, we are firm believers in the concept of 7 generations.  As a First Nation organization, we operate with the sacred knowledge that we are merely caretakers of mother earth for those that will follow.

When we engage a project we continually ask ourselves “what will the impact of this project be to those that will follow 7 generations after us?”. Although seemingly repetitive, understanding that we are merely caretakers of this land allows us to make inclusive and responsible decisions about our projects and opportunities.

First Nation Growers work in partnership with local indigenous communities to help the poorest and most marginalized communities set up practical and sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene natural water treatment projects that meet their real needs, naturally, and service each Community Garden Farm Facility with the very same natural water treatment technologies. We proudly make this technology available to each and every First Nation and/or Inuit community that we work with across Canada, creating a cohesive relationship between community, the environment and each 4seasons garden farming co-op facility.

Community Water Projects

First Nation Growers community water projects include four vital and interrelated components, which combined together help to maximize health and development benefits. Clean water, basic sanitation, hygiene education and natural foods farming are the ABCDs of project development—the building blocks towards a better future for every community, making water fit for both community garden farming and human consumption.

FNG uses practical, locally-appropriate, cost-effective, new, and innovative water treatment technologies to ensure that operational maintenance requirements for the new water supply and sanitation facilities can be easily learned and adopted by each local indigenous community and their membership regardless of geographical location.

All aspects of First Nation Growers Community Garden Farm Co-op projects are designed and implemented with long-term sustainability in mind. This means that upon completion of each project, community members are equipped with all the tools and knowledge required to manage and maintain their own natural water treatment facility and new community garden farming co-op operation.

Ending Two Crises With An Integrated, Holistic Solution

Our Community Garden Farm Co-op’s address the natural water treatment needs of every community project across Canada regardless of location and or isolated remoteness. The FNG Natural Water treatment platform allows for the integration of clean water supply into every remote Indigenous and or Inuit community Canada wide and allows for the control of multiple tower flows, increasing overall efficiency and access to a clean, natural water supply for every 4seasons Community Garden Farm Co-op.

Serpent River.  Saddle Lake.  George Gordon.  Kashechewan.  The list goes on and on.  It is time to stop the next drinking water crisis from ever starting. Dawn Tabobondung is a proud member of Wasauksing First Nation and the Chief Executive Officer of First Nation Growers.  First Nations Growers builds indoor “Community Garden Farm Co-op’s” that provide Indigenous & Inuit communities with a financially viable, year round opportunity to grow their own nutritionally rich fresh produce and foods.  Be sure to follow First Nation Growers on Facebook.

indoor garden farming

“Indigenous indoor fresh foods farming today for a healthy tomorrow”

Dawn Tabobondung

First Nation Growers Founder

4seasons Indigenous Community Garden Farming Co-op Developments

http://www.firstnationgrowers.com

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Fresh, affordable food should be a right, not a privilege. (Part 3)

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Welcome back!

In the first two parts of this series, I reviewed the ineffective Nutrition North Subsidy Program and our Mission / Vision here at First Nation Growers.  In this third and final part, I’ll discuss the solution.

Many of the key issues that are of greatest concern for Indigenous peoples in Canada today are complex and inexorably intertwined – so much so that government, researchers, policy makers and First Nation leaders seem hamstrung by its enormity.

First Nation Growers has a mission to empower First Nation communities toward a nutritionally improved, healthy future in providing every indigenous community with an opportunity to grow their own year round, indoor, natural, fresh produce, vegetables, fruits, herbs and traditional medicines to service their own First Nation and Inuit communities, their members and their member’s children, from within their own community, through their own First Nations self government community programs and community owned and operated year round Fresh Garden Farming Markets.

No other company to date, that we are aware of, has offered Indigenous and Inuit people an alternative, affordable, year-round 4 seasons,fresh foods contributing solution. First Nation Growers is dedicated to taking this problem head on.

FNG is addressing important Indigenous daily health and community nutritional needs in providing an environmentally friendly, financially viable and sustainable, attractive, cold, climate, year round, indoor fresh foods growing solution for every indigenous community, living in our more remote sub-zero, time restricted, growth unfriendly, geographical locations.

First Nation Growers through our “Community Fresh Garden Farm Markets” program, is a proponent of Aboriginal self-government as one key to unlocking the future well-being and nutritionally rich betterment of our Indigenous peoples. Timing is everything and our First Nation Growers “Community Fresh Garden Farming Market” technology has come of age, and is well positioned to contribute to improved indigenous community social development, with the improved health and future well-being of our Indigenous and Inuit peoples in providing affordable, quality, fresh foods for every First Nations and Inuit community. 

First Nation Growers goal is to is to nutritionally empower our Indigenous communities and their peoples.

Dawn Tabobondung, Chief Executive Officer

Dawn Tabobondung, Chief Executive Officer

Dawn Tabobondung is a proud member of Wasauksing First Nation and the Chief Executive Officer of First Nation Growers.  First Nations Growers builds indoor “Community Garden Market Farms” that provide Indigenous & Inuit communities with a financially viable, year round opportunity to grow their own nutritionally rich fresh produce and foods.  Be sure to follow First Nation Growers on Facebook.

“Indigenous indoor fresh foods farming today for a healthy tomorrow”

https://www.facebook.com/FirstNationGrowers/

https://twitter.com/FNGCanada

In last week's article, I discussed the ineffective Nutrition North Subsidy Program and how it has failed to solve the Northern Food Crisis

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Welcome back!

In last week’s article, I discussed the ineffective Nutrition North Subsidy Program and how it has failed to solve the Northern Food Crisis.

Next up – our vision and mission.

 

VISION

The vision of First Nation Growers is to empower Indigenous communities with an opportunity to grow year-round fresh produce, fruit, herbs and traditional medicines from within our own communities, improving health, well-being, and social development in providing affordable, natural, nutritionally rich, fresh food streams for Generations to follow.

 

MISSION

The mission of First Nation Growers is to empower Indigenous communities, their members and their member’s children toward a healthier lifestyle in advancing a natural, nutritious, fresh foods diet. This in turn will provide each and every First Nation & Inuit community with a financially viable, opportunity to grow their own produce and other natural fresh foods for 7 Generations.

First Nations Growers is committed to improving the overall social development and well-being of Indigenous and Inuit Peoples through improving daily, year-round, healthy diets by providing continual access to affordable, fresh foods in every indigenous community where possible, that in turn will help unlock peoples’ true potential toward positive social development through better health through improved daily nutrition. First Nation Growers is a proponent of Aboriginal self-government as an important key to liberating the overall social development, economic, education, political, and well-being of First Nation and Inuit peoples across Canada.

We believe that the social development, values and well-being of Indigenous Peoples can be dramatically improved through dietary education that includes the regular consumption of fresh produce foods.

The social conditions of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada vary greatly according to place of residence, income level, family health and daily nutrition, cultural factors and Aboriginal classification (First Nations, Métis and Inuit). Areas of particular social concern include housing, employment, education, justice, health and nutrition, and family and cultural growth.

The federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (AAND) is responsible and provides funding for nearly all the social programs and services to the registered Aboriginal population — First Nations people registered with status under the Indian Act and the Inuit.

In many contemporary northern communities, foods like fresh produce, fruit, vegetables, and milk must be transported long distances. This results in high costs, limited availability and poor quality of the fresh foods themselves. Natural produce and other fresh foods is mitigated by the availability of “country food” — wild foods like seal, caribou, duck, whale, and fish. A 2005 report found that 68 per cent of Inuk adults in Inuit Nunangat harvested country food.

Country food remains an important food source for many Inuit, with 65 per cent of households getting at least half their meat and fish from country food, and approximately 80 per cent of Inuit Nunangat families sharing country food with people in other households. The communal activities of harvesting, processing, distributing and preparing the foods emphasizes a traditional culture of cooperation.

Indigenous, Inuit, Aboriginal Peoples and other more remote non-Native Canadian communities are being deprived of fresh produce that is unreasonably priced, poor in quality and their communities and their members and their children are suffering a lack daily nutrition.

That’s all for Part Two.  Please join me next week for Part Three, our “The Solution”.

Dawn Tabobondung, Chief Executive Officer

Dawn Tabobondung is a proud member of Wasauksing First Nation and the Chief Executive Officer of First Nation Growers.  First Nations Growers builds indoor “Community Garden Market Farms” that provide Indigenous & Inuit communities with a financially viable, year round opportunity to grow their own nutritionally rich fresh produce and foods.  Be sure to follow First Nation Growers on Facebook.

“Indigenous indoor fresh foods farming today for a healthy tomorrow”

https://www.facebook.com/FirstNationGrowers/

https://twitter.com/FNGCanada