“I want to emphasise the teachings that our parents have taught us. This is a continuing knowledge passed down from one generation to the next. We are elders now and continue to teach. This is what ‘keeping the land’ is all about. This is why we want to build the teaching centre — to continue to teach our youth at that centre.”
– Elder Lucy Strang (in translation)
Our guiding principle
The primary goal of the Whitefeather Forest Initiative is to provide a range of enterprise and employment opportunities for the members of Pikangikum within the framework of our way of Keeping the Land.
Emphasis on training
Since its inception, Whitefeather Forest Initiative has provided on the job training opportunities to its staff in GIS, community research, bushwork, and office administration. There has been a long-standing commitment from Whitefeather to pursue and execute these training opportunities within Pikangikum:
2005
Pikangikum developed a comprehensive training strategy to prepare our youth to meet the opportunities that will result from the Whitefeather Forest Initiative.
2007/2008
Pikangikum received approval from Human Resources and Social Development Canada under the Aboriginal Skills and Employment Partnership Program to support the Whitefeather Forest Training Program. This program was launched in January 2009 and ended in March 2012.
2009
Pikangikum received support from the Ontario Trillium Foundation to incorporate the Elders’ and other bush experts’ teaching for the forest resource manager trainings being delivered through Whitefeather’s Forest Eco-System Management diploma program. This program ended in December 2013.
Ongoing
Efforts also continue to develop the Teaching Centre envisioned by Elder Lucy Strang as a way of responding to what is, even now, a pressing need for teaching and training infrastructure. This Centre will be a place where youth from Pikangikum and other First Nations communities can learn about keeping the land from the Elder who are the keepers of our knowledge tradition and from the western tradition of our partners.
Current training programs
We continue to prioritize training and professional development. We want to ensure that our staff have opportunities to develop and become proficient in cutting-edge skills required for success in today’s workforce such as becoming drone pilots. We are also emphasizing opportunities beyond our staff by centering Pikangikum youth in the firefighter training program.
