by Nadine Lefort Manager of Communications & Outreach, Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources
Mi’kma’ki, April 4, 2023 – A first-of-its kind partnership is bringing traditional and ancestral Mi’kmaw knowledge to the Nova Scotian forestry sector and providing opportunities and prosperity to Mi’kmaq communities through forestry. The Mi’kmaq Forestry Initiative (MFI) serves Mi’kmaw communities, supporting the development of sustainable economic opportunities for the Mi’kmaq and promoting community prosperity through the lens of ecological practices and traditional Mi’kmaq knowledge.
“Mi’kmaw guiding principles are informing our approach to forestry,” says Lisa Young, Executive Director of Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources. “Through the practice of Etuaptmumk—Two-Eyed Seeing—we’re bridging Mi’kmaw and Western worldviews to create jobs, revenue, and economic opportunities while preserving our natural world.”
Under the direction of the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs, the MFI was launched jointly by Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn (KMK), the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM), and Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR). In 2019, the Government of Nova Scotia granted the MFI approximately 20,000 hectares of Crown land through a Pilot Forest Project with KMK, CMM, and UINR. In 2022, an additional 10,000 hectares was added to the MFI land base. The MFI continues to operate under the Pilot, with negotiation of a long-term forestry agreement underway. A long-term agreement will enable the MFI to operat ...
Tags: ancestral Mi’kmaw knowledge, Angie Gillis, Annapolis, antigonish, Cape Breton, featured, Guysborough, halifax, Hants, Inverness counties, Janice Maloney, Lisa Young, Mi’kmaq Forestry Initiative, Richmond
