Latest news with #Copenace
National Observer
22-05-2025
- General
- National Observer
The race to adapt ancient wild rice practices in a changing environment
Traditionally, wild rice — or manoomin — is harvested by paddling into shallow waters and gently knocking the ripe grains into the canoe using cedar sticks. It's a time-honoured practice central to Anishinaabe culture and ceremonies. 'This wild rice is part of our migration story,' said Jyles Copenace, cultural coordinator for Kenora Chiefs Advisory. 'It ties us to where we ended up in northwestern Ontario and to the Great Lakes.' Historically, manoomin thrived in the shallow waters of lakes and rivers. But hydroelectric production, invasive cattails and climate change have made traditional harvesting difficult. '[Wild rice] used to last a month, but now, because of climate change, the rice becomes brittle and must be harvested within a week,' Copenace said. Now, Indigenous communities are breathing new life into manoomin — and part of that includes an innovative shift: cultivating wild rice in saturated soils, instead of traditional flooded habitats. Copenace believes the loss of wild rice has contributed to rising health issues in Indigenous communities. 'Our children are getting sick, and we're seeing less and less wild rice in our traditional territory, and nobody is stepping up,' he said. "Wetlands with overlying water create low-oxygen conditions," said Vince Palace, a research scientist. "That promotes methane-producing bacteria. And methane is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases." Copenance said a sacred Anishinaabe migration birch bark scroll — once held in a museum — was returned to Bad River, Wisconsin. It tells the story of how the Anishinaabe people were guided by prophecy to a place where 'food grows on the water.' That food was manoomin. Centuries later, the future is dimming for that food tradition, but a race is on to understand what it needs to thrive — and how to bring it back. 'We have very limited time to be able to save this food and to save this traditional way of life centred around wild rice,' said Vince Palace, a Lakehead University adjunct biology professor working with Copenace. While Indigenous communities across the border in Wisconsin and Minnesota have been engaged in restoring the plant through a combination of traditional practices and modern conservation efforts, on the Canadian side, that conservation has been less active. 'In Canada, nothing like that was ever done in terms of protection of wild rice,' Copenace said. Growing rice in clay In response to these challenges and inspired by the work done by Indigenous nations in the US, researchers and community members initiated a series of experiments to explore alternative cultivation methods. They tested wild rice growth in three environments: natural wetlands, areas overrun by invasive cattails and saturated soils that Copenace refers to as clay. "The one that did the best was actually the one that was in the clay," said Copenace. Researchers investigated whether wild rice could grow just by keeping the soil wet at root level without flooding or any overhead irrigation. 'We've run a couple of years of experiments now looking at that. And it grows like stink. It grows really well,' said Palace, who is also lead research scientist at the International Institute for Sustainable Development-Experimental Lakes Area. Carbon tests revealed that wild rice grown in saturated soil had the lowest carbon output among the three methods. "Wetlands with overlying water create low-oxygen conditions," said Palace. "That promotes methane-producing bacteria. And methane is one of the most powerful greenhouse gases." Copenace said the idea of growing wild rice in saturated soil came from successful projects in Kenya and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This method was confirmed by 10 to 12 African scientists who visited the Kenora Chiefs Advisory site, sharing their success with growing rice in clay to improve food security. The next stage of the Ontario project focuses on managing invasive cattails, which have led to a decline in local wildlife, including geese, muskrats and fish. Palace said they are working to combine the community's knowledge with scientific research. "We want to sort of braid that traditional knowledge of, how does the habitat, how is it different now than it used to be?" Palace said. "And if we turn back the clock by removing the cattails and replanting with wild rice, does that lead to a shift back toward the more traditional quality of that habitat?" Engaging youth Of all the ecological obstacles, though, one of the biggest challenges to reviving manoomin is the lack of younger harvesters. Today, most people gathering wild rice are elders, many in their 60s or older. Few youth are stepping in to take their place. The project was initiated by Bruce Hardy, who is Cree-Métis and CEO of the Indigenous-led biotech company Myera Group. Hardy has worked with First Nations across Manitoba for over 20 years. 'We literally, as Canadians, don't realize that we're going to go through one of the largest losses of opportunity that the world could ever comprehend, with the loss of Indigenous knowledge being less than 10 years away,' Hardy said. Part of the effort behind this project is to create pathways for young people to take on that knowledge — through training, planting programs, and hands-on work. 'What we're doing is getting this project started so the youth can carry it on into the future, because there's so much work to be done with wild rice, I don't even think I'll be able to do it in my lifetime,' Copenace said. 'If it's just wild rice, what are you doing? Who in the community is going to take this up?' Hardy said. 'And if we don't think this through, and if the youth don't take it up, all the stuff we're talking about now, that's really cool — become a museum exhibit. And we'll have lost that.' This is part of Hardy's broader ongoing work with universities and communities, focusing on establishing a self-sustaining, circular economy by linking wild rice production with other innovative practices like fish farming and using fish waste to create natural fertilizers. He hopes that creating this model will encourage youth to explore opportunities in robotic engineering, fish biology, and sustainable agriculture in their home communities, and empower them to be stewards of their land. Copenace said community members and elders recently passed a formal resolution in support of the ongoing research into wild rice. Now, they plan to start the next stage, focusing on how different wild rice varieties compete with cattails and exploring their taste profiles. "With the support we got, it's kind of making sure we do whatever we can in our capacity to make sure that wild rice is always there, even if it means moving to aquaponics, to indoor growing to even having more clay wild rice fields,' said Copenace. 'This is going to be the future of wild rice.'
National Observer
07-05-2025
- Business
- National Observer
Mining executive under fire for email to Indigenous leader
An email from the CEO of a mining company to an Ontario First Nation chief is causing an uproar over how resource companies engage with Indigenous communities. In the email, shared with Canada's National Observer, Golden Rapture Mining CEO and president Richard Rivet called Chief Jeffrey Copenace of the Ojibways of Onigaming a 'terrible leader' for opposing a proposed mineral exploration project near the First Nation's territory. The company wants to start a small-scale drilling and surface rock sampling project in 2025. The mining company hopes to explore a 10,000-acre gold property near Sioux Narrows and Nestor Falls in Ontario and upstream from lakes connecting Onigaming First Nation to Lake of the Woods. The First Nation community, about 140 kilometres south of Kenora, has been under a state of emergency since 2014 due to high youth suicide rates, addiction and a housing crisis. Copenace told the company that Onigaming cannot consider new development proposals while facing this ongoing tragedy. 'We are currently experiencing another death in our community, the 43rd in three and a half years,' Copenace wrote. 'We simply do not have the capacity to engage in good faith in any way during our crisis.' 'Maybe your Reserve is in such bad shape because you're a terrible leader,' Rivet wrote back to Copenace. 'You should resign.' Rivet told Canada's National Observer his email was 'in private and should have stayed that way,' and his remarks referred to Copenace's opposition to development — 'not because of the way he handled the suicide emergency. That would be very rude and cruel. If he perceived it that way, then I apologize.' 'We're in crisis mode' Ontario is in the midst of an effort to expand and accelerate mining development, particularly in the north of the province. 'The standard is actually higher. The standard is one of consent, not just consultation,' Jamie Kneen, an expert with MiningWatch Canada. But Indigenous leaders say Rivet's remarks reflect a broader failure by mining companies to respect Indigenous self-determination. The Chiefs of Ontario, which represents leadership across the province, condemned the message as 'unacceptable disrespect,' and in a recent press release, called for a public apology from Golden Rapture Mining. 'Companies need to realize there's a lot going on in communities,' Ontario Regional Chief Abram Benedict told Canada's National Observer. 'It's not always possible to engage at that time. We're dealing with overdosing, evictions, housing issues. We cannot possibly talk about meaningful engagement or partnership when we're in crisis mode.' Benedict said while legislative changes and economic pressures are pushing industry to expand resource development faster, this must not come at the expense of Indigenous rights or realities on the ground. 'Our communities want development. Our communities want to engage. It's just important that proponents understand the realities, the community, and its priorities,' Benedict said. The Ontario ministry of mines has yet to respond to a request for comment. Jamie Kneen, an environmental activist and mining policy expert with MiningWatch Canada, said the company's conduct highlights a recurring issue in the sector: companies approaching consultation as a checkbox exercise rather than building meaningful relationships. 'The standard is actually higher. The standard is one of consent, not just consultation,' said Kneen. 'And communities have the right not just to be consulted, but to make decisions independently according to their own criteria and processes. That has to be respected — both the process and the outcome.' He pointed to UNDRIP, which Canada has committed to implementing. Under that standard, communities must give 'free, prior and informed consent' to projects affecting their lands. 'There's a tendency for proponents to find the people willing to talk and stop there,' Kneen said. 'But there's more to the community than that. There's more to the relationship than just getting a band council resolution.' Consultation is 'about relationship-building, not just trying to get access,' Kneen said. 'You need to be willing to accept that the outcome might not be what you want.' In disagreement Rivet's project remains in its early stages. While a full permit is not yet required, Golden Rapture Mining must submit an exploration plan to the Ontario Ministry of Mines and is seeking community approval before proceeding. Due to the potential for harm to culturally significant spring-fed lakes, Copenace would be opposed 'at any cost necessary, including peaceful protest and direct action' to the exploration, he wrote in their correspondence. 'We will always stand up for our community's Treaty Rights and against any mining or exploration that will negatively impact our Inherent Rights,' he said. Rivet said he wasn't surprised Copenace would oppose his company's plans. 'We already knew that as he had previously refused other companies in the past,' Rivet told Canada's National Observer. 'He is simply against any progress and his reserve is very poor.' In the email, Rivet said the situation had been a 'bad experience' and the company had previously hired First Nations workers and included Indigenous voices on its board. 'We just had a bad experience with Chief Jeff Copenace, who refused to consult, which was very frustrating for us, as our livelihood and our shareholders' investments are dependent on successful exploration,' Rivet told Canada's National Observer. In another follow-up email, Rivet wrote that he worries about the fallout from negative attention over the email exchange with Copenace. 'We are a publicly traded company and this could destroy our company with all our 1,000 investors losing their money if the share price was to crash.'
