Canada's greenest communities

Poplar River, First Nation, Man.: An inspiring ever-green community
At a glance
Major green efforts
• Produced a long-term management land plan.
• Secured short-term protection for Poplar/Nanowin Rivers Park Reserve area (777,270 hectares of intact boreal forest) until 2009.
Future goals/plans
• Permanent protection of traditional lands.
• Continue traditional practices on their land.
• Link the traditional territories of Poplar River on Lake Winnipeg, with Paungassi, Little Grand Rapids and Pikangikum First Nations in order to establish a United Nations
World Heritage Site.

The 1,200-member community of Poplar River First Nation lies 400 kilometres north of Winnipeg at the mouth of the Poplar River and in the heart of the boreal forest. These are the traditional lands of the Anishinabek people. For centuries they have lived here, hunting, fishing, trapping, gathering medicines and coexisting with the land in a sustainable manner.

The people of Poplar River have a special relationship with the land. For countless generations, the elders have been taught that it was given to them from the Creator. It nourishes and sustains people, and needs their protection. John Charles McDonald, an elder in the community, puts it this way: "The land is...just like sacred or holy ground." The boreal, or northern forest, is important to other communities across not only Manitoba, but also Canada and all of North America. It provides vital oxygen and water resources. It absorbs and stores carbon dioxide, and reduces the effect of global warming. It is one of the largest intact ecosystems on the planet.

But, well over a decade ago, the community elders began worrying that a large and important section of the forest, nearly 8,000 square kilometres designated as Crown land, might be in jeopardy. A transmission line was set to be built through the traditional territories, and the elders warned their community that the province might allow outside developers to use the land without respecting their traditions or values. They reminded people of their responsibility to protect the land and keep it intact for future generations.

Community in favour of going green
The community responded. When hearings were held to discuss the proposal, people united in opposition. They formed a committee and made a formal application to the Manitoba government, asking for protection of their land. Sophia Rabliauskas, a 47-year-old resident who has lived in the tiny community for almost her whole life, took part in the committee. "The land cannot speak for itself," she says firmly. "We need people to speak up for the land…We believe that by protecting our environment and the boreal forest, we are contributing to the well-being of all people on this planet."

In 1999, the community gained the status of a protected "wilderness" park preserve for its territory, but it would only ban hydro, gas, logging, and mining development on the land for five years. This has been extended one more time, for another five years. But the people of Poplar River want permanent protection for their land. They have spent years creating a land management plan, recording their elders' oral histories and conducting studies of the land, including archaeological fieldwork, to show how long their people have lived there. The completed plan explains how the community will manage and care for the area in the future, and in keeping with their culture and beliefs.

The catch is the province has not agreed to this proposal, and the clock runs out on land protection in 2009. "We're continuing to negotiate with the Manitoba government," says Sophia. "We've now reached a common understanding of our respective values and beliefs. It's going in the right direction." To the people of the Poplar River First Nation, their very survival as a community depends on the land. Sophia states it baldly: "If we lose that land, we won't survive as a people. This is our traditional territory." To the rest of Canadians, who are also custodians of the one of the world's last stretches of pristine boreal forest, perhaps the stakes are just as high.

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