Follow along as we work towards systems change and help create better outcomes for kids in our community.
August 24, 2020
Through a collaboration with The Winnipeg Foundation and donor Janet Simpson, The Winnipeg Boldness Project was able to purchase children’s books from various Indigenous authors to donate to the community. Granny’s House—a program created by the organizational collective Gwekaanimad and acts as a safe place for parents to bring their children when they need temporary […]
READ MOREAugust 18, 2020
‘This Place: 150 Years Retold’ is a graphic novel that tells the complex and, at times, tenuous story of Canada’s history through the eyes of Indigenous peoples. Published by Highwater Press—an imprint of Portage and Main Press that focuses on sharing stories from Indigenous authors— the book has received critical acclaim and won several awards. […]
READ MOREAugust 06, 2020
To call Mitch Bourbonniere busy would be an understatement. Often occupying several jobs at once, his scope of work is best described as a swiss army knife of helping. On any given day, he may fill the roles of: social worker, counsellor, safety patroller, university professor, cultural worker, driver, action therapist, youth support worker, social […]
READ MOREJune 30, 2020
As a community research project, one of the ways we are contributing during the pandemic is by sharing some of the great work that our partners are doing to help families during this stressful time; both for the purposes of building awareness, and also to demonstrate the resiliency of Point Douglas. As you’ll read throughout these […]
READ MOREJune 18, 2020
As a community research project, one of the ways we are contributing during the pandemic is by sharing some of the great work that our partners are doing to help families during this stressful time; both for the purposes of building awareness, and also to demonstrate the resiliency of Point Douglas. As you’ll read throughout […]
READ MORELand Acknowledgement
The Winnipeg Boldness Project resides in and works on the ancestral, traditional, and contemporary lands of the Anishinaabeg (Ojibwe), Anishinabewaki (Oji-Cree), Dené, Michif Piyii (Métis), Nêhiyawak (Cree), and Očhéthi Sakowin (Dakota). We recognize that we have benefited from and continue to benefit from colonization on the Treaty 1, Treaty 3, and Treaty 5 Territories.
It is important to also acknowledge how we benefit in this territory at the cost to Indigenous Peoples. Winnipeg has been drinking clean water for over a century via an aqueduct from Shoal Lake. In 1917, 3000 acres of Treaty 3 was declared property of the city of Winnipeg to build the aqueduct. This aqueduct was built over ancestral burial ground, to build these structures, the ancestors were disinterred and reburied. Construction of the aqueduct changed the waters significantly, causing the peninsula to become a man-made island. This now isolated Nation faced many challenges as a direct result from this aqueduct; Necessities like water, groceries, schools, and mail were only accessible via the dangerous trek to the mainland. Lives of adults and children were lost crossing to and from the mainland. Freedom Road, an all-weather road access finally opened summer 2019, over a century after displacement. This road, a testament to the success of Indigenous-led solutions, helps bring materials to build schools and a water treatment plant.
“I always think of it, even when I turn on the tap I’m like this comes from our community and this water probably contains our ancestors and the spirits of our ancestor. I think about the hardships of the people from Shoal Lake 40 who have gone through so many things for the benefit of Winnipeg’s drinking water,” says Angelina McLeod.1
Another benefit we reap in Winnipeg at a cost to Indigenous Peoples and land is the Hydro Electricity Development in Treaty 5. To optimize water movement for greatest power production the Province of Manitoba increased waterflow by creating the Churchill River Diversion in 1976. The modification of the waterflow caused flooding, shoreline erosion, and changes to water quality. This destruction of habitat has caused disruption to waterway travel, fishing, and hunting.
