Follow along as we work towards systems change and help create better outcomes for kids in our community.
January 30, 2020
We have been holding in this exciting news for what seems like a long time, and we’re so excited to finally be able to share it! As you may have seen on social media, we celebrated the opening of Granny’s House (AKA Kookum’s House) yesterday and we’re just bursting with happiness and gratitude for this […]
READ MOREJanuary 06, 2020
It’s time for our annual tradition of recapping our favourite moments of the past year! It’s hard to believe that six years have passed since The Winnipeg Boldness Project began. It seems like just yesterday we were asking ourselves “… what the heck is a social lab?!” We have accomplished a lot over the years, […]
READ MOREDecember 17, 2019
My practicum at The Winnipeg Boldness Project was an amazing experience that provided multiple opportunities for practical use of my skills learned in the community development program at Red River College. I spent most of my time researching and learning about topics such as the Province of Manitoba’s Early Childhood Indicator (EDI) and the North […]
READ MOREOctober 16, 2019
Recently we shared a new video entitled ’Supporting Dads in the North End’ and we wanted to share a bit about why we made the film and how the process went. It was one of our most time consuming video shoots to date, but it was also one of the most rewarding and impactful as […]
READ MOREMay 29, 2019
We recognized early on in the project that there was a lack of community-based evaluation tools to be utilized when researching early childhood development in the North End. We talked a lot about the concept of wellbeing and health, but we wondered what the word wellbeing actually meant and how that definition would differ depending […]
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.
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