Seventeenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Indigenous nations in Canada must continuously struggle to maintain their rights to cultural autonomy, self-determination, and self-governance in a system dominated by a western worldview. The United Nations’ Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) affirms these rights and acknowledges the importance of Indigenous knowledge for environmental sustainability. This paper introduces a case study of the Niiwin Wendaanimok (Four Winds) Partnership between four Anishinaabe Nations of the Lake of the Woods region in Ontario, Canada, and the Harmonized Impact Assessment model developed by the Partnership for a highway twinning project. This model was developed in response to the conventional Canadian Environmental Assessment Process, which is not reflective of Indigenous teaching and does not easily integrate an alternative worldview. The Harmonized Impact Assessment model is built on the foundational principles of harmonization, which are informed by the Manito Aki Inakonigaawin (The Great Earth Law). This study explores the many principles, processes, and components of the Harmonized Impact Assessment model, with a key objective being to demonstrate the manner in which the use of a harmonized model successfully integrates western science with Anishinaabe knowledge and stewardship practices.