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anishinabek economic development

Anishinabek Nation building off successful economic development forum

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First Nations leaders, economic development professionals and industry representatives gathered in Thunder Bay this week for the fourth annual Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Opportunities (ANEDO) Forum.

Hosted by the Anishinabek Nation Economic Development Department, the three-day event ran from Tuesday to Thursday under the theme “Unlocking Our Potential: Infrastructure, Investment & Innovation.”

The forum focused on economic opportunities in sectors including energy, mining, tourism and agriculture, while exploring strategies for securing investment and advancing major projects within First Nations territories.

“ANEDO creates a space where economic relationships are strengthened, and opportunities are explored through the lens of Anishinaabe values and leadership,” Debassige said in a news release.

She noted that Anishinabek Nations maintained robust economies and trade networks long before European settlement and said the forum aims to help communities reclaim economic sovereignty while building capacity for future growth.

“I encourage all ANEDO delegates to connect, build, and foster lasting relationships that will help build robust economies; one that prioritizes people and planet before profit, and is led by First Nations while benefitting all Canadians,” Debassige said.

The forum also highlighted success stories in various sectors, while offering workshops focused on cultural competency and Indigenous engagement.

“Each of our Anishinabek Nation member First Nations has unique backgrounds and experiences, different challenges, opportunities and successes, and ANEDO brings them all together to share as One Anishinaabe Family,” Debassige added.

This year’s event featured keynote presentations from lawyer, educator and wellness consultant Nicole Richmond, as well as Nathan Wright, Alto’s director of Indigenous engagement. Attendees also took part in networking events, including a gala dinner and entertainment from the First Nation comedy troupe Got Land? Indigenous Comedy Show.

“There was a time when all the information is coming through one lens, and that was the government’s lens,” said Northern Superior Regional Chief Melvin Hardy. “What this forum does is open doors and open our eyes.”

The opening reception featured Ojibwe-Caribbean singer-songwriter Aiyana Louis Debassige of M’Chigeeng First Nation.

The annual forum brings together First Nations, businesses, government representatives and industry partners to explore opportunities for sustainable economic growth across Anishinabek Nation territory.

SW RC Joe Miskokomon

Anishinabek Chief Joe Miskokomon appointed to Order of Canada

Four-time Grand Council Chief of the Anishnabek Nation Joe Miskokomon is the newest member of the Order of Canada.

Miskokomon also served as Chief of Chippewas of the Thames First Nation, and is currently the Southwest Regional Chief of the Anishinabek Nation.

“I started this journey in life 50 years ago, never with the expectation of being awarded anything,” Miskokomon said. “I come from a family of Chiefs and I maintain that hereditary role for our family and our community. I look at this as an honour that’s been bestowed to me, but also a recognition of the outstanding Canadians I’ve had the chance to work with over my career.”

The Anishinabek Nation Grand Office says Miskokomon has consistently championed the priorities and rights of the Anishinabek people.

“We extend our heartfelt congratulations to him on this well-deserved recognition and honour of this prestigious recognition of a leader whose lifelong dedication has profoundly impacted our communities and the broader Anishinabek Nation,” said Anishinabek Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige. “Today, we honour Chief Joe Miskokomon not only for his remarkable achievements and leadership, but also for his enduring dedication to justice and the affirmation of our inherent and treaty rights. His work continues to inspire us all to stand firm in the pursuit of sovereignty, respect, and reconciliation.”

As school teacher in the 1970s, Miskokomon quickly recognized that textbook history diverged from First Nations lived history. It inspired him to embark on a career of leadership and advocacy that took him around the world.

Early in his tenure as Chief, he led lobbying efforts challenging Ottawa’s position on pre-1867 treaties. He maintained the government was still bound by the treaties, contrary to the view of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.

Miskokomon’s advocacy led him to London, England, in the early 1980s. Canada was locked in heated debates to repatriate (take back) their constitution from England. He was in Parliament lobbying to ensure that promises made to Indigenous and First Nations peoples wouldn’t go by the wayside when a new constitution was drafted. Thanks in part to Miskokomon’s advocacy, Indigenous rights and treaty obligations were added as a provision in the official Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“Treaties are not quaint historical documents, as they were one portrayed by a Prime Minister,” Miskokomon said. “They are significant developments in relationships within this country. Canadians of all ages need to be taught that these things can’t be taken for granted, that they are rights-based and they directly affect a portion of the population who cannot be denied.”

Miskokomon said he spent most of the 1980s “living, breathing and negotiating constitutional discussions.” Much of his time as Chief was spent facilitating agreements between Indigenous peoples and Canadian municipalities.

“A lot of municipalities are absorbed with their own development, but they don’t realize that these municipalities live on treaty land that has been owned by First Nations. (Advocacy) is a matter of physically going to the municipalities, creating a relationship, and setting boundaries. It’s not us against each other. It’s ‘how do we grow together?'” he said.

His work is far from finished. Miskokomon says he is currently settling a major land claim in Anishinabek territory. He is also developing a “complete redevelopment” of Chippewa First Nation governance, moving towards an entirely Indigenous jurisdiction and away from dependence on the federal government.

“First Nations have a different set of strengths than municipalities,” he said. “Municipalities are a creation of the province. First Nations are constitutionally-based people that have constitutionally guaranteed rights within that base. How can we build a foundation so that First Nations and municipalities grow in cooperation with each other? There is no simple answer to a very complex set of issues that have truthfully been ignored for far too long. (These issues) have been allowed to fester and it has created an atmosphere of competition and an atmosphere of distrust.”

“I think we’re in a different era today with government, or at least I hope we are, where we can understand that First Nations peoples have a place in this country. I think we’ve made a lot of progress over the last 50 years, but we still have a long way to go and a lot of work to be done.”

Fiddler Aug 2023

Family learns police killing findings via social media

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Nishnawbe Aski Nation (NAN) Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler and Wapekeka First Nation Chief Brennan Sainnawap are raising concerns about what they are calling “disrespectful” treatment of Indigenous families in police investigations.

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) released the results of its investigation into the police shooting of Tyrese Roundsky of Wapekeka First Nation on February 12.

In a letter to the SIU written on Monday, Fiddler says the Roundsky family was not contacted prior and learned the details of this investigation through social media. He says the family was not briefed or sensitized regarding the decision to clear the officer and the revelation that officers on scene neglected to provide first aid for nearly forty minutes.

“It is unacceptable that the family and community had to learn through the media that after being shot, their loved one was neglected for 40 minutes by a police officer who did not render aid,” Fiddler said. “The SIU Director has demonstrated a complete lack of sensitivity in the release of its report, and instead of providing much needed oversight and accountability to the police, the release of the report has re-traumatized the family and a community already plagued with grief.”

Fiddler and Sainnawap wrote that the SIU’s behaviour lies in stark contrast to its express commitments to deliver culturally competent, supportive services to families and communities affected by police shooting fatalities.

23-year old Tyrese Roundsky was shot at a Wapekeka youth centre on July 31, 2025. The youth centre had been temporarily converted into a courtroom at the time. Roundsky advanced on the presiding judge with a knife, then turned and advanced towards an officer before being shot.

The SIU determined there were no reasonable grounds to believe the officer committed a criminal offence by shooting Roundsky, as their actions were determined to be in self defence.

The failure to perform first aid for over 40 minutes after shooting is still subject to legal scrutiny. The SIU said the officer refrained from approaching Roundsky for fear that he was still armed with a knife and posed a threat. However, the SIU says that concern was less of a risk as the minutes wore on and Roundsky remained motionless on the floor. The medical evidence indicates Roundsky’s wounds were fatal and it is unlikely that any amount of emergency first-aid administered shortly after the shooting could have saved him.

Nishnawbe Aski Nation says that the SIU has increased mistrust among Indigenous communities for their failure to notify the Roundsky family and Wapekeka community before releasing these findings.

“If there is to be any healing or restoration of relationships, it must begin with truth, accountability, and respect for our families, our community, and this generation that has been impacted more deeply than we have ever known,” said Wapekeka First Nation Chief Brennan Sainnawap.

The letter also references the SIU’s investigation into the death of 57-year old Bruce Frogg, a member of Wawakapewin First Nation. Frogg was shot by police in Kenora on June 25, 2024. Fiddler says NAN has rejected the findings of the SIU’s report ever since its release, citing a “complete failure to consider key evidence pointing to an unlawful use of force.”

One year later, Frogg’s son Eric Nothing, a member of Wapekeka First Nation, was shot and killed by police in Deer Lake on July 22, 2025.

“I provide you with this background to ensure you fully comprehend how these tragedies cannot be considered in isolation,” Fiddler wrote. “The failure of the SIU through its shoddy investigation into the death of Bruce Frogg has had significant, lasting impacts across the North, decimating any trust in the SIU. It is important you understand this context, in light of the SIU’s latest failings in their handling of the release of the Roundsky Report last week.”

“Coming so soon after the SIU’s careless investigation into the Frogg shooting, the profound failures towards the Roundsky family and the community of Wapekeka only adds to the failing reputation of the SIU. I find it unbelievable that a government who worked to ensure First Nations have equal access to safety and security could stand by and allow the failures of the SIU to be swept under the rug.”

Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige

Indigenous leaders demand halt to Ontario water procedure changes

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The Anishnabek Nation Grand Council is calling on the province to immediately pause implementation of changes to the Permit to Take Water program.

Under these new changes, companies can renew water-taking permits without submitting new applications or environmental reviews. These changes apply to water takings from lakes, rivers, and groundwater sources used for industrial and commercial activities.

The council demands that Ontario restores mandatory consultations for all permit transfers. It warns that the province is moving in a direction that undermines First Nations’ rights and environmental protections.

“These unilateral decisions directly affect our lands, waters, and future generations,” said Grand Council Chief Debassige. “Water is sacred. It is not a commodity to be transferred between corporations without scrutiny, consent, or accountability.”  

In July 2025, the Ontario Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Todd McCarthy wrote to First Nation leadership affirming water as an essential human right and committing to working with Indigenous leaders toward sustainable water solutions.

“While that commitment was welcomed, recent regulatory actions contradict those assurances,” Debassige said. “Claiming that ‘safe drinking water is a fundamental human right for all’ and that Ontario ‘will continue to work with First Nations and the federal government on long-term, sustainable solutions to achieve this important goal’, while simultaneously unilaterally weakening the very rules that protect water at its source, does not help achieve this goal.”

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks released a statement in September 2025 saying some people may have misunderstood the intent and scope of the regulatory amendment. The Ministry wrote that the regulation only allows a streamlined process for specific water-taking permits that had already been occurring, and that the proposed taking of water must be from the same location and for the same amount or less as was approved under the previously issued permit.

The ministry said they will continue to review permit applications to confirm that they meet ministry requirements, including public and Indigenous consultation requirements, where applicable, and will consider any related compliance concerns.

Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige

Anishinabek Nation renews State of Emergency declaration over safety, crime concerns

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The Anishinabek Nation Chiefs-in-Assembly have renewed their territories’ State of Emergency declaration.

According to the First Nation organization, the declaration was made in response to the continual inequitable funding for policing, citing an escalating public safety crisis that continues to threaten the well-being of citizens of the 39 Anishinabek Nation member First Nations.

“Our Anishinabek citizens are not second-class citizens; they deserve the same level of safety and security as every other person in Canada. Our citizens deserve equitable resources and support, which can be achieved by supporting adequate policing services to ensure the security and justice our citizens need,” said Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Linda Debassige.

“We will not suffer in silence. The Chiefs-in-Assembly stand united in defence of our people, rights, and future. The federal and provincial governments must address the existing systemic barriers and discriminatory practices that continue to hinder the safety and well-being of our citizens.”

Some of the concerns highlighted in the declaration include:

  • Widespread drug trafficking and organized crime activity
  • Rising violence and threats targeting community members, elders, and youth
  • Chronic underfunding of First Nations policing services
  • A growing mental health and addictions emergency

The State of Emergency was first declared in the summer of 2023.

The Anishinabek Nation is calling on the federal government to:

  • Immediately begin negotiations with First Nation police services administration to ensure adequate funding models to address current drug trafficking, organized crime activity
  • Support the co-development of a community-led Anishinabek Nation Police Public Safety Strategy
  • Begin the process of recognition of First Nation policing as an essential service
  • Bring an immediate resolution to the Human Rights Complaint involving First Nations and police services