Protecting land and water as treaty partners

On January 4, 24 people participated in a ceremony led by three grassrooted traditional Mi’kmaq grandmothers— Marilyn Francis, Marian Nicholas and Darlene Gilbert.
The ceremony included a sacred fire, songs and prayers for the protection of the land, a water ceremony that included singing to the roaring Ingram River, and prayers of protection for all the waters that give us life.
Participants expressed their love for the Ingram River Wilderness Area (IRWA) and their heartbreak over the proposed high-production forestry, (aka perpetual clear-cutting and spraying) to take place there.
IRWA is home to the oldest forests in Nova Scotia, is a critical corridor for the endangered Mainland Moose, a watershed for St. Margaret’s Bay, and home to 16 other species at risk and 73 species of conservation concern.
Clear-cutting threatens the survival of the moose, those other fragile and endangered species,
our watershed, and the health of those forests.
Our community has lobbied for this area to be protected. The salmon used to populate St. Margaret’s Bay. Sadly, logging activity by Bowater Mersey impacted the Ingram River, and the salmon stopped spawning.
Participants in the ceremony expressed their joy that the salmon have returned to spawn in the river, due to the stewardship of the St. Margaret’s Bay Stewardship Association.
The ceremony fortified our commitment to protecting IRWA. It was a full-circle moment as the
Mi’kmaq grandmothers returned here, as descendants of the people who fished in the Ingram
River, and paddled it to access St. Margaret’s Bay, and for whom IRWA was traditional hunting
grounds.
The ceremony threaded participants together as treaty partners—settlers standing with the Mi’kmaq—to safeguard our common future by protecting the water and land that gives us life.
To join us, email ingramactiongroup@gmail.com.
Lesley Hartman
Ingram Action Group