Recent Updates & Opportunities
- The IGLN is hosting a land camp this July! Apply to "Our Responsibilities to Nibi Youth Land Camp"
- Report from the IGLN 2025 Annual Meeting is now available
- SIGN-UP NOW! IGLN Annual Gathering - November 12-13 - Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
- Nominations open for Network Member Awards!
- IGLN co-directors announce call for interest for new IGLN Interim Advisory Council
- NEW! Click here to explore resources on topics such as proposal writing and data management & governance!
The IGLN is hosting a Youth Land Camp this July! Apply to "Our Responsibilities to Nibi" camp HERE
|
|
1) Program DescriptionThe Indigenous Great Lakes Network: Our Responsibilities to Nibi Land Camp is an initiative created and led-by by the Indigenous Great Lakes Network (IGLN) to bring 15 Indigenous youth ages 18-30 from the Great Lakes region together to build skills and capacity in environmental monitoring practices related to water – nibi. Our land-based camp will empower youth to braid western aquatic science practices with Anishinaabe water teachings, ceremony and responsibilities – with a specific focus on relationality (i.e., All Our Relations).
Our program will involve both in-person and virtual activities. Firstly, two virtual sessions will happen ahead of the camp (i.e., relationship building, introduction to program themes). The land-based programming will take place from July 14-17 at Trent University Campus in Nogojiwanong (Peterborough) Ontario, and participants will live on campus for the duration of the camp. The in-person component will include both land-based western science and cultural learning opportunities from IGLN staff, Indigenous students, professors and knowledge holders. Virtual follow up sessions will occur on an ad-hoc basis to allow participants to plan a youth day or event at the IGLN annual gathering in October 2026. Our program will empower Indigenous youth to be environmental stewards in their communities and elevate the power of braiding knowledges.
2) Program Objectives
- Empower Indigenous youth to know / understand their cultural knowledges and ways of being in the world are valid ways to contribute to the health and wellbeing of the Great Lakes
- Provide training opportunities in western aquatic science monitoring techniques (i.e., benthic macroinvertebrate sampling and water quality monitoring techniques) and a deeper understanding of threats facing the Great Lakes
- Engage with Indigenous knowledge holders, youth and academic scholars highlighting community-based and Indigenous-led environmental research and monitoring practices and real-world applications
- Foster lasting connections between IGLN youth that strengthen youth self-determination
3) Eligibility Requirements
To apply you must meet the following criteria:
- Self-identify as Indigenous and be currently living in or affiliated with an Indigenous community, Tribe or Nation within the Great Lakes Watershed.
- Be 18 – 30 years old at the time of the camp.
- Available for the entire duration of the Nibi Camp, Tuesday, July 14 – Friday, July 17, 2026 (including July 13th and 18th for travel).
|
4) Closing Date
Applications submitted by June 14th, 2026 will be given priority, but we will accept applications until spots are filled, or up until June 26th, 2026. 5) Important Notes
6) Questions and Contact Information Please reach out to Network Director Lydia Johnson at [email protected] or 807-630-1901 or Engagement Coordinator Heléna Mauti at [email protected] with any questions regarding the camp or application |
|
The Graduate Student Scholarship Competition is NOW OPEN!
See the Community Learners Program & Scholarship Competition page under the "Resources & Support" tab!
Welcome our new Engagement Coordinator, Heléna Mauti
|
The Engagement Coordinator will work closely with the Network Director to support communication and connection with Network Members.
More About Heléna Heléna, is a settler (Italian, Scottish, Austrian-German ancestry) living in relational accountability to Anishinaabe sovereignty and nibi at the Headwaters of the Grand, Humber, Credit and Nottawasaga Rivers in what is currently known as Southern Ontario. She is an anti-colonial land-based educator and Sessional Faculty Member in the Indigenous Environmental Studies and Sciences (IESS) program at Trent University. Heléna holds a BA in Equity Studies and Diaspora and Transnational Studies from the University of Toronto and a MA in Sustainability Studies from Trent University, where her research envisioned the boundlessness of Indigenous-Led Conservation to advance place-based Indigenous Sovereignty and Land Back. She has experience educating in a variety of audiences, from third graders all the way through university students to adult community learners, and is most passionate about connecting learners to their relationship with Creation. When she’s not spending time with the Land in Anishinaabe Aki you can find her practicing sustainable farming in her Italian homelands. Heléna is grateful for the opportunity to work for the water and community in this role! |
|
Welcome our new Network Director, Lydia Johnson!
This new position is a key leadership role, responsible for developing and implementing the network’s strategic vision, coordinating with our Indigenous-led Advisory Council, supporting network members, and leading external engagement, including with funders and academic partners.
More About Lydia
Aanii/Hello! My name is Lydia, I have mixed Cree (status member of Lac La Ronge Indian Band) and Italian ancestry and currently reside on the shores
of Anishinaabewi-gitchi gami (Lake Superior), where I will be living while holding the Director position. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science (Biology) from Lakehead University and a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from Queen’s University. I have diverse experience collaborating with a range of groups including Indigenous governing bodies, academics, government employees, non-profit organizations and youth on projects related to weaving knowledge systems in ecotoxicology, wildlife health, co-management, freshwater ecology, education, and climate change. On a personal note, I am a sister, daughter, drum-carrier, and love spending my time in nature, especially on the water. I am elated to start my journey as IGLN Network Director.
More About Lydia
Aanii/Hello! My name is Lydia, I have mixed Cree (status member of Lac La Ronge Indian Band) and Italian ancestry and currently reside on the shores
of Anishinaabewi-gitchi gami (Lake Superior), where I will be living while holding the Director position. I hold a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science (Biology) from Lakehead University and a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from Queen’s University. I have diverse experience collaborating with a range of groups including Indigenous governing bodies, academics, government employees, non-profit organizations and youth on projects related to weaving knowledge systems in ecotoxicology, wildlife health, co-management, freshwater ecology, education, and climate change. On a personal note, I am a sister, daughter, drum-carrier, and love spending my time in nature, especially on the water. I am elated to start my journey as IGLN Network Director.
Call for interest: IGLN Advisory Council
In response to participant-identified interests in shaping the network’s governance structure, the IGLN Co-Directors are putting out a call for expressions of interest to join a new Interim Advisory Council. Please see the poster below for details on the council’s purpose, responsibilities, and how to get involved.
New MOU Between Great Lakes Fishery Commission and Trent University to Support Collaboration Among Indigenous and Western Knowledge Systems
Pictured (Left to Right): Dr. Andrew Muir, GLFC, Dr. Barbara Moktthewenkwe Wall, Trent University, Dr. Mary-Claire Buell, Trent University, and Dr. Marc Gaden, GLFC.
This press release was provided by GLFC and Trent University.
|
OTTAWA, ONTARIO—A new partnership between the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the Indigenous Environmental Institute at Trent University aims to build research-related capacity and develop collaborative programs to support Indigenous Nations and Tribes across the Great Lakes in a way that is respectful of the Treaty and inherent Rights and Interests of participating Nations and Tribes. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) confirms each institution’s commitment to respectful, ethical collaboration of Indigenous and Western knowledge systems in a way that will be mutually beneficial for all involved.
"Indigenous-led research is paradigm shifting,” said Dr. Barbara Moktthewenkwe Wall, partnership co-lead, associate professor, and director of the Indigenous Studies PhD program within the Chanie Wenjack School of Indigenous Studies at Trent University. “Through this collaboration, we will work to bring together Indigenous relationality and science with dominant science and create a deep and holistic understanding of Great Lakes ecosystems. Our work will honor and bring to the forefront Indigenous knowledges and ways of knowing.” |
IGLNi Update: New Network Coordinator - Emma Pirie
|
In 2021, while she was completing her masters thesis research, Emma began her work with the Indigenous Great Lakes Network initiative (IGLNi) as a research assistant in a working group at Trent University. In that role she conducted research to help create an environmental scan of Indigenous-related research and monitoring projects that were taking place in the peer-reviewed literature. Her time as a research assistant for the initiative gave Emma significant experience in community-based research leading to her helping to facilitate workshops and take on more event planning and coordinating. Ultimately, the network participants made the decision that such a network would be something that would help to advance their communities’ research and monitoring priorities, and the IGLNi officially convened in person for the first time in October of 2023.
Today, IGLNi is still in the early stage of development. The structure of the network is yet to be officially organized. The conversations that make actions must take place between the network participants, supporters and funders, and the IGLNi administrative hub. This is a product of the network’s emphasis on community driven decisions. And that’s where Emma and her new role come in. As the IGLNi’s first Network Coordinator, Emma helps facilitate the goals and objectives of the Network, whether that’s through activities like knowledge sharing, capacity building and community learning, or youth engagement. The formation of her role was a goal explicitly expressed by IGLNi participants, and it is Emma’s priority that the network continues to operate in an ethical and transparent manner, and is continuously responsive to the priorities of the communities that it serves. |
Emma Pirie earned her natural science focused Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Toronto. She continued her education at Trent University, and recently earned her Master of Arts degree in Sustainability Studies. The focus of her thesis examined the ways in which Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science are brought together.
|
