Manito Aki Inakonigaawin

Manito Aki Inakonigaawin has been an inherent law to Anishinaabe in Treaty #3 Territory since time immemorial.

The law governs relationships with the land and its inhabitants throughout daily life. This includes respecting lands and waters, giving offerings to spirits and Creator when you benefit from Mother Earth’s gifts, knowing your inherent rights as Treaty #3 members, and understanding your responsibility as a steward of the land.

Since Time Immemorial

At the beginning of time, Saagima Manito gave the Anishinaabe duties and responsibilities to protect, care for and respect the land. These duties were to last forever, in spirit, in breath and in all of life, for all of eternity. The spirit and intent of Manito Aki Inakonigaawin signifies the duty to respect and protect lands that may be effected from over-usage, degradation and un-ethical processes. Saagima Manito explained the Great Earth Law as a manner of thought, a way of feeling and a way of living. As a teaching, the law is difficult to translate to English, as it is engraved into Anishinaabe ways of life.

Read the Affirmation

Click on the circles below to read about the importance of Manito Aki Inakonigaawin.

"I try to teach my kids, my grandkids, that this is, this is more important. This land is more important than anything else, anything else. And we, as Anishinaabe people are supposed to be the caretakers of this land and what we do, what we do affects seven generations." - Susan Smith, Couchiching First Nation, 2021

"Everybody has to be taught the Seven Teachings, in order for that to be Inakonigaawin. Manito Inakonigaawin. Everybody has to understand that."

"We thought what we have, we would never survive as a people. And Nibi is the relationship between us and the water. Water is essential for all of creation,  without Nibi there would be nothing here. Yeah. Just dry, dry a desert. Nobody, no people, no plants, no insects, no nothing. That's the significance of water. It's a life giver. And the declaration was about protecting, protecting and rehabilitating our waterways." - Ogichidaa Francis Kavanaugh

"I'm not just thinking about myself. I'm thinking, I want my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren and theirs to also possibly have something that's good, and to have a good way of life and good things."

Pathways Forward

Respecting and upholding Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration is seen as the route to sovereignty for Anishinaabe in Treaty #3. Through engagement, potential pathways forward to upholding and enhancing GCT #3’s work with Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration were identified.

The pathways are broken into four categories that follow the Treaty #3 Anishinaabe Nation Four Directions Governance Model. Each category and it’s pathways forward are summarized below. 

Pathways Forward

Respecting and upholding Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration is seen as the route to sovereignty for Anishinaabe in Treaty #3. Through engagement, potential pathways forward to upholding and enhancing GCT #3’s work with Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration were identified.

The pathways are broken into four categories that follow the Treaty #3 Anishinaabe Nation Four Directions Governance Model. Each category and it’s pathways forward are summarized below. 

Social
Waabanong | East

Education and knowledge transfer, including health, childcare, social services.

“Well, I think a lot of the traditions and things that are handed down are not written, it's oral. So, we need to pass on, don't forget what we know. Like I was saying earlier, my grandma said, "In order to know where you're going, you had to know where you came from." And I know that we all come from the earth, and we should protect her...”
Sherry Anne Roseborough, Baakaandibewiziibing Ojibway Nation
“Things change over time because something that was 200 years ago isn’t necessarily the case now. And that is where the actual fine details of things change from generation to generation. But the core of what it is will always remain the same because that core is anchored in who we are in a nation.”
Daniel Morrisseau
“So, for me, I think it's important to share these teachings with our little girls, with our little girls, the little girls that come to the full moon ceremony. They participate as well. They get the knowledge and the teachings. It's important to share. We have one, two, maybe three generations of people who have not received those teachings. So, it's about reclaiming our identity, reclaiming our roles and our responsibilities.”
Naashki Binezek, Lac Seul First Nation
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Environmental Shaawanong | South

Responsibilities to land and waters, asserting rights to make decisions in Treaty #3 territory.

“We have a common interest to act as a collective unit. Treaty #3 common interests in protecting water, forests, big space with 20 Nations operating as one unit is more powerful.”
Winter Lipscombe, Wauzhushk Onigum Nation
"Manito Aki Inakonigaawin is not really a law. It's called the Great Earth Law, because the Elders, they had to correspond with the white society. White society lives by law. So just for them to understand it's our way of life. It's the way we do things, it's how we act on the earth."
Earl Klyne, Couchiching First Nation
"It was a way of life of what they taught. This is just our way of life, and if you listen to the teachings. The teachings, all the things that they talk about, they talk about the land. They talk about the water. All these things, if you didn't respect them, then they wouldn't take care of you."
Willie Yerxa, Couchiching First Nation
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Cultural
Ningabii'onong | West

Considerations of language, ceremony, and healing as the source of Manito Aki Inakonigaawin’s authority.

"We don't have a written constitution. Our constitution is unwritten, but it's there. Through our teachings. It's there through ceremony. Our constitution is based on the drums, the songs, the pipe ceremonies. All these ceremonies, that's part of our constitution. That's where everything comes from."
George Kakeway, Wauzhushk Onigum Nation
So I learned that a lot about the power of the language [Objiwa], because the government would come in and make demands on us. And then, our Elders would talk in the language about the situation that we were being presented with. And they would talk in the language, they would deliberate in the language. And only in that process, was there a beautiful consensus reached."
Naashki Binezek, Lac Seul First Nation
"When we talk about mental health and addiction, mainly mental health, we talk about the spirit of the individual. So, knowing the Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration gives us a foundation as to who we are as Anishinaabe people. And if we don’t have that foundation, we end up having all these addictions because of not knowing who we are and how we are connected to each other..."
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Economic
Kiiwetinong | North

The flow of funding, and the balance of economic development and protecting nibi & aki.

“I think that we're finally getting to the point where we can stand up and start to demand our rights (reference to the Treaty rights and revenue sharing) and that all the projects in the area would be shared with the First Nation."
Anonymous
“It is a lot of money that has been taken out. In our community, we’re not saying we want a free ride or a piece of the action or anything like that – we just want to be active participants in our own developments. That’s what you really want. Not ooking for a corporate well-fare state or anything like that."
Anonymous
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Prioritized Pathways Forward

Each category has a set of pathways that are ranked by priority. The following are some of those pathways that have been determined crucial to take for GCT #3’s work in upholding Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration. For a full list of the pathways identified, read the Pathways Forward Report here.

Future vision includes increasing general knowledge of both Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration, making sure children grow up understanding key teachings and laws, increasing online platforms to share information, and seeing strong, healthy communities. The following are some of the key pathways forward can help achieve this vision:

  • Include Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration in school curriculum and youth programs. Current implementation: Nibi Curriculum will be released soon.
  • Facilitate knowledge transfer from Elders.
  • Create a GCT #3-based position specialized in communication for Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration. Current implementation: TPU is increasing capacity for Policy Analysts and Outreach Coordinators.
  • Develop written introductory materials and toolkits. Current implementation: TPU is currently working on the draft Manito Aki Inakonigaawin toolkit.
  • Develop technology-based methods for knowledge transfer. Current implementation: TPU is working on the Nibi Portal and Manito Aki Inakonigaawin applications portal.

Envisioning a future where nibi is clean, drinkable, and respected as a life-giver, and aki is healthy, thriving, and treated with care. These pathways will lead to the Anishinaabe Nation being able to assert their rights and responsibilities towards aki and nibi:

  • Create a legal framework for the Nibi Declaration. Current implementation: The TPU is currently working with the Women’s Council to figure out the law making process for a Nibi Inakonigaawin.
  • Consider how Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration are respected in all western government processes. Current implementation: The TPU works with the federal and provincial government to ensure Anishinaabe jurisdiction through Manito Aki Inakonigaawin in all policies and processes. This relationship of harmony between Anishinaabe Inakonigaawin and Western Law is ongoing through proposals and working tables.
  • Strengthen the relationship between Treaty #3 with the Crown and proponents. Current implementation: The relationship with proponents and the Crown is ongoing through educating them on Anishinaabe Inakonigaawin protocols and processes. The TPU pursues agreements that ensures the respect of Anishinaabe Inakonigaawin in all government and proponent processes.
  • Consider developing a GCT #3-wide administration structure to support Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration. Current implementation: The TPU is currently exploring what this looks like through Lands Guardians and Manito Aki Inakonigaawin Compliance mechanisms.
  • Develop GCT#3 skills and have dedicated staff position, and focus on hiring local Anishinaabe youth. Current implementation: The TPU continues to focus on capacity building.
  • Develop a strategic plan for each level of governance.
  • Support communities’ development of resource laws.
  • Engage GCT#3 Councils in the Implementation of Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration.

Prioritizing individuals’ spiritual connections to the aki and nibi, and using Anishinaabemowin to pass knowledge and culture across generations. These are some of the key cultural pathways forward:

  • Continue and uphold the practice of ceremony and gatherings across GCT#3 territory. Current implementation: GCT #3 is looking at doing ceremonies focused on Inakonigaawin annually as guided by Elders.
  • Facilitate the learning and speaking of Anishinaabemowin as Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration can only be fully understood in Anishinaabemowin.
  • Healing intergenerational trauma and living in a good way.
  • Reinforce personal connections to Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration through time on the land.
  • Consider the practice of recording sacred laws.
  • Take time and care to ensure translations and interpretations are understood.

The vision of economic governance revolves around creating and strengthening relationships with the Crown and proponents, and ensuring economic development is not in contradiction with the protection of aki and nibi. Manito Aki Inakonigaawin can help bring awareness to Western government bodies of their roles and responsibilities. Some of the key pathways forward include:

  • Improve funding of Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration.
  • Ensure Proponents acknowledge and respect Manito Aki Inakonigaawin.
  • Respect Anishinaabe ways of caring for the land.
  • Create a policy or regulation to support the sharing of resource revenue through Manito Aki Inakonigaawin.
  • Consider how Resource Revenue Sharing impacts community relationships.

Understanding the Four Direction Governance Model

Waabanong (East): Environmental aspects of governance, includes how Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration inform and guide environment related decision-making within the Nation (GCT#3 and Communities) and externally with both the Crown and proponents.

Shaawanong (South): Cultural aspects of governance, includes the importance of ceremony as the source of Manito Aki Inakonigaawin’s authority, and the grounding of Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration in Anishinaabe law and knowledge systems. This section also discusses cultural aspects of the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3, which represents the responsibility for, and relationship with, the lands and waters.

Ningabii’onong (West): Economic aspects of governance, includes how Anishinaabe Inakonigaawin (Anishinaabe laws) informs the distribution of benefits and creation of opportunities from resource projects. This section also includes decision making in relation to economic issues and opportunities.

Kiiwetinong (North): Social aspects of governance, includes the transfer of knowledge, the creation of resources to aid in understanding of Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration, and the inclusion of Manito Aki Inakonigaawin and the Nibi Declaration in school curriculum.

KIIWETINONG

North

Social Committee

SHAAWANONG

South

Cultural Committee

WAABANONG

East

Cultural Committee

NINGABII'ONONG

West

Economic Committee

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