Mountain Lake and Wiindigo Wiigwam Mountain In The Background
Achievements Duncan Malcolm Michano
EXPERIENCED LEADERSHIP DELIVERING RESULTS FOR YOUR COMMUNITY
Accomplishments:
1- Canoed Biigtig Ziibi ( Pic R ) from Longlac to Lake Superior with my grand daughter who was 16 at the time. Why is this important ? How is it relevant to the people of Biigtigong. ? Biigtig Ziibi is our " Home River" . Our connection to the other First Nations in the region and in particular Longlac. Our elders spoke of many trips up and down the river. Subsequently we took youth on 2 separate occasions down the river fro Michael Lk bridge and Manitou Falls.
The videos are included elsewhere on this site.
With the renewed interest we also took youth and adults on the Bluestone River ( Steel R ).
2- Took youth and elders to Mountain Lk ( Santoy ) and Jackfish Lake. This trip was to rename places and to show youth and younger adults where our people had their cabins on Mountain Lk and Jackfish. I also told them some of their history in those places. See video on this site.
3 - Took youth on a trip by boat and canoe to Otter Cove. This was to rename the Pukaskwa Pit Complex previously known as "the fortress". We name it "The Place of Our Ancestors). We also did an overnight trip by canoe from Otter Cove to Cascade Falls. All these initiatives were to give youth an appreciation of the land and their history.
4 - Attended a conference in Boston Mass with Chantelle Richmond , Lands staff Juanita Starr and Indigenous attendees from Hawaii and New Zealand. The purpose of the conference was to look at "Environmental Repossession" . This initiative gave us international contacts to partner with in the repossession of our lands.
5- Initiated and guided and assisted with the "Smart Cities Program", a program carried out by the Federal Govt to promote technology in communities and how could technology help communities thrive. We made it to the finals in Ottawa. This program helped us get the STEM learning program going into our Elementary School. It also helped us focus on how we could use technology to teach our people the Nishnaabeg language. We also have an agreement with ReBoot Canada to teach our youth how to repair computers.
6- Land Claim. We are in preliminary discussions with Canada, Ontario and Parks Canada in regards to our land claim. Progress is slow but we are making progress. We have managed to get forest plans altered to exclude lands we are interested in and have certain lands we are interested in withdrawn from staking and have a caution on staking on all other lands within our 6 communities involved in the Aboriginal Title Case.
7 - Biigtigong Website . Our website underwent a complete revamp and has been updated with current information, pictures; we are also working on a member portal where all members can log into the portal with their specific ID to get community updates. Once we have completed this, we will share the launch and instructions with our members.
8 - Community Boat – Through program funding, we were able to purchase a community boat. This boat lets us access more of our land along the coast and has been utilized for various projects/programs, including our land-based school curriculum activities. We have also taken elders for short boat excursions. See lands staff about this.
9- Reclaiming our Lands. Over the past few summers, work has been done on our trail and cabin project, these projects were developed to help us access more of our lands so that our members can get back to enjoying our traditional territory. We have two cabins at Mountain Lake and one on Jackfish Lake that community members can use. See Lands Staff to reserve.
10 - Emergency Response Plan . Staff have received training on emergency response and will be working with external agencies such as the Union of Ontario Indians on the development of a comprehensive emergency response plan for community.
11 - East West Tie Hydro Line. We have formed an alliance with 5 other communities to create a company called BLP.
BLP on behalf of our 6 communities owns 20% of the EWT Hydro Line. Once it is commissioned we will start getting disbursements from there on an annual basis.
12 - Supercom. Supercom is a corporate entity created at the instructions of BLP to assist with the construction of the EWT and to provide training, employment, contracts and disbursements to the 6 communities. They have done well.
13 - Land Use Planning. Formal Land use planning is underway.This involves identifying specific zones and areas for specific uses. For instance : Housing/ Residential, cultural, business etc.
14 - Bear Management. With bears being a concern each year, we have initiated a staged bear management plan for our community. Training on bear management has happened, we will be purchasing live traps so immediate action can be taken when we have problem bears. WE are also trying to determine an ideal location for a Bear Cub sanctuary / rehab centre where we can keep orphaned bears until they are old enough to survive on their own.
15 - Nuclear Waste Disposal Sites Manitouwadge and Hornepayne.. Lobbied and protested hard to have the Manitouwadge and Hornepayne NWMO sites removed from the list of preferable sites.
It is my position that the Federal Govt and Province needs to stop supporting the Nuclear industry and have those power plants phased out so they do not produce any more hazardous waste.
16 - Chi Naknigewin. Our Constitution. We successfully created and passed our own Constitution. This was direct response to the Anishinanbek Nation self govt initiative on education.
17- AES. Anishinabek Nation Education System. We lobbied long and hard to get more control of our education system and we are now part of the AES. This also means an increase in funding but still not on par with school boards.
18- Deadhorse Road Logging Camp Cleanup Lobbied and supported the Lands Staff to have the old logging camp cleaned up. The OMNR now has an RFP out so that site will get cleaned up soon.
19 - Little Pic River Canoe Route We have created a canoe route on the upper Little Pic R to allow more flexibility in our land based learning system. The Upper Lil Pic is a safe route.
Infrastructure Accomplishments
1- New School – We were unsuccessful in seeing our first attempts come to light due to costs of bids received. We began the process of planning for this project over and are excited to announce that we were successful in securing funding for construction. Estimated cost is 25 million. The next phase will be tendering; we are anticipating the construction will begin in Spring 2022.
2- Housing – We have been approved for funding for 5 units; the unit design is being completed and the scheduled construction start is Spring 2022. We also renovated numerous homes. With the help of the PRDC we also built 3 duplexes. People are now moving in.
3- Road project – The roads upgrade project is scheduled to be complete mid-October. The addition of a pedestrian walkway to this project was one we felt was needed to ensure the safety of our members. We will continue to look at opportunities to expand these throughout our community.
4-APS Garage – As a critical service to our community, this garage is being constructed to enhance storage for our police office and proper facilities for assets.
5-Economic Development – We are in discussion with an Aquaculture operator to develop a partnership in a fish farm located near Hawkins Island. This was stalled due to Covid but has recently restarted.
Discussion with the town of Marathon on the development of a joint Port Authority located at the former mill site have been ongoing. This will provide tremendous opportunity for import/export not only for our community but for the region as well.
6- Purchase of assets/Investments in our Future – The Visitor Information Center and 72 Peninsula Road were purchased as business opportunities. Feasibility studies have begun to determine best use of these property to aid in the economic stability of our community.
7 - Land Purchases. With limited land space, potential for members to return home, and increases to our population, the former townsite was purchased to allow space for community growth. When it went up for sale we also did not want anyone to put in development right next door. We have also purchased other private lands at Melegund and Black river for possible future economic development and / or cultural use/ school use etc.
8- Giiwa on Court – Under the federal lands program, we were successful in purchasing 33 Court Street, Thunder Bay; the old post office/ govt building. We are 75% owner (Biigtigong Dbenjgan, PRDC, and community), with Fort William First Nation being the other 25% owner. This project is being developed to utilize grant and loan money in the development of a 45 unit apartment building providing affordable housing options.
8 -Water project – We are at 66% design for a new water treatment plant that will increase capacity for current needs and allow for future growth of our community. Class "C" estimates are at 32 million.
9- Industry Relations – Considerable work has been done on ensuring opportunities with both Gen PGM and Barrick. Though these are at different stages of discussion due to stages of the mine, the focus remains on employment, training and contracting opportunities.
10 - Biigtigong Dbenjgan – Due to the level of mining activity in the area and wanting to make sure we are engaged, Biiwaabikoke was developed as the mining arm under the Biigtigong Dbenjgan umbrella. The repurpose of Mkwa was also undertaken to enhance their mandate from forestry to Mkwa Contracting. This allows us to capitalize on a broad range of economic opportunities.
11- MTO Road Maintenance. Worked with MTO to secure a road plowing contract on Hwy 627 ( Heron Bay Rd ) and Hwy 614 ( Manitouwadge Hwy ) . We have purchased a truck and will be plowing and sanding and salting those roads this winter.
12 - MTO Contracts. We have developed a dialogue with MTO to ensure our participation in contracts on Mink Creek Culvert, Hare Creek Culvert. Major Road reconstruction on Little Pic Hill and Steel R hill.
13- New Clinic. A new modern beautiful clinic was funded and built.
