MATTAGAMI FIRST NATION – Sacred sites across Mattagami First Nation territory are being documented and protected through a new community-led project.
The First Nation received a $51,300 Ontario Trillium Foundation grant.
Resident Natasha Naveau, who spearheaded the initiative, said the project arose from both inspiration and urgency.
Last summer, while canoeing with her sister, she visited a nearby pictographs and found evidence of a campfire disturbingly close to the drawings.
“It just seemed a little too suspicious, like someone was trying to maybe vandalize the pictographs,” Naveau told TimminsToday.
“That sparked the idea. These sites are part of our territory, Mattagami First Nation and Anishinawbe territory, but they’re not really protected.”
The project will involve community-based and archival research into sacred and historically significant places, including the pictographs and Bethnal Springs, a site near Gogama that has long drawn attention from outsiders. In the past, Naveau said Bethnal Springs was even eyed for commercial exploitation as a spa or bottled water source.
Naveau said she wants to ensure visitors understand these sites are part of Anishinawbe history and knowledge-keeping. Signage, education, and community storytelling are envisioned as ways to encourage respect.
Over the next year, the project team will gather oral histories from elders and community members, while also drawing from collections such as the Ontario Archives and the John Macfie photo series People of the Watershed.
Workshops with local artists will explore the meaning of rock art and create new works inspired by pictographs. A budding filmmaker from the community is also documenting site visits and stories as part of the project, Naveau said.
Eventually, the knowledge gathered will contribute to Mattagami’s vision of building a cultural centre to store artifacts, stories, and digital archives.
“My contribution is helping to document and create a digital archive of stories, particularly of our elders, who we have very few of now,” Naveau said.
“The knowledge is actually held in our community — collective knowledge and the stories that they can tell.”
The project comes at a time when federal Bill C-5 has changed how certain archeological sites can be protected, creating what Naveau describes as a greater sense of urgency.
In June, the One Canada Economy Act was passed. It gives the federal cabinet the power to fast-track approvals for major projects such as mines, ports, and pipelines, that are considered to be in the national interest.
“This is really about being in protection mode right now,” Naveau said.
She highlighted the importance of Indigenous communities leading this kind of work themselves, rather than relying on outside institutions.
“For obvious reasons,” Naveau said.
“Our stories — Anishinawbe stories — have always been told by people outside of our communities. Nothing about us without us. This comes from us, and there’s empowerment and pride there. We know our history best.”
While the current Trillium grant supports research and documentation, Naveau sees it as the first phase of a larger effort. The next steps may include installing signage at sites to educate visitors and assert Mattagami’s stewardship.
“Maybe some of this knowledge can help protect those sites in bigger ways,” she said.
