Community Approach

Community Background

Webequie First Nation is the closest community to the mineral discoveries and mineral exploration activities in the McFaulds Lake area. Being in this location provides future opportunities for the community to benefit from the planning, development and operation of any mines that may be developed in the area as well as mineral exploration activities. As a community with no year-round access to the existing all-season road network, this remoteness limits economic opportunities for Webequie First Nation and its members. It is difficult for community members to continue to live in their community due to limited employment opportunities and the high cost of living caused by the fact that food, fuel and construction supplies must be transported by air most of the time. Community members report that the winter road season has been getting shorter and shorter.

Our Vision

In September 2017, Webequie First Nation began the Supply Road Project by going through the process of identifying a 10 km wide conceptual route and narrowing the route to 2 km wide. This study process included community engagement with local trappers, land users and traditional harvesters, as well as the Webequie land use planning committee members to identify possible corridors from the airport, through to the mineral exploration and the proposed mine development areas.

Once the preferred route was identified, preliminary aerial environmental and geotechnical visual inspections were conducted in October 2017. Following this work, Webequie First Nation indicated that it wished to continue the Supply Road planning process as the proponent of a coordinated federal-provincial environmental assessment for the development of an all-season road.

Elders’ Guiding Principles

Guidance is being provided to the Webequie Project Team by Elders. This guidance will ensure that the Webequie First Nation conducts consultation/engagement for the Project in a respectful manner that reflects the culture and traditions of the Webequie people and their clans and neighbours outside the Webequie First Nation. The Project Team will ensure that all project-related consultation and engagement activities will be inclusive of the following guiding principles:

Mutual recognition of nation to nation;
Mutual recognition of ancestral knowledge;
Mutual recognition of traditional knowledge and practices;
Mutual recognition of clan families and relationships;
Mutual recognition of sustainable livelihood; and
Mutual recognition of traditional protocols.

Three-Tier Model

Webequie First Nation has developed a three-tier framework for their approach to Indigenous consultation. The three-tier approach is consistent with the Webequie First Nation’s traditional cultural values, customs and beliefs. Webequie is taking a unique approach that is based on not only their elders but modern day protocols in terms of how they engage with the public and also fellow Anishinawbek, Cree and Oji Cree peoples. The approach respects multiple aspects of what makes a community work well and relates to how it’s members see the world and can best benefit from roads, resource development and ownership of their land. VIDEO: Josie Jacob, a Webequie First Nation community elder (90 years old) talks about Webequie’s Three-Tier Model of the land in this video.

01 Core Tier

The Community and their Overall Well-Being

Physical health
Mental health
Social health
Education
Employment opportunities
Income

02 Relational Tier

Preserving the Indigenous Culture of the Community

Increasing understanding of the culture by others
Language
Traditional cultural activities
Ancestral knowledge inheritance – recording and passing down knowledge from the elders

03 Foundational Tier

Treaty and Partnerships

Fair sharing of benefits from the land with government and industry

The three tiers are closely connected and depend on each other.

Future hopes for the Community

Webequie commissioned a video to explain issues in their community during winter and what they hope to achieve with a simple but well planned building.

The Webequie Supply Road Project.. It's more than just a road.

The Project