Protecting Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Forests sakâhk papakîtitâmôwin (sah-GAHK pah-pah-guh-ti-TA-mo-win)—which translates from nîhithowîwin (Woodland Cree language) to “forest breathes”—is a Northeast Saskatchewan-based series of land-use carbon activities owned and operated by Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation’s communities, currently including Denare Beach (Amisk Lake), Pelican Narrows, Sandy Bay, and Sturgeon Landing. This project aims to affirm the resource sovereignty of the First Nation, increase the economy of PBCN’s communities through job creation and infrastructure investment, and revitalize the natural habitats that have been disrupted due to climate change, industrialization, and limited resources. Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation—also known as assin’skowitiniwak (“people of the rocky area”)— is a collective of eight communities spanning Northeast Saskatchewan. sakâhk papakîtitâmôwin is a registered Improved Forest Management (IFM) project that utilizes peer-reviewed techniques listed under the internationally-renown Verra Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, the most widely used greenhouse gas crediting program in the world. Climate Smart founders Curtis Blanchard and Aaron Kuchirka pictured here with PBCN trappers, PBCN Councillor Thomas Linklater Jr., and PBCN community consultant James Merasty. The activities undertaken by sakâhk papakîtitâmôwin will ensure that the land and the species within are protected through proper forest-health monitoring, ecologically-necessary maintenance, and improvements in harvesting practices, employing PBCN’s own members to do so. As a result of this caretaking—and with the project development support of PBCN’s partner, Climate Smart Services Inc.— carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and carbon credits are generated, which can then be sold to entities seeking to offset their carbon emissions. Profits from these sales are invested back into the community that sold them. Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation has been engaged with Saskatchewan-based ecosystem resource management and development experts, Climate Smart Services Inc. and their affiliates, since 2018 when the Band Council granted permission for Climate Smart to evaluate the land for the potential establishment of an Improved Forest Management (IFM) project. These evaluations were successful, and Climate Smart was appointed the project developer for sakâhk papakîtitâmôwin. The partnership has since resulted in the growth of several additional projects that will support responsible economic development plans for the next several generations of PBCN members. Climate Smart is accountable, first and foremost, to the PBCN Chief and Council and community members. Climate Smart makes recommendations for decision making and expenditures based on their knowledge, but PBCN must grant final approval. The project itself is accountable to the Verra Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) sakâhk papakîtitâmôwin will generate carbon credits as a result of its activities. Each individual PBCN community will own the credits generated by their forests. Band Council Resolutions go through an approval process by Chief and Council that allows individual communities to proceed with carbon project development within the areas bound by community-held Fur Blocks (see “Feasibility Study” for more information). sakâhk papakîtitâmôwin (“forest breathes”) currently operates on Treaty 6 and Treaty 10 in the Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation communities of Denare Beach (Amisk Lake), Pelican Narrows, Sandy Bay, and Sturgeon Landing. The project was named in consultation with Gary Merasty of PBCN to communicate the life-breathing ability of PBCN’s forests and the urgency with which we must protect them. The Seven Generations Principle is a worldview believed to originate with the Haudenosaunee Peoples. It teaches us that community decision making must: As the project developer for sakâhk papakîtitâmôwin, Climate Smart is committed to a Seven Generations Development Model that works to both counteract the environmental, economic, and social damages caused by industrialization and empower the First Nation, now and looking forward to the seventh generation of PBCN community members. They do so by challenging the financially motivated hierarchy typical of resource management projects, instead viewing the holistic value of food, animals, medicine, traditional practices, historical significance, and spiritual importance to be of greater worth than the land’s ability to generate carbon credits. The credits are just a tool to be used by PBCN to bolster the communities, on the Nation’s own terms. The forest is a wise, uniting, maternal figure who can breathe new life into the world knowing her family is going to be alright. The dragonfly imagery symbolizes PBCN’s ability to embrace change, welcoming the transformative nature of this project for their communities. Many thanks to Micah Santos for the creation of the project art. Improved Forest Management Project
OVERVIEW
Testimonial
“This project and partnership demonstrate that our Indigenous Ways of Knowing are being understood and valued. We have ecosystem partners who can help us lead the way through Improved Forest Management, and mâmawi (together) we will protect the forest that not only provides us with the essentials we need for survival, but gives us the hope of what preserving, protecting, and managing this resource will do for all.”
Nora Bear
PBCN Sandy Bay Councillor Partnership
Accountability
Project Ownership
Credit Ownership
Seven Generations Development Model