Come out and connect with other participants while enjoying the music of Lawrence Martin, or bring your own instrument and join in. Refreshments provided.

A spiritual and cultural practice that involves gathering at dawn to witness the rising sun, often accompanied by prayers, songs, and offerings, to connect with the natural world and seek guidance and renewal.

Buffet

Welcoming words from local Nations and hosts, drumming, setting the context for the week

Build connections with other participants, visit vendor and sponsor booths, grab a coffee and a snack. Sew a quilt block with Quilts for Survivors

Guiding our week by sharing wisdom and perspectives on land stewardship

Buffet, Beef + Green Teriyaki

A private session for the 10 lucky participants, to be chosen by a draw

Guiding our week by sharing knowledge and perspectives on land stewardship

Build connections with other participants, visit vendor and sponsor booths, grab a coffee and a snack. Sew a quilt block with Quilts for Survivors

Exploring First Nation assertions of inherent jurisdiction and the ongoing pursuit of Indigenous self-determination

Meet in the lobby at 4:45 to carpool or take the shuttle to Batchewana for dinner

Learn about the traditional Woodland art style while painting along with local artist Lucia Laford

Sit with like-minded people to foster meaningful connections

Welcoming words and context setting

Updates on exciting projects going on in different Nations, followed by a round the room discussion

Build connections with other participants, visit vendor and sponsor booths, grab a coffee and a snack

Integrating cultural values into contemporary land practices

First Nations’ approach to sustainable forestry prioritizes the long-term well-being of the forest ecosystem and its species, as well as supporting the people that depend on forests for sustenance, spiritual, and cultural practices. Forests are understood and valued holistically from the soil and water, through understory to overstory, from early stages of forest succession to old growth. Elders and Knowledge Holders have identified species of plants that have cultural and ecological significance. We are supporting our area First Nations in exploring how they may articulate their indicators and metrics of forest health. This session will highlight two ongoing projects that integrate Indigenous knowledge into forest management planning. Breakout groups will enable deeper discussion on these themes.

Buffet - Fry Bread Tacos

This panel will feature perspectives from across Turtle Island, with panelists from the Great Bear Forest Carbon Project in the West, to the Wabanaki Land Back Partnership in the East, and the National Indian Carbon Coalition to the South. Join us to hear how Nations are overcoming challenges and leveraging sustainable financing to advance diverse visions for their territories – from Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas to Land Back and assertion of rights.

The panel discussion will be followed by an interactive breakout activity facilitated by the Restore, Assert and Defend (RAD) Network, to invite dialogue and explore what is needed and possible across different territories and contexts.

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Build connections with other participants, visit vendor and sponsor booths, share a tea and learn about wild harvesting from the Wild Basket

Valérie Courtois is a national leader in the movement of Indigenous-led conservation and stewardship. She is the executive director of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative, an organization that supports Indigenous Nations in honouring the responsibility to care for lands and waters.

The Indigenous Leadership Initiative has worked directly with dozens of First Nations to advance their leadership on the land and has helped secure federal funding for Indigenous Guardians programs and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas.
Courtois is also a registered professional forester specializing in Indigenous issues, forest ecology and ecosystem-based management and planning. She is a member of the Innu community of Mashteuiatsh, located on the shore of Peikuakami, or Lac-St-Jean.

Courtois has been the Director of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative since 2013. Before that, she served as a forestry advisor for the Assembly of First Nations of Québec and Labrador, forestry planner for the Innu Nation, and as a consultant in Aboriginal forestry, including certification and spatial planning, and caribou planning. In 2007, she was awarded the James M. Kitz award from the Canadian Institute of Forestry for her early-career contributions to the forestry profession.

Courtois holds a degree in forestry sciences from the Université de Moncton, an honourary Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, from University of Guelph, and an honorary Doctorate in Forestry Sciences, honoris causa, Université Laval.

She was named to the 2023 TIME100 Climate, the inaugural list of most influential climate leaders. Courtois was the 2024 recipient of the Shackleton Medal for the Protection of the Polar Regions, and in 2023, she won Stanford University’s highest environmental prize, the Bright Award for Environmental Sustainability.

In addition to her work in conservation and planning, Courtois is an avid photographer. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Corporation du Mushuau–nipi, a non-profit that encourages cultural and professional exchanges on the George River. She lives in Happy Valley—Goose Bay, Labrador.

Plated meal

Watch 10 lucky participants complete their Birch baskets while receiving teachings from master canoe builder Chuck Commanda

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Sit with like-minded people to foster meaningful connections

Welcome and context seting

Pathways for Indigenous participation and opportunities in the space

Join the General Manager for an interactive discussion on our 10 year journey as a social enterprise and what the owner First Nations have envisioned for the next 3 to 5 years. Topics will range from Landscape conservation to Cumulative Impacts Court case and Forest Sector Sawmill and Cogen ownership to Enhanced SFL management as shareholders. The floor will be open to questions throughout the discussion from the audience as we explore the strategic direction, our successes, our growth and the challenges in supporting nation building, upholding rights and jurisdiction. Our Plan currently is driven by five goals and 44 objectives – as we continue to expand and achieve “Wahkohtowin"

Build connections with other participants, visit vendor and sponsor booths, grab a coffee and a snack

Learn about a project being led by Wahkohtowin and our owner Nations to (re)connect land and people for conservation and cultural revitalization through Parks Canada's National Program for Ecological Corridors

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Buffet - Lasagna

The opportunity of FSC voluntary certification to uphold rights, and foster engagement, leadership and stewardship

Discovering the role of IPCAs in advancing Indigenous self-determination , biodiversity conservation, and the sustainable use of natural resources

Rounding out reflections from the week and directions moving forward

Build connections with other participants, visit vendor and sponsor booths

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