4. CONCLUSIONS

The future of WIFN is inextricably linked to the health of the St. Clair River, both now ....

The St. Clair River is the source of much of Walpole's traditional way of life, and its degradation has led to the weakening of the community's attachment to these traditions and the loss of revenue from traditional occupations. The closure of the Lake St. Clair fishery in 1970 destroyed the livelihood of dozens of Walpole Island fishermen. Though the marshes are essentially in good condition, fears of contamination have reduced the viability of earning income through hunting, trapping and guiding. Some residents are afraid to let their children swim in the river. The community has been forced to install a new water storage tower to provide water at times when the intake is closed because of a spill. Traditional values are manifested in WIFN's insistence that the other parties take the principle of zero discharge seriously, while others were more than willing to compromise to resolve a pressing issue.

... and to eternity.

The river will also be key to economic success in non-traditional pursuits - tourism, boating, sportfishing and camping all have the potential to be money makers for the First Nation, but only if the water is perceived to be clean.

WIFN is determined to ensure that this reality is not lost by its people and its neighbours.

WIFN has been able to bring a long-term perspective to bear on the improvement of the St. Clair River. The problems, both environmental and institutional, are of long standing, and the tangles cannot be undone overnight. It was obvious from the beginning of the effort to seriously tackle the river s problems that it would take many years to put into place the institutions, policies and regulations required and to see their impact in a cleaner river. It was to require sound research, the formation of intergovernmental task forces, new regulations, considerable funding and much persuasion to make a difference. Ultimately the solution lies in consensus building, an art not unknown to First Nations. But many First Nations do not have an institution that can take the long view and mount a program that must last for decades. The Walpole Island Heritage Centre fit this bill and proved its usefulness in the story of the St. Clair River.

WIFN believes in, and practices, combining traditional knowledge and values with modern technology and science.

WIFN manages its environment by combining traditional knowledge and values with modern technology and science. The traditional aboriginal respect for the environment is demonstrated in the maintenance of tallgrass prairie areas through periodic burning, the creation of a wildlife and bird sanctuary on some of the lands contained in a large Band-owned farm, continuing interest in the medicinal properties of local plants, and many other ways. As is widely recognized by the scientific community, WIFN's wetlands and wildlife habitat have been preserved far more effectively than those in the surrounding region, due largely to the community's reverence for the natural environment. Further, WIFN carries into its many outreach activities an insistence that human needs are not primary, but rather that humans are only part of an interconnected natural world.

To this end, scientific and technological advice is welcomed ...

WIFN, primarily through its Heritage Centre, continually obtains and uses the advice of some of the best environmental scientists and engineers in Canada in managing its environment. Remote sensing techniques are used in a program of habitat protection; sophisticated equipment is used in monitoring air and water quality; and rigorous studies have been carried out on the health impacts of pollution. WIFN understood early on the vital relationship between environmental management, the settlement of land claims, and self government. The Island's environment is affected by actions of other parties on lands that are the subject of claims, and effective action is complicated by the confusing and overlapping responsibilities of other governments.

... as is professional support for issues that impact on environmental management.

WIFN claims the entire Canadian portion of Lake St. Clair, as well as the river bed for some 10 kilometres north of the northern tip of Walpole Island. It is also intent on clarifying its rights in this territory in the areas of ownership and management of sub-surface resources, wildlife management and harvesting, water quality and environmental protection, navigation and shoreline erosion, and the enforcement of applicable laws. All this was put in written form in a tripartite agreement (Canada, Ontario, WIFN) in 1989, coupled with sub-agreements on water quality and air monitoring.

But this `outside' advice and support should not detract from understanding historic realities.

Settlement of these claims and devolution of the necessary powers to WIFN would not by itself give the First Nation enough scope to control its environment, since pollutants come from beyond the proposed boundaries. But it would permit the First Nation to develop and enforce environmental laws and regulations in its territory which respect traditional approaches, and it would allow Walpole to control its immediate surroundings more effectively. A satisfactory resolution of WIFN's land claims and boundary definitions would provide the territorial basis for sound environmental management, and devolution of all powers related to environment would provide the statutory basis.

Basic to this need for understanding and combining tradition with current science has been the work of the WIFN Heritage Centre.

WIFN maintains an active program in all these areas, and insists that any solution to an environmental issue takes into account Walpole's land claims and its interest in self government. A continuing effort to understand and interpret the community's history has been a feature of the WIFN Heritage Centre research program. The relationship of the community to the land goes back thousands of years, and much can be learned about traditional ways and environmental stewardship by studying this history. WIFN has devoted considerable resources to the collection and interpretation of historical documents and to archaeological investigations, and there is a close relationship between this history and recent successes in environmental protection.

Even so, some failures are to be expected...

WIFN has experienced its share of failures, and these too are instructive. Some longstanding environmental problems have still not been resolved (e.g., solid waste disposal), and overall management plans, as opposed to specific projects, have been developed but never implemented. Many of these failures can be explained by inability to obtain community consensus and ambivalence about formal plans, which tend to be viewed as inconsistent with aboriginal ways. An unwillingness to impose controls or costs on Walpole residents was also a contributing factor.

... particularly if there is no commitment and/or consensus on required controls among WIFN residents.

An improved environmental management strategy will require some degree of formal planning and regulations that apply to everyone, so WIFN will need to find ways of accommodating that with traditional consensus decision making.