Community Involvement, Engagement, and Ownership
This project will have meaningful and lasting impact if the people of Île-à-la-Crosse and Sakitawak have full ownership of the project’s aspirations, goals and objectives.
It is important to always be engaged and in conversation with community members and those whose knowledge of the area is a representation of the traditional and current use. This knowledge will guide the process.
Engagement with all stakeholders is key and includes Elders and youth, teachers, parents, trappers, and fisherpersons, to name a few. Outreach to non-Indigenous people who have lived in the community for 15 years is important, as Île-à-la-Crosse is and always has been inclusive of all others who live in community. They are all part of this process.
Endless research, studies, and consultations have been conducted by the community and by others on various resources involving hunting, harvesting, and species at risk issues. This project will set out to bring together this knowledge and the various interests led by the Sakitawak Conservation Area Management Team, under common goals of conservation.
The intent is to put these efforts undertaken by this project into a permanent structure. To get there, we need to first gather information and consensus from community members.
Various forms of engagement are taking place; meetings, interviews, gatherings, zoom calls with individuals, councils, organizations, and various government officials will guide the first phase and contribute to the development of a conservation plan.
This is not a project, this is a commnity.
Sakitawak Conservation Project 