Fish-WIKS News

Article written by Nicole Latulippe and originally published in the Nipissing First Nation newsletter, Enkamgak

My name is Nicole Latulippe and this is the first in a series of reflections about my research with NFN on fisheries knowledge and decision-making (for more on my project, visit: www.fishwiks.ca). This month I explore the significance of fishing from different perspectives, highlighting recurrent themes from my interviews.

Fishing is part of NFN’s cultural heritage. Research participants shared stories about community picnics, the product of incredible volunteerism and shared effort, where pickerel and baked beans accompanied the canoe racing, log running, and visiting. Today, fish are donated to the powwow, food bank, shared at fish fries, and given to Elders. Young people learn how to fish from the older generation. Fish bring people together.

Fishing is part of the community’s political inheritance. During treaty negotiations, Nipissing leadership knew that fish and game would always provide for the people. They worked hard to include provisions for unrestricted access to hunting and fishing within the Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850. As the ancestors anticipated, fishing has provided that safety net, sustaining women-headed households and supplementing seasonal and precarious work. Today, fishing is an enshrined right and important livelihood. Some felt that this inheritance was under threat.

Netting has become, as someone put it, the community’s touchy subject. People talked about netting as a sustainable source of income, as necessary to host a fish fry, as something you teach your children and grandchildren, and as something that can be done improperly or overdone.

Interviews reveal differing perspectives, but also common feelings and experiences. Many agreed that the situation was worse not too long ago. Harassment and criminalization were common. Parents and grandparents were forced to hide their meat and fish. Previous generations resisted the control exerted by Indian Agents and the MNR. Strong women and men fought, sometimes literally, to maintain their right to fish and to set nets. The present challenges, whether internal disagreement or external animosity, did not come out of nowhere. They can be traced to earlier forms of colonial infringement, forming a continuum with the past. So, despite the challenges, from a long-term perspective the present NFN fishery is a success. The community has successfully maintained knowledge, command, and access against immense odds.

Fishing carries multiple meanings. But in all cases, connections run deep – there is spiritual connection, ancestral protection, a treaty guarantee, and trust in the community’s capacity to evolve. Strength and opportunity lie in the collective valuation of the fish, and also in the complex problem solving and decision-making taking place in many forms at the community level today.

I welcome your feedback and can be reached at Nicole.latulippe@mail.utoronto.ca.

Please see next month’s newsletter for the second research vignette.