Issue link: http://publications.winnipegfreepress.com/i/1226040
pimaki.ca Canada's first 'mixed' cultural and natural UNESCO World Heritage site Cared for by Anishinaabeg for over 7,000 years 29,040 sq km of protected area As a World Heritage site, Pimachiowin Aki is recognized as one of the world's most diverse landscapes and an exceptional example of an ancient culture that thrives today. Anishinaabeg live as one with Pimachiowin Aki, keeping the land in its purest form for all generations through the cultural tradition of Ji-ganawendamang Gidakiiminaan (Keeping the Land) Lake Winnipeg Atikaki Provincial Park Poplar River First Nation Little Grand Rapids First Nation Bloodvein River First Nation Pauingassi First Nation Woodland Caribou Provincial Park Manitoba Ontario The Pimachiowin Aki World Heritage site is a 29,040 square kilometre Anishinaabe cultural landscape in the boreal forest spanning the Manitoba-Ontario border. Anishinaabe First Nations who are partners in Pimachiowin Aki are Bloodvein, Little Grand Rapids, Pauingassi and Poplar River. Woodland Caribou Provincial Park and Eagle-Snowshoe Conservation Reserve (Ontario), and Atikaki Provincial Park (Manitoba) complete the site. Pimachiowin (pronounced pim-MA- cho-win ah-KEH) means "the land that gives life", and "living the good life on the land", a place that represents the ancient, enduring, and sustainable kinship between culture and nature. This is Canada's first and only mixed site, recognized for both cultural and natural heritage values, and is rare in the world – less than 1% of all World Heritage sites are in the same category as Pimachiowin Aki. Pimachiowin Aki is an exceptional example of: • a landscape that provides testimony to the cultural tradition of Ji-ganawendamang Gidakiiminaan, reflected through Anishinaabe interactions with the land, such as pictographs and other archaeological, sacred and ceremonial sites, travel routes, cabin and camp sites, traplines, named places, Anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe / Saulteaux language), knowledge, beliefs and practices; and • the global boreal biome, and is the best example of the ecological and biological diversity of the North American boreal shield ecozone, fully supporting wildfire, nutrient flow and species movements and predator-prey relationships. Large protected areas like Pimachiowin Aki are necessary to maintain ecological processes and integrity, build resilience to climate change, and maintain networks of sites supporting Indigenous livelihoods and cultural traditions. The Pimachiowin Aki partners are grateful to everyone who has supported this initiative: Anishinaabe Elders, leaders and community members, the provinces of Ontario and Manitoba, the government of Canada, and the many individuals and organizations who have contributed their time, energy and talents to protect and transmit to future generations this exceptional and irreplaceable heritage. For more information, visit www.pimaki.ca