l'alliance Bagidawaad

The document details the transition of Natasha and Andrew Akiwenzie from operating a commercial fishery to establishing the Bagida’waad Alliance, a non-profit focused on climate awareness and Indigenous stewardship. It describes how increasing storm intensity, warming waters, and invasive species led to the decline of the lake cisco (corégone) and the eventual closure of their business in 2018. The Bagida’waad Alliance now engages youth through filmmaking, digital media, and land-based learning, while advocating for the integration of Indigenous knowledge into federal and provincial climate policies.

• Climate change and environmental degradation led to the closure of a commercial fishery in Neyaashiinigmiing in 2018. The business owners observed that "les vents et les tempêtes se sont aggravés", making navigation dangerous, while "le réchauffement de l’eau et le rétrécissement de la couverture de glace hivernale sur le lac" negatively impacted fish populations.
• The lake cisco (corégone) population declined significantly, shifting the catch composition. In 2012, catches shifted from a baseline of 24-32 ciscoes and 4-6 lake trout (touladi) to 6-10 ciscoes and 22-28 lake trout. By 2018, catches dropped further to "seulement 1 à 3 corégones et 18 à 26 touladis".
• Invasive species and algae proliferation disrupted the local ecosystem. The zebra mussel is identified as an "espèce envahissante qui cause beaucoup de dommages dans les Grands Lacs" by removing plankton and depriving native fish of food. Additionally, increased algae levels made cleaning fishing nets difficult, sometimes making them so heavy that they were hard to retrieve from the water.
• The Bagida’waad Alliance employs innovative engagement strategies to reach youth and the public, including the use of "images captées par drones", "séances d’apprentissage en réalité augmentée", and "randonnées écologiques virtuelles pour les Aînés". The organization also uses humor, such as wearing a "costume de dinosaure gonflable" during shoreline cleanups, to make complex climate issues more accessible.
• The organization has partnered with academic institutions to foster youth-led climate action. A collaboration with York University led to a project where youth produced short documentaries on climate change, with six films added to the "Youth Climate Report", a database associated with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The document proposes several policy recommendations to 'Indigenize' climate action, including the use of "connaissance écologiques autochtones" for species protection and the promotion of a "vision à double perspective" where Indigenous knowledge and Western science are treated as complementary systems in policy development.

APA

Akiwenzie, N. (2022). l'alliance Bagidawaad. Canadian Climate Institute. https://institutclimatique.ca/publications/lalliance-bagidawaad/

Chicago

Akiwenzie, Natasha. l'alliance Bagidawaad. Canadian Climate Institute, 2022. https://institutclimatique.ca/publications/lalliance-bagidawaad/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Akiwenzie |first1=Natasha |title=l'alliance Bagidawaad |publisher=Canadian Climate Institute |date=23 June 2022 |url=https://institutclimatique.ca/publications/lalliance-bagidawaad/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{akiwenzie2022lalliance, author = {Akiwenzie, Natasha}, title = {{l'alliance Bagidawaad}}, institution = {Canadian Climate Institute}, year = {2022}, month = jun, url = {https://institutclimatique.ca/publications/lalliance-bagidawaad/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }