Ochiichagwe’babigo’ining – Historical Analysis of Lake Sturgeon on the Winnipeg River

The Common Ground Research Forum supported Ochiichagwe’Babigo’Ining Ojibway Nation in their ongoing project “Historical Analysis of Lake Sturgeon on the Winnipeg River: A focus on the importance of Lake Sturgeon to area communities and an estimation of historical population levels on the Ontario portion of the Winnipeg River.”

This is part of a larger collaborative project between the First Nation and non-Indigenous partners to restore the historically and culturally important Lake Sturgeon, a species at extreme risk on the Winnipeg River between the Norman and Whitedog Dams. The funded study provided a comprehensive historical documentation of the importance of the Winnipeg River Lake Sturgeon population to the local area through information gathered by interviewing area Elders and conducting archival research.

Two final reports from this phase of the project, prepared by research partners from Kenora Resource Consultants, are available here:

Gathering Traditional Knowledge and Perspectives of Sturgeon on the Winnipeg River from Dalles Community Members

An Historic Review of the Presence and Abundance of Lake Sturgeon in the Upper Reaches of the Winnipeg River Including an Overview of the Role of Sturgeon in the Past and Current Aboriginal Culture

The project was also featured in the Lake of the Woods Area News, the member magazine of the Lake of the Woods District Property Owners’ Association.