Disclaimer: Only kakisiwew-ochapowace Nation citizens can sign the petition, please. 

 

Protect Our Lands. Respect Community Planning. Restore Our Collective Voice.

 

We, the undersigned citizens of kakisiwew-ochapowace, urgently call for an immediate halt to:

• The proposed housing subdivision behind the Chief Denton George Memorial Multiplex (CDGMM); and

• The proposed walking pathways beginning at Camp McKay and ending at the CDGMM.

These developments are being pushed forward without meaningful community input, without proper engagement, and without free, prior, and informed consent – a clear violation of our collective rights as a sovereign Nation.

This is not how we govern as nēhiyawak.

This is not how we plan as stewards of the land.

The housing subdivision was first proposed over five years ago under the kakisiwew-ochapowace Housing and Infrastructure mandate, before the 2023 election. Now, without transparency or consultation, it is being moved forward and forced onto one of the most central and culturally significant areas of our territory – a space never intended for housing.

 

This subdivision must be stopped, for the following reasons:

1. It Violates Our Land-Use Vision

The area behind the CDGMM was never meant for housing or subdivision-style development. The late Chief Denton George made it clear: this land was intended for commercial space, parks, and governance infrastructure to meet the long-term needs of our Nation. Pushing forward with residential development contradicts that vision and limits our future ability to grow in ways that align with community priorities.

2. It Erodes Our Sovereignty and Planning Authority

Subdivision-style developments move us closer to colonial municipal models – gridding our lands into lots, boxes, and streets. This approach strips away our inherent rights to live freely, land-based, and in alignment with nēhiyaw ways of being.

We are not a municipality.

We are a sovereign Nation with the right to decide, collectively, how our lands are used, shared, and protected.

Furthermore, past leadership has already set the precedent that citizens may choose where they want to live on the land. That standard should apply equally – not selectively – for all members, not just a few.

3. It Endangers Safety and Community Wellbeing

Subdivision developments in First Nation communities have led to rising issues of poverty, substance use, family violence, and social isolation. Clustering people into dense housing disconnects them from the land, disrupts kinship relationships, and breaks cultural continuity. In addition, subdivisions attract stray and unowned dogs, which have already formed packs in nearby areas. These animals pose real threats to children, elders, walkers, and wildlife. If we ignore the warning signs now, we may face a tragedy later.

4. It Lacks Consent, Legitimacy, and Trust

This project is moving forward with no community engagement, no open meetings, no planning sessions, no ceremony, and no consent. There has been no transparency and no accountability to the people who will be directly impacted.

This violates not only our rights as citizens, but the governance traditions that define us as a Nation.

 

PROPOSED WALKING PATHWAY DEVELOPMENT

We also call for an immediate stop to the current Walking Trail Development, and its proposed routes across sacred, ecologically sensitive, and traditionally significant lands. As nēhiyawak, we hold a sacred duty to the aski (land) and to all our non-human relatives. The trail proposals violate that sacred relationship and must not proceed in their current form.

 

Why this project must be stopped:

1. It Violates Our Relationship With the Land

The proposed routes cut through critical wildlife habitat, hunting areas, and traditional harvesting areas, disrupting places that have been protected and respected for generations.

These aren’t just paths – they are ancestral spaces. They are where the spirits of animals, plants, and medicines live. To cut trails through them without care is a direct violation of nēhiyaw law.

2. It Was Decided Without the People

This trail development was planned without free, prior, and informed consent, without proper consultation with citizens and no involvement from the people who carry the roles of land keepers – hunters, gatherers, elders, and knowledge keepers, were completely excluded from this decision. Decisions of this magnitude must include the collective voice of the Nation. To act without the people is to break the circle of miyo-wīcēhtowin (good relationship).

3. It Disrupts Sacred Spaces

The trail crosses areas where our people hunt, trap, and gather medicine. These places are sacred. They hold teachings, memories, and spiritual significance. These lands are not recreational – they are ceremonial. To build pathways across them invites chaos into order and shows a lack of love and respect for the land.

4. It Ignores Our Responsibility to Future Generations

Every decision we make must consider its impact on the next seven generations. These walking trails were designed with money and convenience in mind – not ecological balance, spiritual wellbeing, or cultural continuity. If we keep allowing development on our sacred spaces, what will be left for our grandchildren? What animals will they know? What medicines will they find? What stories will survive? If we don’t protect these places now, we risk losing them forever.

 

OUR DEMANDS

We call for the following actions:

1. Immediately stop the housing subdivision development behind the Chief Denton George Memorial Multiplex (CDGMM).
2. Immediately stop all flagging and development work on the proposed walking pathways.
3. Respect the original land-use vision for the CDGMM area as a place for governance, commercial, and community infrastructure, not housing.
4. Conduct full environmental, cultural, and community impact assessments for all proposed developments—led by land users, Elders, knowledge keepers, and citizens.
5. Follow a nēhiyaw-centred planning process, rooted in ceremony, land-based knowledge, relational accountability, and collective consent.
6. Uphold the right to free, prior, and informed consent for all land-use decisions, ensuring transparency, inclusion, and community voice.
7. Explore alternative housing and trail routes that honour the land, protect sacred spaces, preserve wildlife and traditional practices, and still support community safety, development, and accessibility.

 

We are nēhiyawak.

We walk with the land – not over it.

These projects are not just about trails or housing. They are about who we are, how we live, and how we honour our responsibilities to each other and to the land.

To protect the land is to protect our language, our culture, and our very existence.

We are not against housing or development.

We are against poor planning that happens without the people, without ceremony, and without consent.

We are not here to be managed.

We are here to lead – with the vision, values, and spirit our ancestors passed down to us.

This is our land.

This is our future.

This is our decision.

Sign below if you stand for nēhiyaw law, community decision-making, and true Nationhood. Sign to protect our lands, defend our governance, and stop these developments until the people have had their voices heard.