Taking a 'seven generations' view of sustainable mining: indigenous panelists share perspectives on legacy issues, relationship building.

• Author: Kelly, Lindsay
• Position: Mining

In arguing for Indigenous consultation prior to the start of mining development, Lorraine Rekmans looks to her home community as a cautionary tale.

Serpent River First Nation was "left holding the bag" in the 1990s when tailings ponds from uranium mines in nearby Elliot Lake failed, spilling into the watershed that serves the area, she said.

The mines were decommissioned before current standards and regulations came into place, and mining companies were largely absolved of responsibility, decamping for the newest uranium camp in Saskatchewan.

"Fifty years ago, there was a mining company here--it's gone," said Rekmans, an environmental and social justice advocate and a member of the Serpent River First Nation.

That will be a flash in the pan in history. The stability, the economic surety of a corporation, how long a corporation lives: they do not live as long as the memories of the people who live in the same place forever.

It's now a duty of the Crown to consult with Indigenous communities before approving projects. But Rekmans argues that it's also good business for mining companies to include the Indigenous perspective from the start.

"We plan for seven generations; we want to protect ecological integrity," she said.

When people are looking for partners, that's a pretty good partner to have, if you have an economist, if you have an economic analyst, a geologist, maybe a protector of mother earth on the team.

Rekmans was part of a recent panel discussion at the University of Sudbury, speaking on the topic of Indigenous Peoples and Mining: Exploring Relations into the Future.

Sudbury-area Wahnapitae First Nation had already been engaging with mining companies for a few years by the time of the Elliot Lake spill.

But the incident galvanized the community in its goal to become more directly involved in the development projects happening in and around its traditional territory, said Cheryl Recollet, Wahnapitae First Nation's director of sustainable development.

"We try to use informed decision-making, the most accurate information and technology to produce informed decisions, and provide recommendations to the community and the leadership," she said.

The community created a model for sustainable development, into which several considerations are made: economic development, culture, social, environmental, and leadership.

A decision about each potential partnership is made based on whether it complements the community's needs, has a high...