What We Do
The Anishinaabek Land Trust creates opportunities to restore relationships with the land, recover knowledge systems, and put original teachings into practice.
Our work is grounded in the understanding that the land itself is the source of knowledge. By working with the land, we are able to relearn how to live in balance, how to make decisions, and how to share responsibility.
Through this work, we also help build a broader understanding of the original spirit of the treaties - that land was meant to be shared, with guidance coming from those whose knowledge is rooted in it.
Ahki (Earth) Relationship Recovery
Ahki, meaning Earth or land in Anishinaabemowin, is the foundation of all of our work.
Ahki Relationship Recovery is the umbrella for the Land Trust’s core initiatives. It reflects the understanding that reconnecting with the land is not a single activity, but an ongoing process of learning, responsibility, and relationship.
For First Nations people, this work supports reconnection to language, identity, and ways of knowing that come directly from the land, and contributes to healing from the impacts of colonization.
For others, it provides an opportunity to better understand how to live on this land in a good way - not through ownership or control, but through relationship, respect, and shared responsibility.
Our projects operate individually, but are designed to support one another, creating a fuller approach to learning from the land and applying that knowledge in practice.
Revitalizing Inherited Knowledge and Practice
These projects focus on renewing relationships with the land, waters, plants, and animals, and strengthening the knowledge that comes from those relationships.
Work is led at the community level and reflects the specific lands, needs, and priorities of each place. Projects may focus on areas such as species at risk, culturally significant species, or traditional medicines.
Rather than introducing new systems, this work builds on knowledge that already exists and has been carried through generations and is rooted in direct relationship with the land.
By working with these relationships in practice, communities deepen understanding, strengthen responsibility, and carry knowledge forward in ways that are lived, not just learned.
Holistic Land and Life Strategy
This work focuses on creating access to and use of lands that are held outside of the Indian Act.
These lands provide space to practice land-based knowledge systems, governance, and ways of living that are not constrained by external structures. They allow for direct engagement with the land, including learning from it, working with it, and applying teachings in real ways.
This reflects the original understanding of the treaties - that land is shared, and that its use is guided by those whose knowledge comes from it.
Through this work, the Land Trust supports long-term relationships with the land that benefit both people and the natural world, while creating opportunities for knowledge to be practiced, adapted, and carried forward.