hunting, commercial and recreational fishing. This affected us greatly and I moved into more of an environmental advocacy role,” he said. Jacobs said the situation has gotten better over the years and they have “been winning some battles.” But he’s most satisfied that they “not only brought attention to their community, but we wanted (to) bring attention on making the St. Clair River healthier. And this gave notice to other companies that we were a force to be reckoned with.” Jacobs is a force behind such issues and ongoing legal challenges applying to Walpole Island’s status as unceded territory, but has also been instrumental in connecting with municipalities who are making decisions greatly affecting neighbouring First Nations. It started when the Ontario Provin- cial Policy Statement was up for review and revision in 2005. The Statement, which provides policy direction on matters of provincial interest, sets the policy foundation for regulating the development and use of land. Walpole Island and the Mississaugas of the New Credit were the only two First Nations who came to the table. “There was no mention of First Nations or traditional knowledge or treaties,” said Jacobs. “We were able to get very strong language on treaties, Section 35, traditional knowledge and that’s the way it should be. Now we can go to municipalities and say, when you have your plan up for review, you are obligated through duty to consult case law to engage and consult with us, and are obligated to follow the prin- ciples of the Ontario Provincial Policy Statement.” Walpole Island and Jacobs are now working with local municipality Chatham-Kent on their policy plan, which includes an archeological master plan that Walpole Island had previously developed and is using as a foundation to build upon. Eventually Jacobs would like to see Walpole Island’s work on environ- mental stewardship and development become a hub where all municipalities in the region could utilize the language of stewardship, treaties and traditional knowledge in a master plan that would blanket the traditional territories in the region. “When you look at all the court cases in the past 25 years, eventually we will win the big one and get the big case law on jurisdiction,” Jacobs said. “We’re not there yet, but look at the trend and that’s where we’re going.” In 1995, the Walpole Island First Nation received the “We the Peoples: 50 Communities Award” from the Friends of the United Nations for its exemplary record in environmental research and sustainable development. In 1997, the Walpole Island Heritage Centre was designated by the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Develop- ment as a “First Nations Effective Practices” site. ENVIRONMENT TOGETHER, CREATING SUSTAINABLE VALUE goldcorp.com For us, that means a long-term commitment to social and economic support in the communities where we live and work through contributions to arts and culture, diversity, education, health, environment and community development. TSX: G NYSE: GG SUMMER/WINTER 2018/19 – Chiefs of Ontario Advocate magazine   20  l