GIKENDAASO – Knowledge and Wisdom in the Shwe Miikaan Partnership

By Jennifer Ashawasegi-Pereira

Giikendaaso loosely translates to knowledge or wisdom in Anishinabemowin. It’s a play on the acronym SMART – Shwe Miikaan AtkinsRealis Trailblazers Gikendaaso LP. Shwe Miikaan is a highway construction company owned by three Anishinabek First Nations: Henvey Inlet, Magnetewan and Shawanaga First Nations in Robinson Huron Treaty territory. The Anishinabek-owned company formed in 2015 in order to benefit from highway construction projects, specifically the twinning of Highway 69, as well as other highway improvements in and around the territory.

Leaders of the company realized early on that capacity building was needed to achieve success in the business venture. They teamed up with the Miller-Colas in 2017. Together, they worked on a few contracts in the area, from paving to fencing.

At a recent board meeting in early 2023, discussions surrounded a brainstorming session on how to win more work in the area. Coincidentally, that’s when a Henvey Inlet First Nation member, who was employed by consulting engineering firm AtkinsRealis, reached out to Shwe Miikaan manager Rob Lesage (Garden River First Nation) to inquire if the company would like to register for the firm’s procurement list. After an initial discussion with the procurement staff, one thing led to another and both teams took their first steps towards a potential partnership.

Both sides needed to do their due diligence to ensure all legal and regulatory requirements were met. The partnership was made official in May 2024, with a formal meeting between the chiefs of the three First Nations and leadership from AtkinsRéalis held shortly after in Shawanaga First Nation. That day coincided with Anishinabe Gizhigud, the second holiday for Anishinabek, June 6, in which they celebrate their Nation.

Henvey Inlet First Nation Chief Wayne McQuabbie, Magnetawan First Nation Chief Lloyd Myke and Shawanaga Chief Adam Pawis met with AtkinsRéalis President Canada Stéphanie Vaillancourt, along with a few other team members from AtkinsRéalis, including a few members of the Indigenous engagement staff and Indigenous E3 (IE3) partners. IE3 is a partnership between Indigenous and Community Engagement (ICE) and AtkinsRéalis and has a social mission to help develop sustainable communities and projects, close the infrastructure gap and empower communities through a series of creative solutions.

The formal launch to the partnership began with a smudge and opening remarks by host Shawanaga First Nation Gimaa (Chief) Adam Pawis. Those in attendance all had an opportunity to speak as is customary in Anishinabek communities.

Vaillancourt expressed her pride in the IE3 partnership and the company’s ReconciliACTION plan and expressed her enthusiasm about the Gikendaaso partnership and the opportunities it could bring. She said, “This Highway 69 project with the Ministry of Transportation is perfectly in line with our expertise and how we want to work with Indigenous rights-holders because we recognize that the work we do must provide greater benefits that flow to Indigenous communities and projects that pass through their territories.”

Henvey Inlet First Nation Gimaa Wayne McQuabbie is also excited about the opportunities the partnership will bring for Shwe Miikaan and the other two First Nations along the corridor. Gimaa McQuabbie said, “I think it’s a great partnership, along with the partnership with Miller Construction. It shows a lot of potential for First Nations in our area and will build capacity as we move ahead in the highway construction industry.”

The newest partnership with AtkinsRéalis will aide Shwe Miikaan to position itself to win more complex jobs on Highway 69. This will mean a lot to the First Nations along the corridor. Historically, Anishinabek communities have been marginalized since the highway wound itself through their territories. When Highway 69 was built in 1936, First Nations were not consulted about routing, and they certainly didn’t win construction contracts.

Lesage also points out that First Nations were not included in economic opportunities or spin-off benefits that highway construction could bring to the area. Benefits have been fairly recent according to Lesage: “In the past few decades or so, industry has come a long way.”

“[Partnerships] are very important because the partnerships are built with the understanding that there will be First Nation opportunities within the partnerships. They will help First Nation people have access to opportunities that they otherwise would not have had,” added Lesage.

In the era of reconciliation, specifically the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Call to Action 92, which is aimed at the corporate sector to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, there have been a lot of opportunities to learn and become aware of Indigenous history on Turtle Island, as well as make reparations for past harms. Lesage has found that partnerships with non-Indigenous firms serve as an informal way to educate and create awareness about Indigenous peoples. He said, “Through partnering with non-Native organizations, one of the first things I noticed when these

engagements happen, non-Indigenous learn more about Indigenous peoples and that helps with education.”

Sunil Kothari could not agree more. Kothari is the portfolio director of the Transportation Agency Division with AtkinsRéalis. He is looking forward to a mutually beneficial relationship which will be culturally relevant. Kothari said, “We hope that these relationships will continue to grow and that our work together will bring economic benefits in a sustainable way, and in a way that respects the culture and traditions of all the Nations impacted.”

Meanwhile, his counterpart at AtkinsRéalis, Ingo Gnugesser, who is the vice-president of commercial and risk, appreciates the relationships built through Gikendaaso, and takes to heart the opening remarks by Shawanaga First Nation Gimaa Pawis when the partnership was solidified through discussion and feasting together. Gnugesser said, “The power of the sweetgrass, for example, is without doubt valid in a spiritual way as well in acting together rather than alone. This was a lesson learned during our Giikendaaso signing ceremony and I will keep this experience well memorized.”

For now, the Giikendaaso team is just waiting for word from the Ministry of Transportation of Ontario (MTO) on when the final stretch of 68 kilometres between Parry Sound and French River in Robinson Huron Treaty territory is ready for construction. The team is ready and has the capacity to bid on a full suite of contracts from design/build to contract administration as well as undertake environment assessment and monitoring work.

Land Acknowledgement

In the spirit of reconciliation, the Connect Partnership Group acknowledges that we live, work and play on the traditional territories of the Blackfoot Confederacy (Siksika, Kainai, Piikani), the Tsuut’ina, the Iyarhe Nakoda Nations, the Otipemisiwak Métis Nation District 5&6 within Alberta, and all people who make their home in the Treaty 7 region of Southern Alberta.

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