Peter Moses' family has been working in the mining industry for four generations but he attests he has seen more change in First Nations' involvement in the sector than his predecessors.
Moses' great grandfather was prospecting near Biigtgong Nishnaabeg First Nation (Ojibways of the Pic River) in 1860 and his grandfather Peter Moses Sr. was a prominent player in the 1940 exploration that culminated in the Williams Mine on Lake Superior's north shore near the town of Marathon.
His own career reaches back five decades but the greatest change in the 21st century has been the engagement of First Nations communities taking a leading role in mineral development.
Moses says previous generations who wore his boots would never have believed the shift he has seen.
"I think they would have been very well pleased in terms of how it's evolving and the involvement of the First Nations are steadily progressing and being involved in these developments," he says.
"Even my father back in the '60s, nobody was allowed to cast a vote in the federal elections, let alone let in public places where they can enjoy recreation. First Nations were not allowed so I think looking at this in their view and all the development that's happening, I don't believe they would have believed this has happened."
Moses will receive the Skookum Jim Award on Tuesday evening at the Prospectors and Developers Association (PDAC) annual conference in Toronto. The award is named after James Mason Tagish First Nation member James Mason, who is co-credited with the discovery that led to the Klondike Gold Rush
When Moses took on a position as a First Nations minerals information officer with the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines in 2003, there were 50 agreements across Canada between First Nations communities and mining companies, seven of which were in Ontario.
He recalled a 2004 report showing less than 20 per cent of Indigenous people surveyed said they understood mining perspectives and he became a key player in transforming the sector in the eyes of Indigenous society across the province.
By the time Moses left his post in 2010,there were 150 such agreements in Canada, 85 of which were based in Ontario. He says a memorandum of understanding or some land use arrangement within 200 kilometres of nearly every First Nation.
He has visited over 120 communities since 2003 to help achieve that end, conducting everything from prospecting courses to educating chiefs and councils on the new regulations of the 2009 Mining Act and territorial rights to building capacity and online claim staking.
He's currently advising the Matawa First Nations Tribal Council and building capacity for prospective mines in Geraldton and the Ring of Fire, a chromite deposit that would change everything for the nine communities in the territory.
Moses is optimistic those communities will be able to benefit from mining development and he helped to set wheels in motion to ensure success for youth who want to engage in the field.
As First Nations communities have become engaged in rights-based discussions with the crown and companies, he has watched the number of Indigenous youth entering post secondary programs in the extractive sector skyrocket. They include his son who is prospecting alongside his father and his granddaughter who graduated from Lakehead University's Geology department in 2015.
Moses pointed out the Baby Boomer generation is expected to retire between 2015 and 2025, leaving 140,000 jobs vacant in the industry's existing capacity. The potential for a maturing generation of on-reserve youth in a population boom of their own, he said, can't be underestimated.
He says the youth have reached the engagement level where they can protect cultural and Indigenous rights while benefiting from and contributing to development.
"We never left our cultural values. We still have a high respect for the land in terms of liveability and water and the resources that are there. That's how we survive and obviously, we're still here.
"It was the European style of living in terms of the wage economy arriving and eventually a generation of First Nations, some had flowed in that direction and had opportunities to get more education n and now we're involved in having tow streams in parallel where First Nations are taken seriously and their traditional values as well as development in society.
"You can't survive without on or the other. There has to be a balance of economic opportunities as well as protecting the environment at the same time."
