First Nations and Indigenous Communities
Collaborative Approach
The Geopark will follow a parallel process for collaboration; an approach reflecting Global Geopark best practice and procedures for municipal and community partners and a First Nations approach that aligns with Indigenous governance and protocols. These two processes will be transparent, documented and identify areas of mutual cooperation and coordination.
The Georgian Bay Geopark Initiative is committed to respectful relationship-building with Indigenous Peoples whose territories overlap the Geopark area. Our primary relationship and co-development work is with the treaty signatory First Nations connected to this region, grounded in Nation-directed processes, cultural integrity, and long-term stewardship responsibilities. We also acknowledge the Métis Nation of Ontario and will maintain open communication with interested Indigenous organizations as appropriate, while keeping clear distinctions in roles, decision pathways, and Nation-to-Nation engagement.
Background
Indigenous involvement has shaped the Georgian Bay Aspiring Geopark from the very beginning. The initiative was not designed first and Indigenous participation added later — it was intentionally built on Indigenous ethical principles, consent-based partnership, and respect for Indigenous governance from its earliest stages.
Foundational Leadership
The Geopark’s first Vice-Chair was the late Elder Jack Contin of Henvey Inlet First Nation, who served as a principal architect of the initiative’s ethical framework and Indigenous partnership approach.
Jack helped establish that the Geopark would be:
- A voluntary, relationship-based initiative
- Not a regulatory or land-controlling body
- Not an authority over Indigenous lands, rights, or governance
- Guided by consent-based participation
Indigenous Ethical Foundations
Under Jack Contin’s leadership, three Indigenous ethical frameworks were established as the Geopark’s foundational guide:
- Two-Eyed Seeing – bringing together Indigenous and Western ways of knowing
- The Dish with One Spoon – shared responsibility for land, water, and future generations
- The Seven Grandfather Teachings – guiding respect, honesty, humility, love, courage, wisdom, and truth
These are not branding elements — they are the ethical foundations that guide how this work proceeds.
Consent-Based Engagement
Before his passing in 2023, Jack developed a consultation protocol to support Free, Prior, and Informed Consent and to ensure Indigenous Nations would decide for themselves whether, how, and if they wished to engage with the Geopark.
This protocol is used as a starting point for discussion — not as an imposed framework.
Ongoing Indigenous Leadership & Relationships
The Geopark has been honoured to include Indigenous leadership at the Board level and to engage in preliminary information sharing with:
- Muskoka Area Indigenous Leadership Table
- Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin
- TEK Elders
- Anishinabek Nation
- Sagamok Anishnawbek
- Wasauksing First Nation
- Indigenous Tourism Ontario
- Beausoleil First Nation
- Moose Deer Point First Nation
These conversations are not presented as consent or endorsement, but as part of building respectful, transparent relationships.
Our Commitment
The Georgian Bay Aspiring Geopark is committed to:
- Indigenous self-determination
- Nation-to-Nation dialogue
- Free, prior and informed consent
- Transparency and accountability
- Ethical stewardship grounded in Indigenous values
Guiding Principles
This initiative aligns with evolving UNESCO expectations for inclusive governance, including the full and effective participation of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities and the principle of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC). We are building the Geopark pathway through co-creation, relationship, and protocol, with clear steps for review and approval before any public use of stories, sites, imagery, or knowledge. We also recognize intergenerational responsibilities, and we will work to ensure the initiative’s governance and engagement approach is transparent, accountable, and respectful of Nation-directed decision-making.
- Consent and review before any public use: No Nation’s stories, images, sites, or cultural references are published without Nation-directed review and consent.
- No publishing of community knowledge without direction: We do not extract or publish community knowledge. We only share what Nations direct us to share.
- Protocol and cultural safety: We will follow Nation-directed protocol for meetings, visits, and engagement. Cultural safety is a baseline expectation, not an add-on.
- Ceremony and cultural references: Ceremony and cultural references will only be used when invited and guided by Rights-Holding Nations and Knowledge Keepers.
- Accountability: We will maintain clear records of what was shared, how it was obtained, where it is stored, and what approvals exist for its use.
Burden of Consultation
We recognize that Rights-Holding Nations receive frequent requests for engagement and consultation. This initiative is designed to reduce noise, not add to it. We will follow protocol, move at the pace Nations set, and only share information publicly when Nations direct and consent to its use.
Phase One: Pilot Approach
We are beginning with an initial engagement sequence with one Rights-Holding Nation to co-develop the engagement pathway for this initiative (roles, safeguards, consent and review steps). What we learn through this early work will help shape a respectful, consistent process that can be applied across the wider project area. This early phase is about relationship, protocol, and building the pathway, not about pre-approvals or assumptions.
Contact: georgianbaygeopark@gmail.com
Doran Ritchie, Tony Pigott
Discover the DEEP TIME geology of the Georgian Bay Geopark
DEEP TIME’ is the themed expression of how exploring and understanding the past helps create a better future. The unique DEEP TIME story and its eight geological chapters encourages both visitors and residents to know the past, celebrate the present and help create a more resilient future for the Bay and its many communities.
DEEP TIME Zone 1
The Huronian
Ocean
2.7 billion years
Sault Ste Marie to Serpent River
The ancient mineral-rich rocks of the North Channel record the breakup of the planet’s oldest supercontinent – and the birth of the Huronian Ocean.
DEEP TIME Zone 2
Continents
Collide
1.8 billion years
Serpent River to Killarney
The Group of Seven’s white rolling quartzite hills are the stumps of mountains formed when landmasses collided to form supercontinent Nuna
DEEP TIME Zone 3
The Ancient
Himalayas
1.3 billion years
Killarney to Honey Harbour
The waterscape of the 30,000 Islands exposes the deep crustal roots of the immense Grenville Mountains formed when North and South America collided.
DEEP TIME Zone 4
Tropical
Seas
500 million years
Manitoulin Island
Much of North America was covered by warm shallow seas, teeming with early marine life that left fossil-rich limestones on Manitoulin Island.
DEEP TIME Zone 5
The Limestone
Coast
350 million years
Tobermory to Wiarton
Within the last 2 million years, the Bruce/Saugeen peninsula was scoured by Ice Age ice sheets that cut deep valleys into the face of the Niagara Escarpment such as at Owen Sound.
DEEP TIME Zone 6
Ice Ages &
Early
Cultures
13,000 years
Collingwood to Wiarton
The raised beaches of glacial Lake Algonquin surround the coast of southern Georgian Bay like staircases and hosted the camps of caribou-hunting Paleo-Indians 11,000 years ago.
DEEP TIME Zone 7
The Meeting
Place
Last 10,000 years
Collingwood to Honey Harbour
The ancient hard rocks of the Canadian Shield meet the softer limestones of the ancient seas creating a stark contrast in landscapes, ecosystems, and a diverse cultural history unique in North America.
DEEP TIME Zone 8
Mindo Gami Great
Spirit Lake
4,000 years to today
Waters of Georgian Bay
In 1615 Samuel de Champlain called Georgian Bay ‘La Mer Douce’ (the sweet water sea). An early map also portrays it as Karegnondi, derived from ‘lake’ in the language of the Petun First Nation.