Partners

Working with Indigenous Partners

Riding Mountain National Park works collaboratively with Indigenous partners to protect and present the park. In 1998, Parks Canada and Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation (KOFN) established the Senior Officials Forum agreement to formalize a working relationship. After the establishment of the Senior Officials Forum, it was recognized by KOFN that the conversations needed to involve other First Nations in close proximity to RMNP. In 2006, a Ministerial Agreement between Parks Canada and Indigenous partners formalized the Coalition of First Nations with Interest in RMNP through the Riding Mountain Forum, consisting of seven nations from Treaty 2, 4, and 1.

These forums allow for the parties to find ways to:

• develop mutually beneficial, positive, and productive working relationships;
• identify and resolve issues of common interest or concern;
• provide advice to Parks Canada in the implementation of the Park Management Plan;
• incorporate Traditional Knowledge into management practices at RMNP;
• present First Nation history and culture at RMNP;
• offer employment opportunities in RMNP, and;
• facilitate land use within RMNP by First Nations people for traditional, spiritual and ceremonial purposes.

Parks Canada is committed to supporting Keeseekoowenin Ojibway First Nation tell their histories and raise public awareness and appreciation for Anishinabe cultural heritage. Stop in at the Anishinabe Sharing Lodge in Wasagaming to learn more.

For more information: Indigenous connections

Travel Manitoba is the provincial marketing organization for Manitoba's tourism industry. Travel Manitoba and Parks Canada began a marketing relationship in 2005. The first agreement was to formally recognize a mutual interest in strengthening the province's tourism industry by developing attractive, engaging and authentic heritage tourism products and services, promoting them to Canadians and visitors, and delivering high quality experiences to people visiting the heritage places of Manitoba and Canada.

The agreement has expanded over the years and now includes selected tourism promotions for Riding Mountain National Park, Wapusk National Park, and seven National Historic Sites in Manitoba, as well as public relations and communications activities, including staff training. The partners also collaborate in the presentation and provision of information to the public at the Explore Manitoba Centre at The Forks National Historic Site in Winnipeg.

The Manitoba Arts Council (MAC) is an arms-length agency of the government of Manitoba that envisions a province where arts and culture are at the heart of community life. MAC makes awards to individuals, groups, and organizations in all art forms including theatre, dance, music, literary arts, media arts, visual arts, and craft.

Riding Mountain National Park and the Manitoba Arts Council work together on the Riding Mountain Artists’ Residency, which provides professional artists time to focus on their work in the inspiring and natural setting of the park. The residency is housed in the historic Deep Bay log cabin, built in 1934, on the shoreline of Clear Lake. The program provides opportunities for Canadians to discover art and to connect with artists in the park. Canadians are passionate about wilderness and nature, and artistic expression is a powerful tool that has and continues to be an effective way to connect Canadians to national parks and places.

Province of Manitoba Conservation and Climate, a department of the Government of Manitoba, is committed to delivering programs and services that result in a clean, healthy and diverse natural environment for current and future generations. MCWS wishes to work collaboratively with First Nations and other Aboriginal communities, and many stakeholders, to balance the environmental, social and economic needs of Manitobans.

Parks Canada and Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to support collaboration in areas around Wapusk National Park and the provincial Churchill Wildlife Management Area. The agreement also applies to Riding Mountain National Park and surrounding provincial lands. Parks Canada and MCWS will work cooperatively and collaboratively to provide a greater capacity for ecological monitoring, resource management and public education pertaining to ecological and cultural resources for the benefit of Manitobans and Canadians.

For more information, visit: Churchill Wildlife Management Area.

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) is Canada's leading national land conservation organization. As a private, non-profit organization, they partner with individuals, corporations, foundations, Indigenous communities and other non-profit organizations and governments at all levels to protect our most important natural treasures — the natural areas that sustain Canada’s plants and wildlife. Since 1962, NCC and its partners have helped to protect 14 million hectares (35 million acres), coast to coast to coast.

Riding Mountain National Park and the NCC work together to improve the capacity to plan, coordinate, suppress, and manage wildland fires and to provide each other mutual aid. Wildland fire is a natural process that maintains diversity in vegetation and wildlife habitats. It’s an important ecosystem process within Riding Mountain National Park and within the various properties owned and administered by NCC in Manitoba. .

Assiniboine Park Conservancy is a not-for-profit corporation which is mandated, by the City of Winnipeg, to manage and develop Assiniboine Park and its amenities, including the Assiniboine Park Zoo. The Conservancy works to connect people with nature and to inspire them to take positive actions to protect wildlife and wild places by delivering memorable programming, including direct, indirect and hands-on exploration and discovery.

Parks Canada (Riding Mountain and Wapusk National Parks) and the Assiniboine Park Conservancy are engaging in a public outreach education collaboration to offer Assiniboine Park Zoo audiences opportunities to learn about species and ecosystems common to Assiniboine Park Zoo and Wapusk and Riding Mountain National Parks, and to create awareness of and connections to these places. Through this collaboration, visitors will also learn about conservation and the tools that support conservation actions.

The Friends of Riding Mountain National Park is a non-profit organization, committed to increasing awareness and appreciation of the natural and cultural heritage of Riding Mountain National Park. Through innovative programming in partnership with Parks Canada and other like-minded organizations, they provide valuable educational opportunities that inspire environmental stewardship. www.friendsofridingmountain.ca

The Riding Mountain Trail Stewards Association Inc. is committed to providing Nordic skiing opportunities in Riding Mountain National Park. This organization is found in five satellite areas of the park.

The Riding Mountain Trail Stewards Association Inc., Friends of Riding Mountain National Park, and Parks Canada are working together to ensure Nordic skiing opportunities are maintained in the park. This year the group groomed 18 trails throughout Riding Mountain National Park. These valued partners also strived to provide Parks Canada up to date trail condition information so visitors could better plan their Nordic skiing adventures.