Aroland First Nation
About this Nation
Aroland First Nation (AFN) is located 60 km north of Geraldton, just west of Nakina, and is accessible by highway 643. AFN gained reserve status under the Indian Act on April 15, 1985 through the Six Pack Negotiations. AFN is dedicated to delivering and creating education, health, cultural and economic opportunities for its members while conserving its traditional territory. AFN has a strong connection with the land and has a long history of protecting and utilizing the land for hunting, fishing and harvesting. There are 700 registered band members, with 400 of those members living in the community while others are dispersed throughout Canada.
Food Sovereignty Visions
PROJECT 2b
- Walk-in Refrigerator (Development of a Community Kitchen/Hub): The community hosts one of the largest fresh blueberry depots in Northern Ontario and often has a large amount of blueberries that need refrigeration before shipping happens. The community also conducts many food related workshops but lacks the space for cooking and teaching. The vision for the warehouse has been to convert a portion of the space into a community food hub where community can gather and offer more food related teachings. The first step in this process was the purchase of a walk-in refrigerator for the space, the purchase of the refrigerator was cost shared among different departments within the band as well as a contribution from the Understanding Our Food Systems project funding. Next steps are to look for additional infrastructure funding to support further development of the hub/community kitchen.
PROJECT 2a
- Health Centre Greenhouse: The community school has a very successful greenhouse that the Health Centre sometimes utilizes for programming. The Health Centre wanted to build a small greenhouse with a few raised garden beds for the health centre to be able to access quick than the school garden. The health centre had a difficult time starting the garden during the 2019 summer but will be beginning for the spring of 2020.
