The River That Gives Life

Joseph Wasylycia–Leis | January 15, 2026

Senior Freshwater Conservation Campaigner Joseph Wasylycia-Leis takes us to the Bloodvein River, a mighty boreal waterway stretching from northwest Ontario to southern Manitoba.

“Our Elders tell stories about places that were named after the plants and animals. Some names are based on the rocks or the water that flows there. Water gives life, and the land gives gifts and tools to use and to survive.”

– Melba Green, Bloodvein River First Nation Land Guardian

From the boreal uplands of northern Ontario to the shores of Lake Winnipeg flows a river known as the Bloodvein, or Miskweyaabiziibee (Blood River) to the local Anishinaabe. True to its name, the ancient waterway acts as an ecological artery, carving a 300-kilometre path over rapids and through wetlands that links a diverse mix of habitats, from narrow, fast-water gorges to open marshes and small lakes. It’s moving water feeds an ecosystem humming with biodiversity: bald eagles, white pelicans, and great grey owls soar above waters home to lake sturgeon, pickerel and many other fish species, while moose, caribou, wolverines, and more can be found along the banks and deeper into the forests.

Indigenous peoples have lived alongside the river for generations, using the water for transportation and drawing on the area’s natural abundance to harvest food and medicines. The Bloodvein River is home the largest collection of ancient pictographs in Canada: these rock paintings, which illustrate the ancient cultural relationships that first peoples had with the Bloodvein River region, date back at least 300 years, with some thought to be thousands of years old.

Image – Map of the Bloodvein River Corridor | Produced by Melissa Turner

Today, the Anishinaabe people of the Bloodvein River First Nation continue to live in close connection with the river, engaging in fishing, hunting, recreational and cultural activities on the land and water year-round. The community itself stretches along the shoreline near the river’s mouth at Lake Winnipeg, not far from the location where the Nation signed Treaty 5 in 1876. The area is also a destination for eco-tourists, hunters and anglers. The Bloodvein’s remote beauty, challenging rapids, and abundance of fish and wildlife make it a sought-after route for back country canoeists, with hundreds of paddlers descending the river each year.

The natural value and cultural significance of the Bloodvein River make it a place worthy of protection and stewardship, particularly in the face of emerging threats to the ecological well-being of the area. The increased frequency of droughts and low-water years, abnormal fluctuations to water temperature regimes, the spread of invasive species, nutrient overloading, and the fragmentation of aquatic habitats have the potential to disrupt the balance and resiliency of the Bloodvein River ecosystem. As discussions also grow around future mineral and energy development, more needs to be done to ensure the Bloodvein River remains healthy and abundant for future generations.

Image – The Bloodvein River First Nation stretches along the banks of the Bloodvein River near the river’s mouth on Lake Winnipeg’s east shore. | Photo by Harley Hussy, AAE Tech Services, 2025

Thanks to the efforts of Bloodvein River’s leadership, there is a strong foundation for developing a robust environmental protection regime here. The Pimachiowin Aki UNESCO World Heritage Site was established in 2018 after nearly a decade of advocacy by Bloodvein River and three other First Nations. This 29,000-square-kilometre area is the largest intact expanse of the North American boreal shield ecosystem and includes large portions of the Bloodvein River as well as several other rivers that also drain into the east side of Lake Winnipeg.

However, while both the provincial and federal governments formally recognize the UNESCO designation, neither have offered sustainable long-term funding or additional regulatory measures required to truly protect the area. Increasing support and collaboration for Pimachiowin Aki’s initiatives is one way that governments can act on their commitments to area-based protection targets like 30 by 30.

Despite limited support from governments, Bloodvein River continues to develop its conservation and stewardship efforts. In March 2025, Oceans North began working with the First Nation on a new community-led river monitoring program on the Bloodvein. The project stems from the community’s intent to strengthen traditional and scientific knowledge relating to the environmental well-being of the river system. The community is seeking to understand how and why the river is changing while helping people reconnect with land-based culture and practice.

The summer monitoring program was a huge success, generating data-based insights into the health of fish populations, fish habitat, and water quality, as well as providing community members with culturally relevant land-based training and employment. Some of the highlights from the project include:

12 days in the field collecting data for a baseline environmental assessment;
Bathymetric mapping of lower reaches of the river surrounding the community;
Identifying more than 20 aquatic species, including the at-risk maple leaf mussel;
Delivering a hands-on presentation for local students during one of the field days.

The findings from the environmental survey will be incorporated into a report that will guide future monitoring efforts and land use planning and management.

Oceans North is proud to be supporting environmental monitoring efforts in Bloodvein River. The work is essential for increasing the community’s capacity to manage and protect their traditional lands, waters, and ways of life. This type of community-led environmental monitoring will also draw attention to emerging threats and help make the case for implementing new area-based regulatory protections.

Protecting and stewarding the Bloodvein River for future generations will require ongoing collaboration and partnership between the First Nation, Pimachiowin Aki, and both the federal and provincial governments. In 2024 the Federal Minister for the Environment and the Government of Manitoba signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a Nature Agreement that would bolster Indigenous-led conservation in the province. Should it come to fruition, this agreement could lead to long-term funding and resources for achieving Indigenous conservation, restoration and protection priorities, as well as provide support for monitoring initiatives like those being led by Pimachiowin Aki across Lake Winnipeg’s East Side.

The Bloodvein River should also be seen as a possible candidate for an Ecologically Significant Area (ESA) designation. ESAs are a regulatory tool first established in 2012 and then strengthened with further provisions through the modernized 2019 Fisheries Act. ESAs are intended to provide long-term enhanced conservation and protection for freshwater and nearshore ecosystems that contain fish populations and fish habitats that are rare, unique, highly productive and vulnerable, and to ensure effective restoration of these areas when restoration is needed. The ESA framework gives special consideration to collaboration with Indigenous peoples and other local user groups who bring strong cultural and economic connections to the land and water. They allow for local proponents (such as First Nations or conversation organizations) to identify the core conservation and protection objectives around with regulatory requirements would be designed. Some examples of other ESA candidates can be found here.

Healthy freshwater systems like the Bloodvein River and Pimachiowin Aki are the envy of the world. But their continued health depends on enabling local stewardship by those who call this watershed home. Oceans North is committed to working with communities to help secure the long-term funding and effective protective measures that will ensure these waters continue to be a source of life for people and the ecosystem as a whole.