The Bagida’waad Alliance is an indigenous, grassroots organization whose members are mostly of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation; their territory’s shoreline encompasses the entire Bruce Peninsula, from near Thornbury on Georgian Bay across to Lake Huron past Goderich. That’s almost 800 KM of shoreline.

Over the past ten years, commercial fishermen have noticed changes in the weather patterns on both Lake Huron and Georgian Bay: in particular, increasing winds and increased severity of storms. Both these changes reduce the number of safe days you can be out fishing, which directly impacts the a fishing livelihood. When the Akiwenzies began fishing fifteen years ago, they’d encounter two windy days a week with five calm days to fish. Today, that ratio is flipped: five windy days a week, with one or two calm days. Fishing on Lake Huron and Georgian Bay has become a dangerous way to make a living.

For the next two weeks, Natasha Akiwenzie will share what that feels like, through her business Akiwenzie's Fish, and the Bagida'waad Alliance.