As an avid photographer and knowledge keeper, Xavier was most at home on the lands and waters of his homelands in Eabametoong First Nation. His many journeys to document his community’s values resulted in a vast library and legacy of photos and GPS coordinates. As the Community-Based Land Use Planner for Eabametoong for many years he proudly created maps, posters and presentations to record his observations and questions on the changes he encountered on his journeys. He passionately advocated for the clean-up and restoration of areas impacted by past mining and exploration activities on the Eabametoong homelands, and worked with many partners to advance awareness on the changes he was seeing on the lands and waters.
Matawa and Four Rivers had the privilege of working with Xavier for many years to support his work, and we are proud to call him our forever friend and Guardian. His generosity in sharing his talents and knowledge is reflected throughout the recent publication of the ‘Values’ document, which presents a preliminary snapshot of the priority environmental values located in the Matawa member First Nations’ traditional territories. The inclusion of many of his photos is consistent with his vision of educating future generations about the environment he so loved. The publication is dedicated to his memory, as a tribute to his passion and hard work as a Guardian, steward, and knowledge holder of the lands and waters of his homelands.
