Most people hear “critical minerals” constantly, but few understand what’s actually at stake for First Nations. On this episode of The Indigenous Miner, host Janessa Kosar-North talks with Peter McPherson, managing partner at Aperion, about the Critical Minerals Indigenous Involvement Project — a new plain-language video series built to close the information gap between First Nations and the resource sector.

Peter, a citizen of the Métis Nation of Alberta with 25 years in GIS mapping and environmental monitoring, explains why nations are usually brought into resource conversations only after key decisions are made — and how to get ahead of development instead: identifying who holds claims in your territory, asking questions early, and building your own land data using tools as simple as a smartphone.