Canada

Stone Nakoda Nation says traditional knowledge key to success for Banff bison
By: Colette Derworiz
CTVNews Calgary
April 24, 2022
Key words: Stoney Nakoda Nation, Mini Rhpa Makoche, Banff National Park, bison, reintroduction program, environmental assessment, cultural assessment, traditional lands, reconciliation, holistic approach
https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/stoney-nakoda-nation-says-traditional-knowledge-key-to-success-for-banff-bison-1.5874282
As part of a five-year pilot project, in 2017 a herd of bison were released into Banff National Park on Stoney Nakoda Nation tradition lands. Both an environmental and cultural assessment are reported. Stoney Nakoda Nation took charge of the cultural assessment and shared their traditional knowledge of plains bison. This is an important effort towards reconciliation between First Nations and Parks Canada.

Indigenous conservation could mean richer wildlife tourism in Canada
By: Chloe Berge
National Geographic
March 16, 2022
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/indigenous-conservation-could-mean-richer-wildlife-tourism-in-canada?loggedin=true
Key words: Canada, British Columbia, First Nations, Indigenous language groups, Tsimshian, Northern Wakashan, Salishan Nuxalk, Grizzly Bears, biocultural diversity, Indigenous Knowledge, conservation
Canadian university researchers and First Nations groups collaborate on a study of Grizzly Bears genetic populations overlapping with Indigenous language groups. Indigenous-led conservation can also be applied to tourism efforts. Combining a rich wildlife viewing experience with a deep knowledge of conservation and sustainability could have a long-lasting impact for healthy Grizzly Bear ecotourism.

'It's for our survival' — Indigenous women lead conservation efforts in Canada
By: Natasha Bulowski
Canada’s National Observer
March 8, 2022
Key words: Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs), Indigenous Leadership Initiative, Indigenous women leadership, Kaska Dena Institute, British Columbia, climate change, biodiversity, partnership, conservation
https://www.nationalobserver.com/2022/03/08/news/its-our-survival-indigenous-women-lead-conservation-efforts-canada
Focus is on Indigenous women leading conservation efforts and biodiversity preservation as climate change threatens to devastate ecosystems. Through Indigenous laws, governance, and knowledge systems, Indigenous women trailblaze the way forward to avoid dire climate change consequences. First Nations hope for a true partnership with the federal government to deliver an effective and meaningful global response.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Integrating Western Science into Indigenous Knowledge Processes
By: Steve DeRoy, MSc
ESAVideos
November 23, 2021
Key words: Firelight Group, Indigenous-led research, Indigenous Knowledge, Western Science, colonization, mapping
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjZ5XTvW8EQ
Steve DeRoy, co-founder of the Indigenous-owned consulting firm Firelight Group, leads a presentation about braiding together Indigenous Knowledge and Western Science. He describes the power of maps, how mapping plays an integral role in this integration, and engagement principles with Indigenous peoples. Steve gives two examples of braiding IK and WS and the importance of Indigenous control over these processes.

Prioritizing conservation actions for Pacific Salmon in Canada
By: Jessica C. Walsh, Katrina Conners, Eric Hertz, Laura Kehoe, Tara G. Martin, Brendan Conners, Michael J. Bradford, Cameron Freshwater, Alejandro Frid, Jessica Halverson, Jonathan W. Moore, Michael H.H. Price, John D. Reynolds
April 25, 2020
Journal of Applied Ecology
Keywords: Pacific salmon, conservation, priority threat management framework, Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Kitasoo/Xai'xais, Wuikinuxv, stream restoration, Canada
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1365-2664.13646
In an effort to combat declining populations of Pacific salmon, researchers applied the priority threat management framework, a decision-support tool, to quantify and rate competing conservation strategies. The strategies were evaluated by an expert panel, made up of Indigenous and other experts. The study is presented as a model for evaluating conservation strategies globally.

Label ringed seals a species of concern, wildlife advisers tell feds
By: Beth Brown
CBC/Radio-Canada
December 4, 2019
Keywords: Inuit, ringed seals, climate change, hunting
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/ringed-seal-species-concern-nunavut-1.5384264
Behaviors and habitats of ringed seals are changing, according to Inuit observers. Canadian authorities, recognizing Inuit expertise, sought indigenous input on the status of the seals. Inuit information on changes in patterns of seal movement led wildlife experts to ask the Canadian government to list ringed seals as a species of special concern. The move was not expected to immediately affect seal harvesting quotas.

Indigenous Knowledge Puts Industrial Pollution in Perspective
By: Ty Burke
EOS
26 September 2019
Key words: Canada, Giant Mine, Northwest Territories, arsenic, poisoning, climate change, Metis, Dene, Great Slave Lake
https://eos.org/articles/indigenous-knowledge-puts-industrial-pollution-in-perspective
In the processing of gold at the Giant Mine, much arsenic was released into the atmosphere, which settled in lakes, forests and disbursed through precipitation. The arsenic trapped in the sediments of lakes, including the Great Slave Lake, is in danger of being released into the water because climate change, the warming of the waters in particular. Metis and Dene in the area have Traditional Ecological Knowledge and have also kept written records that are being used by western scientists to better determine the timing of certain weather phenomena that lead to these environmental processes.

Study confirms Inuit knowledge aboout movements of caribou herds
Posted Monday, April 2, 2018
Key words: Inuit, caribou, drones, sea ice, Victoria Island, Dolphin-Union herds, Northwest Territories
https://www.indianz.com/News/2018/04/02/study-confirms-inuit-knowledge-about-mov.asp
This article summarizes a report about Inuit knowledge of the Dolphin-Union caribou herds' movements on Victoria Island and provides links to additional articles.

Bathurst Caribou Range Plan, Supporting Report: Traditional Knowledge of Caribou and Caribou People
Yellowknife NT
January 2018
Key words: Caribou, food security, range management, hunting
http://www.enr.gov.nt.ca/sites/enr/files/resources/draft_-_traditional_knowledge_of_caribou_and_caribou_people.pdf
Indigenous peoples have always taken the responsibility of caribou guardianship across the range seriously, according to natural law and Traditional Knowledge. However, the relatively recent decline in barren-ground caribou in general and in the Bathurst herd in particular catapulted the need for the Plan to the forefront and inspired all parties into quick yet thoughtful action.

Preserving Ecosystem Services on Indigenous Territory through Restoration and Management of a Cultural Keystone Species
By: Yadav Uprety, Hugo Asselin, & Yves Bergeron
Forests, 8:194
2017
Key words: Aboriginal People, Ecological Restoration, Ecosystem Services, Pinus strobus L., Shelterwood
http://www.mdpi.com/1999-4907/8/6/194
Eastern white pine (Pinus strobus L.) is a cultural keystone tree species in the forests of eastern North America, providing numerous ecosystem services to Indigenous people. White pine abundance in the landscape has considerably decreased over the last few centuries due to overharvesting, suppression of surface fires, extensive management, and plantation failure. The Kitcisakik Algonquin community of western Quebec is calling for restoration and sustainable management of white pine on its ancestral territory, to ensure provision of associated ecosystem services.

Spatial and Temporal Changes in Seasonal Range Attributes in a Declining Barren-Ground Caribou Herd
By: John A. Virgl, W. James Rettie, & Daniel W. Coulton
Rangifer, 37(1):31-46
2017
Key words: Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge, Bathurst Caribou Herd, Climate, Density Dependence, Predation Risk
http://septentrio.uit.no/index.php/rangifer/article/view/4115/3841
From 1996 to 2015 the Bathurst caribou herd has declined from approximately 349,000 to 20,000 animals. Aboriginal traditional knowledge (TK) has recently observed the later arrival of the herd below the tree line, an attribute of the autumn range. Science also predicts that seasonal range attributes (e.g., area, location) likely vary with population size, and perhaps climate. Authors used Aboriginal TK and science to identify several seasonal range attributes that were examined for changes through time (decreasing population abundance).

Systematic Review and Critique of the Contributions of Traditional Ecological Knowledge of Beluga Whales in the Marine Mammal Literature
By: Kaitlin Brenton-Honeyman, Chris M. Furgal, & Michael O. Hammill
Arctic, 69(1):37-46
2016
Key words: Beluga Whales, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), Delphinapterus leucas, Arctic, Systematic Literature Review
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/296624131_Systematic_Review_and_Critique_of_the_Contributions_of_Traditional_Ecological_Knowledge_of_Beluga_Whales_in_the_Marine_Mammal_Literature_Supplementary_Appendix_Table
In this study authors systematically review and critique literature containing Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) of the beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) as a case study to gain insights into TEK’s contributions to the marine mammal literature over the past four decades.

Towards a Better Understanding of the Effects of UV on Atlantic Walruses, Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus: A Study Combining Historical Data with Local Ecological Knowledge
By: Laura M. Martinez-Levasseur, Chris M. Furgal, Mike O. Hammill, & Gary Burness
Public Library of Science
2016
Key words: Atlantic Walruses, Solar Ultraviolet Radiation, Arctic, Local Ecological Knowledge, Canada
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4822789/
Walruses, Odobenus rosmarus, play a key role in the Arctic ecosystem, including northern Indigenous communities, which are reliant upon walruses for aspects of their diet and culture. However, walruses face varied environmental threats including rising sea-water temperatures and decreasing ice cover. An underappreciated threat may be the large amount of solar ultraviolet radiation (UV) that continues to reach the Arctic as a result of ozone loss.

How indigenous knowledge is changing what we know about the Arctic
Radio Canada International
December 23, 2016
http://www.rcinet.ca/en/2016/12/23/video-documentary-how-indigenous-knowledge-is-changing-what-we-know-about-the-arctic/
“Arctic Peoples are more than just victims of climate change. In many parts of the circumpolar world, they’re collaborating with scientists to unravel the unprecedented environmental transformation of the North. But these relationships aren’t always easy. In this Eye on the Arctic documentary report from Arctic Canada, we learn about some of the problems that still exist and profile a collaboration that this community says is an example of what happens when things go right.”

Researchers collect indigenous stories to fill climate change data gaps
By: Sebastien Malo
Thomson Reuters Foundation
April 29, 2016
http://news.trust.org/item/20160429070026-7gc14/?source=hpOtherNews2
NEW YORK, April 29 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Canadian scientists have collected stories from more than 90,000 people whose traditional ways of life rely on nature, in an effort to capture signs of climate change where weather stations are absent. Their findings, published in the journal Nature Climate Change, fill a knowledge gap in climate change science, which is dominated by data and computer models, said the six researchers from Simon Fraser University.

Inuvialuit and Nanuq: A Polar Bear Traditional Knowledge Study
Joint Secretariat, Inuvialuit Settlement Region
2015
https://wmacns.ca/resources/inuvialuit-and-nanuq-polar-bear-traditional-knowledge-study/
This report from Canada’s Joint Secretariat, Inuvialuit Settlement Region, documents Inuvialuit hunters’ traditional knowledge of polar bears and the importance of intergenerational knowledge involved in polar bear hunting, particularly in the context of climate change. It was the result of interviews with 70 traditional knowledge holders (TKHs) among the Inuvialuit of Canada’s Western Arctic. As the article states, “Western scientific understandings of polar bears are very recent compared to the knowledge of the Inuvialuit, Inuit, Inupiat and other Arctic peoples.” Because, “Observing and harvesting animals creates an intimate knowledge of the land, sea and ice. Without such knowledge and the associated skills required for travel and harvesting, the Inuvialuit way of life in the region would not be possible.”

11 Ways the Haida Nation Protects its Land and Heritage
By: Patrick Floyd
Rainforest Alliance
July 23, 2015
Keywords: culture, language, culturally modified trees, cedar, carving, sustainability, Northern Goshawk, forest protection
https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/articles/11-ways-the-haida-nation-protects-its-land-and-heritage
The Haida are a First Nation people in British Columbia, Canada. They preserve and practice their ancient culture while embracing non-indigenous business practices and forest protection methods like Rainforest Alliance / FSC certification.

“Letting the Leaders Pass”: Barriers to Using Traditional Ecological Knowledge in Comanagement as the Basis of Formal Hunting Regulations
By: Elisabeth Padilla & Gary P. Kofinas
Ecology and Society, 19(2):7
2014
Key words: Caribou, Comanagement, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, Wildlife Management
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271296504_Letting_the_leaders_pass_Barriers_to_using_traditional_ecological_knowledge_in_comanagement_as_the_basis_of_formal_hunting_regulations
Authors studied a case of failure in applying traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) in comanagement as the basis for formal hunting regulations. They based the study on the Porcupine Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) Herd “let the leaders pass” policy, established for the Dempster Highway of the Western Canadian Arctic, and identified conditions creating barriers in the successful application of TEK through comanagement.

Killer Whales, ‘Wolves of the Sea,’ Are Migrating North, Inuit Traditional Ecological Knowledge Reveals
By: ICT Staff
Indian Country Today
February 3, 2012
Key words: Species monitoring, killer whales, narwhal, bowhead, Inuit
https://ictnews.org/archive/killer-whales-wolves-of-the-sea-are-migrating-north-inuit-traditional-ecological-knowledge-reveals
With sea ice melting, Inuit have been seeing Killer Whales move further north into the Canadian Arctic, which threaten Inuit food sources. Researchers from Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the University of Manitoba interviewed 105 Inuit hunters to better understand the dramatic changes in the Arctic marine ecosystem.

Returning to Netukulimk: Mi’kmaq Cultural and Spiritual Connections with Resource Stewardship and Self-Governance
By: Kerry Prosper, L. Jane McMillan, Anthony A Davis, & Morgan Moffitt
The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 2(4):7
2011
Key words: Resource Stewardship, Mi’kmaq, Cultural Practices and Beliefs, Netukulimk, Aboriginal Rights
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229428464_Returning_to_Netukulimk_Mi'kmaq_cultural_and_spiritual_connections_with_resource_stewardship_and_self-governance
The Mi’kmaq, the indigenous people of Maritime Canada, capture and express their holistic understanding through the concept of Netukulimk. In this essay authors review core attributes of Netukulimk. They also review key moments in the colonialization assault on Netukulimk as a primary means for subordinating and marginalizing the Mi’kmaq. They close the essay with an overview and discussion of recent developments wherein the Mi’kmaq are working to revitalize the place of Netukulimk in treaty-based rights and Mi’kmaq law-ways, particularly within self-governance and resource stewardship initiatives.

The Changing Landscape of Arctic Traditional Food
By: Tim Lougheed
Environmental Health Perspectives
1 September 2010
Key words: Arctic, cultural change, traditional food
https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/ehp.118-a386
This article goes through the cultural changes that the Inuit of Canada have been experiencing. While going through those changes, especially in regards to food, the author notes the negative health changes that the population has been experiencing since being forced to be sedentary. This article notes the beneficial health impacts that the traditional food had on the population as opposed to the westernized food that the Inuit are consuming now. The author calls for the Inuit, as well as the rest of the Arctic population to adopt more traditional food for the better health benefits.

Respect for Grizzly Bears: an Aboriginal Approach for Co-existence and Resilience
By: Douglas A. Clark and D. Scott Slocombe
2009
Ecology and Society
Keywords: Grizzly bears, bear ceremonialism, Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, Inuit, Inuvialuit, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, resilience, salmon, social-ecological system, Southern Tutchone, Yukon
http://www.bearsmart.com/docs/respect-gbs-aboriginal-coexistence.pdf
Utilizing semi-structured interviews and focus groups, researchers gathered Indigenous knowledge on grizzly bears. This knowledge focused on practices of respect and was grouped into four categories: terminology, stories, reciprocity, and ritual. These practices form a coherent qualitative management system and revealed a previously unknown human role in maintaining riparian systems and salmon runs. The authors present implications of their findings for the qualitative management of bear-human systems, though acknowledging difficulties in scaling up such local systems to larger applications.

Linking Inuit knowledge and meteorological station observations to understand changing wind patterns at Clyde River, Nunavut
By: Shari Gearheard, et al.
Climatic Change
2009
Key words: eastern coast of Baffin Island, Inuit, wind patterns, arctic
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-009-9587-1
Inuit living in Nunavut have documented changes in one of their most important environmental indicators, wind patterns. Researchers are using these observations to better understand the Arctic to improve research methodologies in the area.

Using indigenous knowledge in monitoring Arctic ice cover
By: Joseph Cheek
Science Poles
2008
Key words: Makivik Corporation, James Bay, Northern Quebec Agreement, Arctic charr
http://www.sciencepoles.org/interview/using-indigenous-knowledge-in-monitoring-arctic-ice-cover
The Nunavik Research Centre in Kuujjuaq, Quebec has been using TEK to support indigenous people in the region for thirty years. Adam Lewis, Geomatics Manager for the centre, heads a monitoring program that benefits two communities.

The Six Faces of Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Challenges and Opportunities for Canadian Co-Management Arrangements
By: Nicholas Houde
Ecology and Society, 12(2):34
2007
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26267900
The First Nations of Canada have been active over the past three decades in negotiating natural resources co-management arrangements that would give them greater involvement in decision making processes that are closer to their values and worldviews. Through a review of the literature on TEK, Houde identified six “faces” of TEK (i.e., factual observations, management systems, past and current land uses, ethics and values, culture and identity, and cosmology), as well as the particular challenges and opportunities that each face poses to the co-management of natural resources.

Negotiating TEK in BC Salmon Farming: Learning from Each Other or Managing Tradition and Eliminating Contention? (Commentary)
By: Dorothee Schreiber & Dianne Newell
BC Studies, 150:79-102
2006
http://ojs.library.ubc.ca/index.php/bcstudies/article/view/694/740
In the 1990s, the Ahousaht, who are part of the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation, were openly concerned about the impact of salmon farms on their local environment at Clayoquot Sound, on the west coast of Vancouver Island. However, in September of 2002, the year the province lifted the moratorium on granting new tenures to the industry, the Ahousaht came to an agreement with the main fish farming company in the area. This commentary goes through the complexities of this agreement, the relation of TEK, and how it is interpreted by both resource managers and First Nations communities.

Putting the Community Back Into Community-Based Resource Management: A Criteria and Indicators Approach to Sustainability
By: David C. Natcher, and Clifford G. Hickey
Human Organization
2002
Key words: social consensus, plurality of values, internal diversity, adaptive management, forest
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/277363464_Putting_the_Community_Back_Into_Community-Based_Resource_Management_A_Criteria_and_Indicators_Approach_to_Sustainability
Traditional communities are sometimes misrepresented as being without social conflict or disagreement toward resource management. Drawing from the lessons learned from the Little Red River Cree Nation of Alberta, Canada, this article discusses a bottom-up approach to research.

Contributions of traditional knowledge to understanding climate change in the Canadian Arctic
By: Dyanna Riedllinger & Fikret Berkes
Polar Record, 37(203), 315-328. doi:10.1017/S0032247400017058
October 2001
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/231950791_Contributions_of_traditional_knowledge_to_understanding_climate_change_in_the_Canadian_Arctic
Despite much scientific research, a considerable amount of uncertainty exists concerning the rate and extent of climate change in the Arctic, and how change will affect regional climatic processes and northern ecosystems. Can an expanded scope of knowledge and inquiry augment understandings of climate change in the north? The extensive use of the land and the coastal ocean in Inuit communities provides a unique source of local environmental expertise that is guided by generations of experience.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Wisdom of Aboriginal Peoples in British Columbia
By: Nancy J. Turner, Marianne Boelscher Ignace, Ronald Ignace
Ecological Applications; 10 (5)
2000
Keywords: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Wisdom (TEKW), British Columbia, Canada, Aboriginal Peoples, Secwepemc (Shuswap) Interior Salish and Kwakwaka'wakw and Nuu-Chah-Nulth peoples of the Northwest Coast, adaptive strategies, ecological principles, sustainability, harvesting, yellow avalanche lily (Erythronium grandiflorum), balsamroot (Balsamorhiza sagittata)
https://www.jstor.org/stable/2641283
Researchers are working to integrate traditional ecological knowledge and wisdom with current ecosystem-based management strategies. Aboriginal peoples of British Columbia have a successful history of environmental sustainability, such as with wild root crops like avalanche lily and balsamroot. TEKW can help in the fight against the loss of biodiversity and in the restoration of land degradation.

Traditional Land Use and Occupancy Studies and Their Impact on Forest Planning and Management in Alberta
By: M.P. Robinson and M.M. Ross
The Forestry Chronicle
1997
Key words: bush economy
http://pubs.cif-ifc.org/doi/10.5558/tfc73596-5
Traditional land use and occupancy studies have been conducted in Canada since the 1970’s in order to determine the extent of modern and traditional land use and their impacts. These mapping studies led to the development of land claims and co-management agreements. This article is a review of efforts towards improved co-management.

Cree Traditional Ecological Knowledge And Science: A Case Study Of The Sharp-Tailed Grouse (tympanuchus phasianllus phasianllus)
By: Leonard J.S. Tsuji
The Canadian Journal of Native Studies, XVI, 1
1996
Keywords: Ontario, Canada, Cree, sharp-tailed grouse
https://cjns.brandonu.ca/wp-content/uploads/16-1-tsuji.pdf
Traditional ecological knowledge is not just qualitative in nature, but can also be quantitative. Using ethnographic techniques, the author establishes the factual nature of Cree elders’ knowledge of grouse and suggests techniques for implementing TEK for resource co-management.

Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Concepts and Cases
By: Ed. Julian T. Ingles
International Program on Traditional Ecological Knowledge and International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Ontario
1993
http://library.umac.mo/ebooks/b10756577a.pdf
The papers in this volume were selected from presentations made in a number of special sessions on Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), which were held as part of the Common Property Conference, the second annual meeting of the International Association for the Study of Common Property. The papers represent a wide range of perspectives on the nature of TEK. They explore the underlying concepts, provide case studies, and confirm once again the importance and, as yet, unrealized potential of TEK in resource and environmental management.