scholarly journals Knowledge Pluralism in First Nations’ Salmon Management

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia A. Bingham ◽  
Saul Milne ◽  
Grant Murray ◽  
Terry Dorward
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Coho Salmon ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Resource Governance ◽  
Natural Resource Governance ◽  
Colonial Legacies ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

There is growing interest in the “integration” of knowledge and values held by Indigenous peoples with Western science into natural resource governance and management. However, poorly conducted integration efforts can risk harming Indigenous communities and reifying colonial legacies. In this regard, dichotomous conceptualizations of Indigenous and scientific knowledges are problematic. In this research, we focus on the role of indigenous and scientific knowledges in the management of coho salmon (Oncorhyncus kisutch) on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC) in a governance context featuring contested authority among First Nations (Indigenous peoples) and the government of Canada. We discuss an example from a particular Indigenous community, Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations (TFN), that has worked with other management bodies to establish practices for the restoration, enhancement and harvest of cuẃit (coho). After outlining relevant Tla-o-qui-aht values, knowledges and decision-making processes, we consider the pluralistic approach to Indigenous and scientific knowledges in Tla-o-qui-aht management of cuẃit and show that pluralistic, co-constitutive, and multiplicative understandings of Indigenous and scientific ways of knowing may provide better grounding for addressing challenges in integration efforts. We also emphasize the importance of engagement with FN community liaisons and deferral to FN leadership to align management efforts with FN structures of knowledge production and governance, maintain ethical engagement, recognize Indigenous agency, and support effective conservation, and management efforts.

Indigenous Studies in the United States and Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aubrey Jean Hanson ◽  
Sam McKegney
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Native American ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Literary Studies ◽  
Indigenous Voices

Indigenous literary studies, as a field, is as diverse as Indigenous Peoples. Comprising study of texts by Indigenous authors, as well as literary study using Indigenous interpretive methods, Indigenous literary studies is centered on the significance of stories within Indigenous communities. Embodying continuity with traditional oral stories, expanding rapidly with growth in publishing, and traversing a wild range of generic innovation, Indigenous voices ring out powerfully across the literary landscape. Having always had a central place within Indigenous communities, where they are interwoven with the significance of people’s lives, Indigenous stories also gained more attention among non-Indigenous readers in the United States and Canada as the 20th century rolled into the 21st. As relationships between Indigenous Peoples (Native American, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) and non-Indigenous people continue to be a social, political, and cultural focus in these two nation-states, and as Indigenous Peoples continue to work for self-determination amid colonial systems and structures, literary art plays an important role in representing Indigenous realities and inspiring continuity and change. An educational dimension also exists for Indigenous literatures, in that they offer opportunities for non-Indigenous readerships—and, indeed, for readers from within Indigenous nations—to learn about Indigenous people and perspectives. Texts are crucially tied to contexts; therefore, engaging with Indigenous literatures requires readers to pursue and step into that beauty and complexity. Indigenous literatures are also impressive in their artistry; in conveying the brilliance of Indigenous Peoples; in expressing Indigenous voices and stories; in connecting pasts, presents, and futures; and in imagining better ways to enact relationality with other people and with other-than-human relatives. Indigenous literatures span diverse nations across vast territories and materialize in every genre. While critics new to the field may find it an adjustment to step into the responsibility—for instance, to land, community, and Peoplehood—that these literatures call for, the returns are great, as engaging with Indigenous literatures opens up space for relationship, self-reflexivity, and appreciation for exceptional literary artistry. Indigenous literatures invite readers and critics to center in Indigeneity, to build good relations, to engage beyond the text, and to attend to Indigenous storyways—ways of knowing, being, and doing through story.

“This Is Going to Affect Our Lives”: Exploring Huu-ay-aht First Nations, the Government of Canada and British Columbia’s New Relationship Through the Implementation of the Maa-nulth Treaty

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Sloan Morgan ◽  
Heather Castleden ◽  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
150Th Anniversary ◽  
Canadian Provinces ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

AbstractCanada celebrated its 150th anniversary since Confederation in 2017. At the same time, Canada is also entering an era of reconciliation that emphasizes mutually respectful and just relationships between Indigenous Peoples and the Crown. British Columbia (BC) is uniquely situated socially, politically, and economically as compared to other Canadian provinces, with few historic treaties signed. As a result, provincial, federal, and Indigenous governments are attempting to define ‘new relationships’ through modern treaties. What new relationships look like under treaties remains unclear though. Drawing from a comprehensive case study, we explore Huu-ay-aht First Nations—a signatory of the Maa-nulth Treaty, implemented in 2011—BC and Canada’s new relationship by analysing 26 interviews with treaty negotiators and Indigenous leaders. A disconnect between obligations outlined in the treaty and how Indigenous signatories experience changing relations is revealed, pointing to an asymmetrical dynamic remaining in the first years of implementation despite new relationships of modern treaty.

A retrospective on reconciliation by design

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alika T. Lafontaine ◽  
Christopher J. Lafontaine
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Transformational Change ◽  
Alternative Approach ◽  
Stakeholder Alignment ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Multi Stakeholder ◽  
Thinking Tools

It is well-established that Indigenous Peoples continue to experience a lower level of health than non-Indigenous Peoples in Canada. For many health leaders, finding practical strategies to close the gap in health disparities remains elusive. In this retrospective study, we will illustrate our own experience of transformational change using design and systems thinking tools toward a primary outcome of multi-stakeholder alignment. Using this approach enabled three Indigenous Provincial/Territorial Organizations (IPTOs) representing more than 150 First Nations communities from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario to establish the largest community-led, collaborative approach to health transformation in Canada at the time. These IPTOs have gone on to pursue some of the most ambitious health transformation initiatives in Canada and in September 2018, were granted $68 million in funding support by the Government of Canada. If health leaders are looking at an alternative approach to closing the gap in Indigenous health, alignment thinking has shown promising results.

scholarly journals First Nations Children Count: Enveloping Quantitative Research in an Indigenous Envelope

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy Blackstock
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Social Science Research ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Science Research ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Practice Change ◽  
Indigenous Research ◽  
Rich Diversity

Indigenous peoples repeatedly call for disaggregated data describing their experience to inform socio-economic and political policy and practice change (United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, 2003; UNICEF, 2003; Rae & the Sub Group on Indigenous Children and Youth, 2006). Although there has been significant discourse on the destructive historical role of western research with Indigenous communities (RCAP, 1996; Smith, 1999; Schnarch, 2004) and more recently on cultural adaptation of qualitative research methods (Smith, 1999; Bennet, 2004; Kovach, 2007), there has been very little discussion on how to envelope western quantitative social science research within Indigenous ways of knowing and being. This paper begins by outlining the broad goals of Indigenous research before focusing on how quantitative research is used, and represented, in the translation of Indigenous realities in child health and child welfare. Given the rich diversity of Indigenous peoples and their knowledges, this paper is only capable of what respected Indigenous academic Margo Greenwood (2007) would term “touching the mountaintops’ of complex and sacred ideas.

Indian Group of Seven

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Ryan Smith
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Subject Matter ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Indian Policy ◽  
Group Of Seven ◽  
Colonial Legacies ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Professional Artists ◽  
Indian Group

The Indian Group of Seven is an ironic title given by a reporter from the Winnipeg Free Press to a collective of Indigenous artists from Canada, including Jackson Beardy (1944–1984), Eddy Cobiness (1933–1996), Alex Janvier (b. 1935), Norval Morrisseau (1932–2007), Daphne Odjig (b. 1919), Carl Ray (1942–1978), and Joseph Sanchez (b. 1948). Their name is a direct reference to the Group of Seven, a collective of Canadian artists who used the Canadian landscape as their primary subject matter in the 1920s and 1930s. The Indian Group of Seven emerged soon after Montreal’s 1967 International and Universal Exposition, and the 1969 release of the Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian policy—events that were heavily criticized for supporting colonial legacies and supressing Indigenous rights. The Group’s artwork reacted against such politics. They sought to break cultural and political stereotypes by demanding recognition as professional artists, by challenging established meanings of contemporary Indigenous art, and reconsidering social relationships to Indigenous peoples. The Indian Group of Seven helped to change the preconceived notion that Indigenous artists were preoccupied with traditional craftwork such as weaving, pottery, and carving.

scholarly journals Effects on the Perceptions of Language Importance in Canada’s Urban Indigenous Peoples

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva M Jewell
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Language ◽  
The Government ◽  
Statistics Canada ◽  
Government Of Canada ◽  
Inuit Peoples

The following analysis utilizes data drawn from the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey (APS) to examine the effects of age, sex, education, household type, and exposure to Indigenous[1] language inside the home and outside the home on the perceived importance of Indigenous language for Indigenous people living in urban centres across Canada. The results of the regression analysis indicate that “exposure to Indigenous language inside the home” and “exposure to Indigenous language outside the home” is directly related to how important Indigenous language is perceived by urban Indigenous peoples.[1] Statistics Canada and the Government of Canada utilize the term “Aboriginal” to identify First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples. The author has chosen to use “Indigenous”, a term that communicates the quality of being original in land and place. 

scholarly journals Wii Niiganabying (Looking Ahead):

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-71
Author(s):  
Joshua Manitowabi
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Indigenous Rights ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
White Paper ◽  
Educational Funding ◽  
Positive Identity ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

Fifty years ago, Indigenous elders and leaders drafted their response to the Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy (White Paper of 1969). Their formal rebuttal, Citizens Plus (Red Paper), published in 1970, was a turning point in Indigenous education policy. It marked the beginning of the shift away from government-controlled, assimilationist educational policies to greater Indigenous control over funding and pedagogical methods. The Red Paper refuted the White Paper’s main conclusions and stated that Indigenous peoples are “citizens plus” because the federal government is legally bound to provide Indigenous peoples with services in exchange for the use of the land they occupy. The most important Indigenous rights to be upheld included education, health care, Aboriginal status, and Aboriginal title. These unique rights recognized that Indigenous peoples are the original owners of all the natural resources on their traditional treaty lands. The Red Paper became a political turning point for Indigenous peoples in Canada by presenting an Indigenous vision for a new political and legal relationship between Canada and Indigenous peoples based on Aboriginal and treaty rights. Since the 1970s, Indigenous leaders have struggled to maintain control of educational funding while having to abide by provincial standards of educational curricula. Indigenous communities want to provide more positive learning experiences and positive identity through reconceptualizing educational curricula. They are exploring ways to indigenize the educational experience by igniting cultural resurgence through the integration of Indigenous languages, knowledge, culture, and history by reconnecting students to their elders, land, and communities.

scholarly journals Water and Indigenous Peoples: Canada’s Paradox

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerry P. White ◽  
Laura Murphy ◽  
Nicholas Spence
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Safe Drinking Water ◽  
Water Safety ◽  
Federal Jurisdiction ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

The condition of water safety and quality on reserve has been a growing concern in Canada. Despite a substantial amount of funding allocated toward improving water infrastructure on reserve, an alarming proportion of communities face boil and drinking water advisories. To understand why this paradox and problem persists, this article will work through the issues and nuances that have created unsafe drinking water on reserve, proposed remedies, and policy implications. To do so, the role of the Government of Canada is reviewed first because reserve land is under federal jurisdiction. Following this, the article will discuss the standpoints of the Assembly of First Nations and other Indigenous groups on the water crisis, and will draw upon focus groups within First Nations that we conducted. To contextualize the water issue on reserve in Canada, a comparison with the United States is then drawn. One of the main themes of this paper with regard to the issue of safe drinking water on reserve is how the legacy of colonization has limited community capacity. This theme is then discussed in depth by comparing Indigenous to non-Indigenous communities, looking to the social determinants of water quality, and possibilities and limitations of building sustainable development allowing for safe drinking water on reserve. To understand what processes consistently intervene in the way of sustainability of safe water in Indigenous communities, regulatory frameworks are examined, funding mechanisms are reviewed, and Aboriginal governance is discussed along with the direction that policy should take.

scholarly journals COVID-19 Pandemic: Invoking the Famine and Pestilence Clause to be Paired with the Medicine Chest Clause from the Numbered Treaties

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Carrie Bourassa ◽  
Danette Starblanket ◽  
Jennifer Langan ◽  
Mikayla Hagel ◽  
Sadie Anderson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Care ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Legal Obligation ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

Treaty-based strategies are required to address the unique needs of Indigenous communities in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. A treaty-based approach should recognize provisions within the Numbered Treaties, including the Famine and Pestilence Clause and Medicine Chest Clause, agreed to during the signing of Treaty 6 in 1876. The Famine and Pestilence Clause established the Crown’s obligation to aid Indigenous Peoples within Treaty 6 Territory in the event of calamities such as locust raids, storms, starvation, and disease. The Medicine Chest Clause instituted the means through which the Crown would provide medical care for Indigenous Peoples within the jurisdiction. The Government of Canada has a legal obligation to invoke the Famine and Pestilence Clause and Medicine Chest Clause in a strategy to address the spread of COVID-19 in Indigenous communities.

scholarly journals Indigenous Educational Attainment in Canada

2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine E. Gordon ◽  
Jerry P. White
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Educational Attainment ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
School Education ◽  
High School Education ◽  
Indigenous Populations ◽  
Positive Side ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

In this article, the educational attainment of Indigenous peoples of working age (25 to 64 years) in Canada is examined. This diverse population has typically had lower educational levels than the general population in Canada. Results indicate that, while on the positive side there are a greater number of highly educated Indigenous peoples, there is also a continuing gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Data also indicate that the proportion with less than high school education declined, which corresponds with a rise of those with a PSE; the reverse was true in 1996. Despite these gains, however, the large and increasing absolute numbers of those without a high school education is alarming. There are intra-Indigenous differences: First Nations with Indian Status and the Inuit are not doing as well as non-Status and Métis peoples. Comparisons between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations reveal that the documented gap in post-secondary educational attainment is at best stagnant. Out of the data analysis, and based on the history of educational policy, we comment on the current reform proposed by the Government of Canada, announced in February of 2014, and propose several policy recommendations to move educational attainment forward.

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