In order to better understand Inuit relationships to the Mealy Mountain (MM) herd, the long-term impacts of the hunting ban, and strategies for caribou management moving forward, this research examines the relationship between Rigolet Inuit and MM caribou. The main goal of this research was to determine community priorities for the research, monitoring, and management of the MM caribou, by documenting Inuit values, with the intent of enhancing the management system.

This research used a qualitative case study approach, following the principles of Inuit-led research as outlined in the National Inuit Strategy on Research. Data were collected through: a community open house and participatory mapping session, where people shared photos, stories, thoughts, and geographic references to where MM caribou herds are still being seen; semi-structured conversational interviews with 21 people from Rigolet (total interview time: 11h09). Interviews were conducted by local researchers and a graduate student. All interviews were recorded, with consent, and transcribed. Transcripts were imported into NVivo 12 software and coded inductively to facilitate additional annotations, word searches, memo writing, data visualizations, and reflections. Using a constant comparative method, the research team also held regular debriefs and teleconferences to talk about co-analyze the data.

Preliminary results of the research demonstrate a wealth of Inuit knowledge about the MM herd. The research highlights the loss of an important country food and a risk to cultural continuity by a long-standing hunting ban; the ways in which a lack of quality research led to questions about decision-making; and the lack of inclusion of Inuit rights or knowledge when management decisions were made. Research participants indicated a strong sense of not being heard by decision-makers. Moving forward, Inuit from Rigolet indicated the need to re-connect to the MM caribou through land-based initiatives and ongoing monitoring, as well as identified the need for Inuit to be more involved in, and lead, conservation and monitoring efforts. This research provides ideas and opportunities for potential interventions in the future that may strengthen cultural ties, stewardship, and enhanced levels of health equity between Indigenous peoples in the region.

To learn more about the NBCKC, please visit our interactive story map, available in English and French!

The National Boreal Caribou Knowledge Consortium (NBCKC), which launched in 2018 under Canada’s federal action plan for boreal caribou, is a forum for knowledge sharing, knowledge generation, and knowledge mobilization. Members of the NBCKC represent federal, provincial and territorial governments, Wildlife Management Boards, Indigenous Peoples and communities, industry, environmental non-governmental organizations, and academic researchers. Several representatives who are part of the NBCKC are also members of a parallel body known as the Indigenous Knowledge Circle (IKC). The IKC advocates for the respectful inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge, supports the transition towards Indigenous-led management to support the recovery of caribou, and, provides opportunities for learning about what is working and not working in Indigenous contexts.

The NBCKC also includes several working groups and knowledge networks that were formed to assess what we already know, to ask what we still need to know, and to determine how to apply what we know to maximize caribou conservation and recovery goals. These groups currently include:

• The Monitoring Working Group
• The Habitat Restoration Working Group
• The Population Management Working Group
• The Caribou Health Knowledge Network

The NBCKC sets ambitious targets and deadlines in order to resolve remaining knowledge gaps by developing impactful guidance meant to inform caribou managers as they structure their respective programs. They have built a powerful interactive map and populated it with over 100 caribou projects, the majority of which involve Indigenous peoples. Despite boasting a large membership consisting of keen, skilled, and focused individuals, the NBCKC has been able to reach even higher levels of relevance and impact by joining our efforts with those of other initiatives. 

Follow this link to browse the repository of newsletters, guidance documents, best practices, tool kits and other resources that have been developed collaboratively by the NBCKC housed on our boreal caribou portal.

To learn more about the NBCKC, please visit our interactive story map, available in English and French!

The National Boreal Caribou Knowledge Consortium (NBCKC), which launched in 2018 under Canada’s federal action plan for boreal caribou, is a forum for knowledge sharing, knowledge generation, and knowledge mobilization. Members of the NBCKC represent federal, provincial and territorial governments, Wildlife Management Boards, Indigenous Peoples and communities, industry, environmental non-governmental organizations, and academic researchers. Several representatives who are part of the NBCKC are also members of a parallel body known as the Indigenous Knowledge Circle (IKC). The IKC advocates for the respectful inclusion of Indigenous Knowledge, supports the transition towards Indigenous-led management to support the recovery of caribou, and, provides opportunities for learning about what is working and not working in Indigenous contexts.

The NBCKC also includes several working groups and knowledge networks that were formed to assess what we already know, to ask what we still need to know, and to determine how to apply what we know to maximize caribou conservation and recovery goals. These groups currently include:

• The Monitoring Working Group
• The Habitat Restoration Working Group
• The Population Management Working Group
• The Caribou Health Knowledge Network

The NBCKC sets ambitious targets and deadlines in order to resolve remaining knowledge gaps by developing impactful guidance meant to inform caribou managers as they structure their respective programs. They have built a powerful interactive map and populated it with over 100 caribou projects, the majority of which involve Indigenous peoples. Despite boasting a large membership consisting of keen, skilled, and focused individuals, the NBCKC has been able to reach even higher levels of relevance and impact by joining our efforts with those of other initiatives. 

Follow this link to browse the repository of newsletters, guidance documents, best practices, tool kits and other resources that have been developed collaboratively by the NBCKC housed on our boreal caribou portal.

Project Description:
Due to sharply decreasing populations, boreal woodland caribou are an animal of concern for Canadian and Indigenous peoples. In north-central Saskatchewan, Indigenous and non-Indigenous governments, researchers, policy makers, land users, communities, and industry have faced multiple challenges working together to support caribou populations. Some of these challenges are due to cultural differences in ways of knowing and understanding the natural world in general, and wildlife in particular. The language of ethics and values may provide a working platform for intercultural conversations about wildlife conservation. Using multispecies ethnography, participatory community-based research, and visual methodologies, this dissertation study documents the ethical teachings and values that structure how Woodland Cree, Métis, and Euro-Canadian more-than-human communities in and around La Ronge, Saskatchewan engage with woodland caribou and conservation strategies. Four key themes have emerged from these community teachings and values as important to woodland caribou protection:

1. respectful relationships with other-than-human beings and land;
2. responsibilities to protect and care for these;
3. intercultural, land-based education;
4. intercultural working together.

These themes are employed in an ethical framework, which will be used to recommend a practical means of partnering with both Indigenous and Euro-Canadian ways of knowing in Saskatchewan.

Project Outcomes or Intended Outcomes:
Results of this dissertation study are anticipated to build on previous research that has begun to document Indigenous ethics and values about woodland caribou in Saskatchewan and across Canada, and add to ongoing cross-cultural management efforts in Saskatchewan to address the ethical challenges of woodland caribou conservation together.

Immediate outcomes include:

1. a practical model for ethical intercultural management of woodland caribou;
2. recommendations for implementation into policy;
3. a thoroughly documented process for addressing cross-cultural ethical challenges with respect to wildlife, across sectors.

Long-term outcomes will include:

1. more ethical and sustainable relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and woodland caribou.

About the Northern Caribou Canada: