Project Description:

The Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board (GRRB) and the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute (GSCI) collaborated on a study to gather and report on Gwich’in Traditional Knowledge of Boreal Woodland Caribou.  There is a stable population of woodland caribou in the Gwich’in Settlement Area and surrounding regions.  However, the Canadian population is classified as threatened under the federal Species at Risk Act.  Environment Canada supported the project in order to integrate Traditional Knowledge in the recovery planning process for boreal woodland caribou.

The GSCI and the GRRB conducted 20 interviews with holders of Gwich’in traditional knowledge and searched the digital archives of GSCI for relevant primary and secondary data to obtain TK about general observations, special significance, physical description, distribution, habitat, population size and trend, limiting factors and threats, and health of the woodland caribou. Gwich’in hunters have in-depth knowledge about boreal woodland caribou which they generously shared in the interviews. 

Project Outcomes or Intended Outcomes:

The purpose of this study was to gather and collate Gwich’in traditional knowledge for use in the Federal Species at Risk Boreal Caribou recovery planning process.  It was also used for the NWT Species at Risk Boreal Caribou status report and assessment, and subsequent Recovery Strategy.

Project Description:

Cold Lake First Nations (CLFN) is working with all levels of government across two provinces, industry, National Defence, and research groups to develop and implement caribou conservation measures. The specific focus of these efforts is the Cold Lake Air Weapons Range (CLAWR).  CLFN was evicted from the CLAWR in 1952 and regained access in 2001 after a long legal process. CLFN has been concerned for many years about how the CLAWR is managed and what the long term impacts to its homelands will be. This project focuses on aligning conservation measures with CLFN Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and implementing them in a complex regulatory environment. The centerpiece of this effort to date is a Section 11 Agreement with Canada that provides common ground for parties to collaborate.

Project Outcomes or Intended Outcomes:

• Implementation of provincial (Species at Risk Act compliant) range plans and the associated actions inside a National Defence facility in collaboration with provinces.
• Creation of a multi year restoration plan for the CLAWR
• Conservation of critical caribou habitat
• Alternate Prey Management 
• Monitoring of ungulates 
• Implementation of restoration activities that integrate IK
• Development and application of Dene Law to CLFN's actions on the land
• Moving towards reconciliation with Canada over the historical legacy of CLFN's eviction from the CLAWR and the subsequent decades of irreparable social harm.

Project Description:

The objective of this project was to engage local communities (First Nations and Métis) in central and northern Saskatchewan, in order to document local and traditional knowledge (WCTEK) of boreal woodland caribou to support the provincial range planning process for conservation of woodland caribou. This report is based on a study from November 2014 to March 2017 within the boreal woodland caribou range in Saskatchewan. The success of WCTEK research is ultimately determined by the willingness of communities and individuals to participate and share their knowledge. we conducted 56 individual interviews, two full group meetings (meetings devoted exclusively to data collection) and four other meetings (organised for other reasons such as trappers annual meetings but that allowed us to collect data) and 12 information sharing meetings (to discuss the data collection process, listen to stories about caribou, collect additional data, and receive feedback on our findings). The group meetings and personal interviews totalled 153 people, while the information sharing meetings include 300+ trappers from northern Saskatchewan.

Project Outcomes or Intended Outcomes:

Written summary report and GIS mapping file of the habitat model for boreal caribou across Saskatchewan based on Traditional Ecological Knowledge.

Written Report:
Mamun, A., Brook, R.K. 2017. Characterizing, Mapping and Modelling Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge about Woodland Caribou in Saskatchewan in Support of Range Planning. Technical Report to the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment.