Co-management Commons Podcast Co-management Commons

This insightful podcast provides a unique perspective on indigenous co-management in Canada from a senior leader with decades of experience navigating the complex world of public service and Indigenous relations. In this conversation, I really enjoyed and learned from the thoughtful reflections from Michael Wernick on his career serving as Deputy Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Clerk of the Privy Council, where he gained intimate knowledge of the challenges and opportunities for reconciliation. Wernick shares sage insights and lessons learned and provides strategic advice to help influence decision-makers. With the benefit of hindsight, he also assesses progress made and the continued hard work ahead for reconciliation. This engaging discussion touches on nation-to-nation relationships, treaty rights, Indigenous co-management, and the importance of building trust through respectful collaboration at all levels of government and society.

To get a plethora of co-management resources, visit www.co-management.ca


To join an excellent learning community on this topic, visit www.cloudberry.cc


To pick up Michael Wernick's book, visit https://www.ubcpress.ca/governing-canada

In this episode of the Co-management Commons Podcast, we get to compare and contrast two different co-management systems. Dr. Denis Ndeloh shares his experiences with wildlife management in Nunavut, Canada and Cameroon. He compares top-down wildlife management approaches in Cameroon versus more collaborative co-management systems in Nunavut and Canada.

Dr. Ndeloh stresses the importance of understanding and integrating traditional ecological knowledge from indigenous communities and shares his research journey including the challenges and lessons learned while conducting research on traditional ecological knowledge in Cameroon.

Dr. Ndeloh also stresses the need to suspend personal beliefs and truly trust indigenous knowledge systems for decision-making. He is a great storyteller. Stay tuned until the end for a transformative story shared by a research participant in Cameroon about a chimpanzee encounter that changed his worldview.

n Episode 23 of the Co-management Commons Podcast, Dr. Natalie Ban shares her academic background, positionality, and early research influences in the Amazon that made her reflect on research approaches. Natalie emphasizes the importance of building trust over time with Indigenous communities. She highlights a seaweed harvesting project that deepened her cultural understanding. Natalie also reflects on changing approaches to Indigenous research. Natalie also provides an example of a community-engaged project that influenced policy change.

Natalie is optimistic as she sees First Nations increasingly visioning their own futures, and she hopes to mentor more indigenous students and researchers.

Chapters
0:00:00 - Introductions
0:01:24 - Positionality
0:03:08 - Post-secondary beginnings and research experiences
0:09:13 - Success in building relationships
0:14:19 - Discussion about methods and terminology
0:19:34 - Opportunities to engage and learn from Indigenous practices
0:23:33 - Thoughts on institutional boundaries and hurdles
0:29:12 - Discussing human well-being
0:35:30 - A research-to-policy case study on Dungeness crab
0:45:11 - Co-governance vs co-management
0:49:54 - Thoughts on First Nations research progress co-management
0:53:44 - Fisheries Congress insights
0:57:29 - Final advice for researchers considering work with Indigenous Peoples

Links
https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-first-nation...

This podcast is adapted from a guest talk that Elder Marshall delivered in the co-management course offered by Cloudberry [http://www.cloudberry.cc]

Elder Marshall discusses Two-Eyed Seeing in-depth and emphasizes the importance of respecting nature and coming together to improve planetary health. He has championed the concept of "Two-Eyed Seeing", which focuses on improving perspectives and harmonizing with nature by looking at issues through multiple knowledge systems.

Marshall emphasizes the importance of living and acting in an ecologically sustainable way to ensure future generations can thrive. He argues that science should be used to address environmental harm and not to cause further damage.

Overall, Elder Marshall stresses the need for collective action and reframing our relationship with the natural world to safeguard it for future generations.

Chapters
[0:00:00] Introduction
[0:03:21] Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo's introduction of Elder Albert Marshall
[0:06:39] Elder Albert Marshall's welcome and introduction
[0:07:38] Elder Marshall discusses Two-Eyed Seeing
[0:18:12] Elder Marshall discusses Two-Eyed Seeing in more detail
[0:24:40] The connection between land and sustainability
[0:33:15] "...the most profound way that I can express it..."
[0:39:01] "...it's an an invitation..."

Netukulimk is the use of the natural bounty provided by the Creator for the self-support and well-being of the individual and the community. Netukulimk is achieving adequate standards of community nutrition and economic well-being without jeopardizing the integrity, diversity, or productivity of our environment. - http://www.uinr.ca

News
Six Nova Scotians among new Order of Canada appointees
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-s...

This podcast is adapted from a guest talk that Dr. Deborah McGregor delivered in the co-management course offered by Cloudberry [http://www.cloudberry.cc]

She shares her wisdom and expertise on Indigenous Knowledge Systems (IKS) and she begins by emphasizing that Indigenous Peoples were complete societies with their own laws and governance for thousands of years. She discusses working at Environment Canada to help scientists understand Indigenous Knowledge in the context of their science-based work.

Dr. McGregor also shares insights on how Indigenous Knowledge exists within holistic systems and is often embedded in everyday life, not just as isolated facts. She describes the challenges in integrating Indigenous worldviews into management, articulates the action-oriented "verb" nature of IKS and the importance of supporting community efforts to revitalize knowledge systems for the long term.

Chapters
0:00:00 Introduction
0:03:51 Where Indigenous Knowledge has been and is going
0:13:47 Indigenous Knowledge sharing and ethical responsibilities
0:17:59 Indigenous Knowledge and its use in various contexts
0:27:27 Indigenous Knowledge and its protection
0:35:31 Thoughts on Indigenous Science
0:38:22 Question about moving from extraction to reconciliation
0:42:18 A question about the spiritual aspect of IKS

News
UCalgary awarded 2 prestigious Canada Excellence Research Chairs
https://ucalgary.ca/news/ucalgary-awa...

Selected publication
Indigenous Knowledge Systems in Environmental Governance in Canada
https://kula.uvic.ca/index.php/kula/a...

This podcast talks about wildlife co-management in the Tłįcho territory of the Northwest Territories. Jody Pellissey, Executive Director of the Wekʼèezhìi Renewable Resources Board (WRRB), shares her 25 years of experience with co-management boards. She describes the WRRB structure and mandate, as well as their use of both Indigenous knowledge and science in decision-making. A major focus is caribou management due to population declines, total hunting bans, and predator control programs. The importance of Indigenous knowledge systems and balancing traditional knowledge with science-based research is emphasized. The challenges of coordinating management across jurisdictions have also been addressed.

0:00:00 - Coal management board meetings and their importance
0:11:34 - Co-management board's use of indigenous knowledge systems
0:20:11 - Indigenous knowledge and caribou management
0:31:02 - Caribou management and population decline in Canada
0:37:51 - Caribou management and co-management in Labrador and Nunavut
0:44:36 - Wildlife management and conservation efforts
0:46:03 - Caribou conservation and co-management board decisions

Additional reading
www.wrrb.ca