Leq’á:mel First Nation worked with NAI and partner organizations to create a natural asset inventory (the “Project”) that Leq’á:mel could apply in collaboration with other First Nation and Crown governments to restore or protect natural lands and waters in a way that supports Indigenous rights and responsibilities. As Phase 1 of these efforts, the Project’s objectives were to:
- Interweave Indigenous knowledge, worldviews, and perspectives into a natural asset inventory and begin to embody an Etuaptmumk/Two-EyedSeeing approach
- Consider initial steps to design a natural asset management program for watershed-scale decision-making, relationship building, and guardianship to meet shared long-term ecosystem health goals while upholding Leq’á:mel Laws, Rights, Title and Jurisdiction
- Develop both a Cumulative Effects Ranking and a Leq’á:mel Vitality Ranking that supports Leq’á:mel’s decision-making within a portion of their territory, and gives confidence to Leq’á:mel citizens that their values and interests are being protected
- Create an online map visualization tool that includes Leq’á:mel and Western science knowledge for Leq’á:mel staff
- Provide all information from this project to Leq’á:mel in an accessible and usable way that aligns with the principles of Ownership, Control, Access and Protection (OCAP)
Indigenous and non-Indigenous data, as well as approaches to managing data, were integrated into the inventory.
Watch Leq’á:mel First Nation staff and members discuss the project in their own words:
A Tool for Indigenous Data Ownership, Land Use, and Referrals Processes
The Project provides a tool (the inventory) and approach that helps LFN improve land use and landscape management decisions within their traditional territories, empowering their stewardship abilities and the assertion of their Indigenous rights.
More specifically, Leq’á:mel—like other First Nations with limited capacity—currently relies substantially on data developed for and provided by other parties, such as forestry or mining companies. If Leq’á:mel can amalgamate Western and Indigenous data sets into a system they design, own, and manage, they are better able to support their decision-making process, whether in regards to leadership, the referrals system or planning decisions within the Lands and Natural Resources Departments for projects, cultural practices, restoration and other Leq’á:mel priorities. The natural asset inventory provides this data system.
One practical use would be to support a more effective referrals process that serves the land use priorities of Leq’á:mel First Nation. ‘Referrals’ are the process the BC provincial government uses as part of its ‘Duty to Consult’ First Nations when there are proposed developments in a First Nation’s territory. As the referral would focus narrowly on development and corporate interests, it is up to the Nation to understand and provide evidence with respect to potential overlapping, long-term impacts to the land, resources, and community’s traditional uses. LFN has been working at collecting the data, stories and mapping to be able to respond to these referrals, including efforts with their Guardians Program to develop, catalogue and create traditional use protection plans for water, fish, forestry, food and medicine harvesting, as well as culturally significant sites. Supporting Leq’á:mel’s effective engagement in referrals was a significant project driver.
Approaching Two-Eyed Seeing and Ethical Space in Natural Asset Management
Building on previous efforts in Treaty One Territory, this Project sought to apply a Two-Eyed Seeing and Ethical Space approach to help natural asset management evolve and uphold Indigenous ways of knowing alongside Western approaches. Guided by these concepts but also acknowledging that there is no accepted way to apply them in a natural asset management context, Leq’á:mel and NAI agreed on specific parameters to ensure shared understanding, integrate Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Biocultural Indicators, and uphold Indigenous leadership and data sovereignty.
As work with the Nation is uniquely guided by Leq’á:mel knowledge, the Two-Eyed Seeing approach operates within their concept of Shxwelí, which is defined in Leq’á:mel interviews as the spirit and interconnectedness of all things. To evaluate (for the purposes of natural asset management) the lands and waters of the Nation’s territory using appropriate Leq’á:mel ways of knowing, an understanding of how all things are.
Partners
The Project Partners are made up of members from several organizations; members from Leq’á:mel First Nation comprised staff from the Lands Department and the Natural Resources Department, including experts in Referrals, GIS, Water, Forestry, Fisheries and the Guardians Program. NAI’s multi-disciplinary team included technical assistance from Green Analytics, and incorporating previous work carried out by Reciprocity, who had worked on traditional use and knowledge studies, and Dillon Consulting who assisted in the creation of Leq’á:mel’s Land Use Plan.
This project was made possible with funding from the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia.
Featured image credit : Kilby Zeeb / Leq’á:mel First Nation
