Fraser Lake Indigenous Solutions

Year 2010
Proponent University of Victoria
Project type Governance
FSWP funding source DFO Fraser Basin Initiative
Grant amount $35,000.00
Total project value $128,800.00
ID number FSWP10-D33-P

Location: Upper Fraser, Upper Fraser

Project Summary

SUMMARY

The Fraser Lake Indigenous Solutions Project involves Indigenous engagement of traditional knowledge regarding salmon habitat in Fraser lake with the Stellat’en First Nation. This project will incorporate hearing from traditional knowledge keepers regarding ancient strategies for maintaining healthy salmon and will provide through training and workshops Indigenous solutions for a sustainable future for generations of salmon, the Stellat’en First Nation and the greater Fraser Lake community.

OVERVIEW

The Fraser Lake Indigenous Solutions Project involves Indigenous engagement of traditional knowledge (listening to Elders’ teachings in workshops and interviewing them) regarding salmon habitat in Fraser Lake with the Stellat’en First Nation. This will incorporate hearing from traditional knowledge keepers regarding ancient strategies for maintaining healthy salmon, and will provide Indigenous solutions for a sustainable future for generations of salmon, the Stellat’en First Nation and greater Fraser Lake community.

The project will involve gathering Stellat’en First Nation traditional knowledge and disseminating this information within the community of Stellat’en First Nation, informing policy development with the wider community of Fraser Lake. This will broader decision-making about water quality and climate change to include the Stellat’en First Nations’ perspectives. By involving youth, elders, and families at the community level the information gathered will be used to inform curriculum at the elementary level and policy at the local and regional level for a sustainable future.

These traditional knowledge-based best practices will be shared locally, regionally, nationally and internationally building capacity where there has been little before between First Nations and climate change solution experts from UNBC, UVic, and potentially UBC and SFU. The research process will involve a sharing of knowledge between traditional Indigenous scientists, western scientists, and local municipal policy-makers (Fraser Lake Municipality), by means of a series of workshops and a publication or video (depending on the direction given by Stellat’en First Nation). (Please refer to Appendix B for methodologies proposed)

Year One 2009           Funded by the Sisters of St. Anne, Victoria, BC

Dr Sanderson (Cree on her mother’s side and a former cardiac nurse) is the Canadian Secretariat for the World Forum on Water and Peace, which is in its 2nd year of operation leading to the world forum in 2010 in Bolivia. Information from this project will be disseminated according to the wishes of the community, thereby retaining the protection of traditional intellectual knowledge. It has the potential to be shared both nationally and internationally. There have been several years in the planning and development of an Indigenous World Forum on Water and Peace to which this project can contribute as a community, as a ‘best practices’ demonstration project.

Dr. Sanderson has participated in a wide range of activities to raise support for the Indigenous World Forum on Water and Peace (IWFWP) in 2009, including:
* The World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey, March, 2009 - participated on a panel links Traditional Indigenous knowledge and a sustainable pathway for future water policies.
Funded by UNESCO Canada
* The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, New York, May 2009 - organized a side event to engage a wide range of Indigenous peoples in planning for an Indigenous World Forum on Water and Peace - the forum to be held in Bolivia was proposed here by CAPAJ
* The Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), Geneva, August, 2009 - presented to the Secretariat of EMRIP and to the global Indigenous caucus the need for an IWFWP.

What has been achieved to date:

Phase One Fall, 2009     Planning and Assessment     Funded by MITACS and EcoAction
This phase involved:
* Meeting with Stellat’en First Nation members, which provided guidance as to the needs identified by their community members. This included Elders, Chief and council, the environmental coordinator.
* Identified Stellat’en First Nations’ priorities in workshop content. The workshop topics included:
_ Climate change, an overview
_ The history of climate change: both scientific milestones and Indigenous perspectives
_ Prevention of climate change: traditional teachings about water
_ Adaptation to climate change
_ Indigenous water and climate change policy development
_ Indigenous mapping

The required consents were achieved, to satisfy both the community’s protection of traditional knowledge, as well as the university ethics committee. (Please see attached letters of consent)

a.  An action-oriented research methodology was used to determine Stellat’en priorities in caring for their environment. The researcher will spend time listening to a range of community members to identify the issues that they are concerned with in the protection of the salmonid habitat

b.  A survey (Please see Appendix A) was developed in collaboration with the project leader, the environmental coordinator from Stellat’en First Nation, and experts from University of Northern BC (Dr. Stephen Dery and Kyle Aben). This survey will identify the current practices of energy use and pollution of all four elements, land, air, water and earth. It also includes open-ended questions about how Stellat’en people view climate change. The question, what does climate change mean to you? will be asked. The survey will be offered in two environments:
* at community meetings, in focus groups
* door to door survey conducted by local researchers

c.  Preparation for the training of community researchers that will take the survey to the homes in Stellat’en. During the Assessment phase, it was determined through meetings with the environment coordinator, that all homes will be approached by community researchers (with one survey done in each home), as well as surveying the focus groups at the community meetings.

A workshop is projected for the spring, on the topic of Indigenous research methodologies, which will give community members additional tools to conduct their own research. At this workshop, it will also be identified if and how community members wish to record their traditional knowledge.

d. First workshop: presentation of doctoral research of Darlene Sanderson to community members, demonstrating:
_ listening to Elders’ teaching about water and their traditional ecological knowledge,
_ book creation on early childhood education on language, water and climate change and
_ how water policies that recognize traditional ecological knowledge can be developed that will address climate change issues. What was achieved in the context of my thesis can be used as a model for Stellat’en First Nation.

OBJECTIVES

Objective #1 * Health promotion: Enhance the health and well being of the fresh water habitat for salmon in Fraser Lake. Refer to Appendix B
Objective #2 * Cultural resilience: Enhance the transmission of traditional knowledge between children, youth and elders sharing as appropriate with the wider community (locally, nationally, internationally) regarding watershed health and sustainability. Refer to Appendix B

Objective #3 * Education: Create community education strategies in Fraser Lake to effectively engage diverse populations increasing knowledge and the ability to take actions to benefit watersheds, salmonids and their habitat. Refer to Appendix B

Objective #4 * Build networks and linkages: Enable local government(s), Stellat’en First Nation, stewardship groups and northern communities to work together to address watershed sustainability issues e.g. through training workshops, curriculum development, publications, & presentations. Refer to Appendix B

 

METHODS


Phase 2   Implementation of Research   Spring, 2010
a. January - February, 2010
* Workshops offered
* Surveys conducted by community members
* Interviews conducted by community members with Elders
* Meetings with Elders and community members to identify what knowledge they wish to stay within the community, and what they wish to share
* Possible video/website/publication/children’s book production
b. April-June 2010
* Surveys collated and analyzed by research team
* Interviews analyzed, themes identified
c. Summer, 2010
*  Presentation of findings to the community for community feedback, additions and revisions

Phase 3   Evaluation and post research survey -  Fall, 2010
Developed by the research team to assess changes in the community as a result of the learning that     has taken place

At this time, the Stellat’en First nation may wish to develop their own statements,  regarding climate change strategies and water policies

Phase 4 Dissemination of Knowledge   August - December, 2010
* Children’s book
* Website
* Publication
* Water policies based on Stellat’en traditional teachings
* Best practices shared at the global forum on water


BENEFITS

* Through traditional education and climate change awareness workshops, the Stellat’en First Nation will take a leadership role in identifying actions necessary to protect watershed sustainability and salmonid habitat.
* Combining western science and traditional knowledge the Fraser Lake community will develop a collaborative model for education for habitat and water stewardship.
* Improved water policy and climate change strategies will be a direct outcome of the workshops and will provide best practices models for dissemination and resilient and resistant ecosystems.
* The Stellat’en First Nation will be engaged at all levels of this project (research, implementation and evaluation) and will disseminate the information to other Aboriginal groups and the wider community as appropriate e.g academics and policy makers including unions.


Engage First Nations, government agencies and community groups/NGOs

*  Stellat’en First Nation (& Dr. Stephen Déry UNBC )                                       
* BC Aboriginal Child Care Society)
* Union of BC Indian Chiefs, Assembly of First Nations, UVic Office of Indigenous Affairs
* CUPE- donor and partner (made a presentation to CUPE and Council of Canadians, Ottawa, November, 2009)
* UVic- Dr. Andrew Weaver
* Centre for Aboriginal Health Research- Dr. Jeff Reading hosting water symposium in March, 2010
* UNBC projected symposium on water, March, 2010
* University of Calgary- Beverly Jacobs (Ojibway, former president of Native Women’s Association of Canada, studying climate change)
* University of Alberta- Dr. Makere Stewart-Hawarira (globalization and Indigenous peoples)
* En’owkin Centre- Jeanette Armstrong working with Indigenous Voices regarding an upcoming publication on sustainability from a traditional knowledge perspective
* Indigenous World Forum on Water and Peace as the Canadian Secretariat
* Coast Salish Employment and Training Society- Chief Bruce Underwood
* Intertribal Health Authority-Chief David Bob as partners


Complement or implement local and / or regional plans (e.g., recovery plans, watershed plans)

The information from the workshops will be made available via the web to local and regional health authorities, planners and watershed specialists.


Value-added aspects

Fraser Lake Indigenous Solutions will build capacity for the Stellat’en First Nation and provide opportunities for leadership and mentoring at the workshops. It will provide a forum to discuss and disseminate traditional knowledge in a culturally appropriate manner, to strengthen community partnerships and those with academics, governments and other First Nations and to reach out to policy makers such as POLIS, PICS who are working towards climate change solutions.



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