Tag: conservation

The open letter below emerged from the confronting colonialism in conservation research project. It complements the report “Complexities of Confronting Colonialism in Conservation” and calls on BC Parks to prioritize the aspirations of local Indigenous Nations in future planning for Golden Ears and all parks currently managed by the province of British Columbia.

Open letter to BC Parks about the future of Golden Ears Park, and all park lands

Dear BC Parks,

I recently learned about the consultation sessions and survey you are conducting regarding the future of what is currently known as Golden Ears Park. I understand you are seeking input from “stakeholders, residents, and the community” to produce a Recreation Facility Plan. The lands that today make up Golden Ears were claimed by the province as park lands almost 100 years ago, but they have been cared for by Indigenous Peoples since time immemorial. I am aware that consultations are ongoing with the nations that have relationships to these lands, including Katzie First Nation, Kwantlen First Nation, Matsqui First Nation, Tsawwassen First Nation, Stó:lō Nation, In-SHUCKch Nation, Sts’Ailes First Nation, and the St’at’imc/Lillooet Tribal Council.

While I do not speak for these nations, as a Stó:lō woman I have strong familial and ancestral ties to this territory and a spiritual connection to the emerald green waters of the creek that flows into what we know today as Alouette Lake. Thus I feel a responsibility to respond to your invitation for feedback. The recreation of settlers has long been prioritized over the rights of Indigenous Peoples to access and govern our own territories, and the well-being of non-human beings. In line with BC Parks’ own Reconciliation Action Plan 2021-2024, as well as the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, the BC Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution, and the Calls to Justice of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, I urge you to you respect the sovereignty and self-determination of these nations in your efforts to plan for the future of Golden Ears Park, and for all other lands that are currently managed by BC Parks.

As sovereign governments, Indigenous Nations have the right to make their own demands concerning parks that lie within their territories. However, I would like to make a general call for BC Parks to demonstrate a more substantial commitment to accept their responsibilities toward local nations. It is not enough to consult these nations tokenistically, or to simply add a land acknowledgement to park materials and websites. Instead, BC Parks should prioritize the aspirations of these nations in any future planning and decision-making processes, and commit to honestly confronting the lasting impacts of colonialism on its operations and management.

In the spirit of supporting BC Parks to fulfill these responsibilities, I suggest that, at a minimum, the following commitments should be made:

• Ensuring Indigenous access and cultural safety: Expand local nations’ access to BC Parks, including by: ensuring access for traditional uses such as hunting, gathering, fishing, and ceremony; working with nations to designate certain dates and times when only they can access the parks; and waiving any entrance, parking, and camping fees or pass requirements;
• Moving toward shared stewardship: Develop, adapt, and implement emerging models for genuine shared stewardship, co-governance, and co-management of park lands between BC Parks and the appropriate local Indigenous Nations (as committed to in the BC Parks Reconciliation Action Plan);
• Supporting Indigenous leadership: Support Indigenous Nations in their pursuit of Indigenous-led conservation and land management and governance, including through Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) and Indigenous Guardian programs;
• Renaming parks: Proactively invite and support Indigenous Nations to guide the reclaiming of Indigenous place names, including the renaming of existing parks, reserves, rivers, etc. (rather than putting the burden on nations to initiate this process);
• Amplifying Indigenous presence: Identify and fund additional Indigenous-led opportunities to make Indigenous Nations’ presence, knowledge, and language more visible (including e.g. collaborating with nations to create signs, guided trails, and educational materials about their nations in ways that centre their histories, knowledges, governance, and languages – as already committed to in the BC Parks Reconciliation Action Plan);
• Centering Indigenous knowledges: Respect the integrity of the whole ecosystem of the park, including all non-human beings that have the park as their territory, prioritize the physical and spiritual health and wellbeing of the ecosystem over perceived entitlements to human recreation; adopt a rights of nature approach to park governance;
• Engaging ethically with Indigenous peoples and knowledges: Value Indigenous peoples’ knowledges about their own territories, appropriately compensate and/or permanently hire Indigenous knowledge holders to share this knowledge, while respecting Indigenous intellectual sovereignty by only accessing and sharing knowledge when deemed appropriate by the nations; and,
• Confronting the colonial legacy of BC Parks: Engage in ongoing self-study to examine BC Parks’ role in the historical and ongoing colonization of Indigenous Peoples and lands, identify opportunities to enact repair for this harm, support ongoing education for BC Parks staff about the colonial dynamics of conservation (including preparing staff to engage ethically with Indigenous collaborators), and make the learning from this process public.

According to BC Parks, there are currently 1,036 provincial parks, recreation areas, conservancies, ecological reserves and protected areas covering over 14% of the BC provincial land base. All of these lands are Indigenous lands, and as Indigenous Peoples we hold the most knowledge about how to care for and steward these lands. These lands are not just where our ancestors lived, they remain our relations and responsibilities. A growing movement is emerging that emphasizes Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination in land conservation. I believe there are many important opportunities for Indigenous Nations to work alongside settler organizations to steward our lands. However, it is crucial that these collaborations are built on a long-term commitment on the part of settlers to interrupt ongoing colonial dynamics and develop genuine relationships with our Nations. Without such commitments, the promises of reconciliation made by public agencies like BC Parks will continue to serve as superficial gestures, while underlying colonial dynamics persist. It is essential for settlers to take meaningful action toward building relationships with Indigenous Nations, and with the land itself, that are grounded in trust, respect, reciprocity, consent, and accountability.

Thank you for your consideration of this letter.

Sincerely,

Dani Pigeau, Sisamia
dani.pigeau.stolo@gmail.com

Relevant resources

Arngna’naaq, K. et al. (2020). Realizing Indigenous law in co-management. The Gordon Foundation and Jane Glassco Northern Fellowship. 

Artelle, K. A. et al. (2022). Decolonial model of environmental management and conservation: Insights from Indigenous-led grizzly bear stewardship in the Great Bear Rainforest. Ethics, Policy & Environment, 24(3), 283-323.

Buschman, V. Q. (2022). Framing co‐productive conservation in partnership with Arctic Indigenous peoples. Conservation Biology, e13972.

Indigenous Circle of Experts. (2018). We rise together. Achieving Pathway to Canada Target 1 through the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas in the spirit and practice of reconciliation. 

McGregor, D., Whitaker, S., & Sritharan, M. (2020). Indigenous environmental justice and sustainability. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 43, 35-40.

Murdock, E. G. (2022). Conserving dispossession? A genealogical account of the colonial roots of Western conservation. Ethics, Policy & Environment.

Parks Canada. (2019). Mapping change: Fostering a culture of reconciliation within Parks Canada. 

Reo, N. J. et al (2017). Factors that support Indigenous involvement in multi-actor environmental stewardship. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 13(2), 58-68

Stein, S., Ahenakew, C., & Oliveira da Silva Huni Kui, S (2023). Complexities of confronting colonialism in conservation.

Todd, Z. (2022). Indigenous conservation funding must reflect Canada’s true debt to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. The Conversation. 

Truer, D. (2021). Return the national parks to the tribes. The Atlantic.

Stein, S., Ahenakew, C., & Oliveira da Silva Huni Kui, S (2023). Complexities of confronting colonialism in conservation.

In response to the mainstreaming of reconciliation as well as growing demands for decolonization and #LandBack, settler conservation organizations in what is currently known as Canada have begun to confront their historical and ongoing complicity in colonialism, including the displacement and dispossession of Indigenous Peoples. By “setter conservation organizations” we mean public and private conservation organizations, land trusts, protected areas, parks, public agencies, and other entities focused on land and environmental protections that are not only led by settlers but are also dominated by settler staff and boards, and predominantly organized according to the norms and values of western conservation.

As Iñupiaq (Inuit) conservation biologist Victoria Qutuuq Buschman (2022) observes, “Many researchers and organizations are calling for the end of colonial approaches [to conservation] in favor of those that support Indigenous communities” (p. 2). However, in practice, the work of interrupting and reorienting inherited colonial approaches to conservation is extremely challenging and complex. It is often only through the process of actually attempting change that settler conservation organizations begin to realize the full extent and complexity of the difficulties and opportunities that are involved in this work, and the stamina that is required to sustain it through the inevitable ups and downs. This report examines some of these dynamics.

No single text or resource about confronting colonialism in conservation will be universally relevant for all audiences. While this report may be useful to others, it was written primarily for an audience of settler conservation organizations. This report intends to support people (especially settlers) in these organizations to grapple with some of the complexities and challenges involved in efforts to rethink mainstream conservation practices in ways that are more accountable to Indigenous Peoples and lands. Drawing on relevant critical literatures, reports, case studies, and interviews with conservation leaders, the report can serve as a resource for organizations either beginning this work or seeking to deepen their efforts in this area. Although the report focuses on the Canadian context, it will likely have relevance in settler colonial countries as well.

The report does not offer definitive answers, prescriptive best practices, or universally-relevant formulas for change. Instead, it: reviews the colonial foundations of western conservation; maps current conversations within the field of conservation, especially the complexities and challenges that arise in efforts to confront colonialism; reflects on lessons learned from the existing efforts of settler conservation organizations to enact change, including learning from both successes and failures; offers some provisional orienting frameworks for those engaging in this work; and gestures toward possible pathways forward in the short-, medium-, and long-term.

Although we do not prescribe a specific destination for this work, we suggest that if settler organizations seek to confront colonialism in conservation, they will need to start by accepting responsibility for their complicity in historical and ongoing colonial harm and committing to enacting material and relational repair with Indigenous Peoples. This is not a one-time activity but rather entails a long-haul journey of learning and unlearning that requires honesty, humility, and (individual and organizational) maturity.