donna hurlburt importance of aboriginal traditional knowledge
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Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge in the
Assessment of Species at Risk:
COSEWIC’s ATK Subcommittee
Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge in the
Assessment of Species at Risk:
COSEWIC’s ATK Subcommittee
Donna Hurlburt, Co-chair
ATK Subcommittee, COSEWIC
10 October 2012
Donna Hurlburt, Co-chair
ATK Subcommittee, COSEWIC
10 October 2012
Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Subcommittee (ATK SC)
2 Co-chairs & 10 members (2 or 4 yrs)
Nominated by National Aboriginal Organizations
• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
• Métis National Council,
• Native Women‟s Association of Canada
• Assembly of First Nations
• Congress of Aboriginal Peoples
Ministerial appointments; “hats off at the door”
Status assessment only, not SARA management or recovery
Harlequin Duck
What is ATK?
No official definition for COSEWIC purposes, but has the following elements:
World view or way of knowing - includes ecological,
utilitarian, social and spiritual values; Humans are part of Natural World
Long-term descriptive data passed down through orally over many generations; localized
Information held by elders & resource users about species’ biology
Information in published reports or present-day information collected on Aboriginal lands
• Aboriginal names
• Species distribution
• Movement patterns
• Habitat types & health
• Changes in population size
• Body condition noticed in harvest
• Species interactions
• Potential threats
• Existing Aboriginal management
Relevant ATK could include:
COSEWIC does not need information on cultural significance, medicinal or spiritual use
ATK SC Prioritization of Species
ATK Source Report ATK Assessment
Report ATK Gathering
Report
All species to
be assessed
by COSEWIC
COSEWIC Status Report
COSEWIC ATK Reports
ATK Process and Protocols Guidelines for COSEWIC
Guidelines Development
Draft prepared by Process & Protocol Working Group
Draft reviewed by Knowledge Holders
Ontario Elders Workshop, Thunder Bay, ON (Feb „08)
West Elders Workshop, Edmonton, AB (Mar „08)
East/Quebec Elders Workshop, Halifax, NS (Oct „08)
North Elders Workshop, Rankin Inlet, NU (Jul „09)
Numerous other presentations to Aboriginal groups,
including NACOSAR
Final draft reviewed by subset of elders, Sault Ste Marie,
ON (Oct „09)
Approved by COSEWIC (Apr „10)
Purpose of Protocol
Educate contractors and facilitate
interactions between contractor &
Aboriginal communities
Ensure that ATK is recognized as a
very significant GIFT to be treated
with respect and integrity for the
benefit of species
Does not replace existing
community protocols
Guiding Principle #1-
Aboriginal communities are
presumed to be the
primary bodies to facilitate
access to ATK in species
assessment.
Access is subject to local
laws, protocols & practices.
Whooping Crane
Guiding Principle #2
To use ATK in
species assessment,
permission must be
secured from the ATK
Holders of such
knowledge.
Eskimo Curlew
Atlantic Walrus
Guiding Principle #3
ATK is to be treated
as public knowledge
only with the approval
of the ATK Holders, in
culturally appropriate ways.
Guiding Principle #4
ATK is to be given
equal recognition and
value with Western
Science & Community Knowledge.
COSEWIC ATK Process and Protocols
Guidelines
1. Community Approvals
2. Ethics Review
3. Completion of Permits
4. Prior Informed Consent
5. Interview with ATK Holder(s)
6. Info Review with ATK Holder(s)
7. ATK Integration into status
report
8. Post Assessment Meeting
Communication
Success: COSEWIC wants to include ATK
• Considered part of collective knowledge about a
species (fills knowledge gaps, corroborate
existing knowledge)
• Treated equal to other forms of knowledge in
status reports
• Has stalled assessments if ATK will be available
within 6 months
• Has re-opened assessments if new knowledge
made available
• Species Specialist Subcommittees ask for ATK
Challenges: Sharing ATK
• Selective use of ATK - IUCN criteria, Threats,
Management, Designatable units
• Must be shared in a public report
• Can protect sensitive information, risks unclear
• Must be available to COSEWIC
• Must know about it; must be gathered
• Need evidence (transparency, accountability)
• Needs to be referenced (living document)
• ATK is locally variable & evolves – no “one
stop shopping & constant need to update
Other than Wildlife Management Boards, Aboriginal peoples are rarely providing ATK directly to COSEWIC
• Internet searches (community or researcher reports)
• Court cases
• Environmental assessments
• Departmental sharing of ATK Reports on marine species from AFSAR, AAROM, etc.
• Recovery planning
Issues
• Capacity – Communities & COSEWIC
• Fear of unknown
• Mistrust
• Contract wording
• Lack of communication / Failure to be informed
• Reactive sharing
• Taking responsibility
Recommendations
1. Increased financial resources for ATK
SC
– ATK gathering is expensive and currently
impossible on current funding
– Reliance on publicly available information is
inappropriate
– Need for Information storage & database
development
– Subcommittee capacity
Recommendations
2. Need for Community education on
SARA
– Some education within national and
regional organizations, but grassroots
have little knowledge of SARA and
COSEWIC
– Little knowledge of implications of not
sharing knowledge
– Need to alleviate concerns of sharing
(little precedence on how ATK might
impact Aboriginal & Treaty Rights)
Recommendations
3. Need enhanced Community capacity to
manage ATK and associated activities
– Aboriginal communities need ability to
gather and store ATK within their own
communities
– Communities usually only have 1
person to deal with environmental
issues; many complain that they cannot
keep up with requests associated with
legislation or consultation
Recommendations
4. Need for improved flexibility in
processes
– Environment Canada processes (e.g.
intellectual property issues, contracting)
and COSEWIC processes (e.g. timelines,
single-species approaches) to be more
in-tune with Aboriginal needs and ways
of being
Recommendations
5. Improve opportunities for participation
– Need for relationship building (ATK not
readily shared with strangers for
unknown purposes)
– Need for communication (candidate
species, outcomes of assessments,
opportunities to share ATK)
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