In many Indigenous Nations across Turtle Island, animals and plants are not simply natural resources—they are relatives, teachers, and integral parts of local and regional Indigenous governance, ceremony, and survival. As climate change disrupts ecological systems, it also impacts the cultural fabric and intergenerational teachings of Indigenous Peoples who rely on what are known as cultural keystone species. These are species that hold significant cultural importance and whose presence and health are deeply tied to identity, tradition, and collective health and well-being.
Species such as moose, caribou, and medicinal plants face unprecedented threats due to rising temperatures, habitat degradation, and shifting seasonal patterns. Their movement, availability, and vitality are changing in ways that ripple through Indigenous food systems, languages, ceremonies, and laws, ultimately impacting Nationhood itself.
Caribou Declines and the Innu Nation’s Loss of Relational Balance
The George River caribou herd, once among the largest in the world, has plummeted by more than 90% over the past few decades. The Innu Nation of Labrador and parts of Quebec, whose cultural and spiritual systems are interwoven with the caribou’s life, have raised serious concerns about the herd’s collapse. Innu Elders describe caribou as a primary food source and a spiritual relative that teaches respect, humility, and reciprocity.
Caribou migrations are becoming increasingly erratic due to a combination of warming temperatures, the encroachment of mining and hydroelectric projects, and changing vegetation patterns that alter forage quality. Industrial development on traditional Innu lands has further fragmented the caribou’s migratory routes, making survival even more difficult.
Moose and the Melting North: A Disrupted Kinship in the Yukon and Northern BC
Further west, moose populations—another cultural keystone species—are declining steeply in parts of the Yukon and northern British Columbia. The Taku River Tlingit, Kaska Dena, and other First Nations have sounded alarms as moose habitat becomes increasingly unstable due to a mix of warming winters, tick infestations, and changes in predator-prey dynamics. Warmer winters reduce snowpack, allowing predators such as wolves and bears to more easily access moose calves. In contrast, once controlled by cold snaps, parasites such as winter ticks now thrive and cause severe stress or death in moose populations.
In 2003, the Taku River Tlingit First Nation’s Our Land is Our Future publication emphasizes the sacred relationship with ecology and highlights the importance of Indigenous-led conservation. Their monitoring programs which include insights on Moose activity within territory combine Western science with traditional tracking methods passed down through generations.
The loss of moose also limits access to vital winter protein sources and affects family harvesting traditions, teaching systems, and food sharing networks.
Medicinal Plants on the Move: Cultural Displacement in the Land
Due to climate change, medicinal plants such as sweetgrass, Labrador tea, sage, and cedar are shifting further north or to higher altitudes. This affects not only the availability of culturally and spiritually important medicines but also the teachings and ceremonies surrounding their harvest.
The Mi’kmaq Nation in Nova Scotia has observed that Labrador tea and other traditional plants are now harder to find in their usual harvesting areas. Harvesters must travel farther or rely on intergenerational knowledge to locate new growth zones—if those zones are accessible at all. This displacement impacts community well-being, especially for those who use plant medicines for healing, ceremony, and seasonal rites.
This phenomenon, often called “climate-driven cultural displacement,” erodes knowledge transmission, weakens land-based education, and poses challenges for climate adaptation rooted in traditional ecological knowledge.
Honouring Responsibilities: Indigenous-Led Stewardship as Climate Response
Despite these challenges, Indigenous Nations are leading efforts to safeguard local ecosystems by documenting and protecting culturally significant species. The First Nations Guardians Initiative is one of several programs that empower Indigenous communities to steward their lands and monitor the health of key species. Indigenous Guardians collect data, engage youth, and revitalize cultural protocols tied to plant and animal life.
Efforts like these are critical, not just for conservation but also for revitalizing Indigenous laws and land relationships. These actions reflect the teachings of many Elders who assert that it is not humanity that manages the land, but rather the land that governs humanity and our relationships with it. Respecting cultural keystone species is, ultimately, about respecting the Nations that have stewarded them for millennia.
Blog by Rye Karonhiowanen Barberstock
(Image Credit : Lesly Derksen, Unsplash)
