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Traditional Ecological Knowledge: The Cornerstone of Indigenous Climate Adaptation in Canada

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In the face of rapidly changing climate conditions, Canada’s Indigenous Peoples are drawing upon millennia of wisdom to adapt and thrive. This ancient knowledge, known as Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK), is proving to be an invaluable resource in the fight against climate change. But what exactly is TEK, and how is it shaping climate adaptation strategies across the country?

Understanding Traditional Ecological Knowledge

Traditional Ecological Knowledge is a cumulative body of knowledge, practices, and beliefs about the relationship between living beings and their environment. Passed down through generations via oral traditions, TEK is deeply rooted in the cultural and spiritual practices of Indigenous communities.

Unlike Western scientific approaches, which often compartmentalize knowledge, TEK embraces a holistic worldview. It recognizes the interconnectedness of all living things and emphasizes the importance of maintaining balance in nature. This perspective is particularly valuable in addressing the complex, interconnected challenges posed by climate change.

TEK in Practice: Climate Change Adaptation Strategies

Across Canada, Indigenous communities are applying TEK to develop effective climate adaptation strategies. These approaches often blend traditional practices with modern technologies, resulting in innovative solutions tailored to local environments.

Water Management and Conservation

In many Indigenous communities, water is seen as a sacred resource that must be protected and used wisely. Traditional water management techniques, such as the construction of small-scale dams and the use of natural filtration systems, are being revived and adapted to address changing precipitation patterns and increased flood risks.

For instance, the Okanagan Nation in British Columbia has been using traditional knowledge to inform their watershed management strategies. By combining TEK with modern scientific data, they’ve developed a comprehensive approach to water conservation that respects both ecological and cultural needs.

(Photo Credit: Zarif Ali, Unsplash)

Sustainable Hunting and Fishing Practices

As climate change alters animal migration patterns and affects fish populations, Indigenous hunters and fishers are adapting their practices to ensure sustainable harvests. This often involves adjusting hunting seasons, diversifying catch methods, and implementing stricter conservation measures.

In Nunavut, Inuit hunters are using their intimate knowledge of sea ice conditions to adapt to rapidly changing Arctic environments. By closely observing ice formation patterns and animal behaviours, they’re able to adjust their hunting strategies while ensuring the long-term sustainability of wildlife populations.

(Photo Credit: Byron Johnson, Unsplash)

Traditional Agriculture and Food Preservation

Indigenous agricultural practices, developed over centuries to withstand environmental fluctuations, are proving remarkably resilient in the face of climate change. Many communities are reviving traditional crop varieties that are better adapted to changing conditions.

In Ontario, Anishinaabe communities are reintroducing traditional “three sisters” agriculture – interplanting corn, beans, and squash. This method not only improves soil health and increases crop yield but also enhances the resilience of food systems to climate impacts.

Case Studies: TEK in Action Across Canada

Coastal First Nations’ Ocean Management in British Columbia

The Coastal First Nations of British Columbia have been at the forefront of integrating TEK into ocean management strategies. Their Guardian Watchmen program combines traditional stewardship practices with modern conservation techniques to monitor and protect marine ecosystems.

Through this program, Indigenous communities are able to track changes in ocean temperatures, monitor fish populations, and implement sustainable harvesting practices. This approach not only helps in adapting to climate change but also ensures the preservation of cultural practices tied to the ocean.

(Image Credit: Getty Images [licenced photo], Unsplash)

Cree Communities’ Fire Management in the Boreal Forest

In the boreal forests of northern Canada, Cree communities are reviving traditional fire management practices to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires. These controlled burning techniques, passed down through generations, help maintain forest health and biodiversity while reducing fuel loads that contribute to larger, more destructive fires.

By integrating these traditional practices with modern firefighting techniques, Cree communities are creating more resilient forests better equipped to withstand the increased fire risks associated with climate change.

(Photo Credit: Izzy Edey, Unsplash)

Inuit Weather Prediction in Nunavut

In Nunavut, Inuit elders are sharing their traditional methods of weather prediction with younger generations and climate scientists. These methods, based on careful observation of cloud patterns, wind directions, and animal behaviors, are proving remarkably accurate in predicting short-term weather changes in the rapidly changing Arctic environment.

By combining this traditional knowledge with modern meteorological data, communities are better able to prepare for extreme weather events and adapt to changing seasonal patterns.

Challenges and Opportunities

While the value of TEK in climate adaptation is increasingly recognized, challenges remain in fully integrating this knowledge with Western scientific approaches. Issues of intellectual property rights, cultural appropriation, and skepticism from some in the scientific community can create barriers to collaboration.

However, there are growing efforts to bridge these gaps. Many universities and research institutions are now partnering with Indigenous communities to conduct collaborative research that respects and incorporates TEK. Government agencies, too, are beginning to recognize the importance of TEK in policymaking, particularly in areas related to environmental management and climate adaptation.

The Future of TEK in Climate Adaptation

As the impacts of climate change intensify, the role of TEK in developing effective adaptation strategies is likely to grow. Indigenous communities across Canada are leading the way in demonstrating how ancient wisdom can be applied to modern challenges.

For non-Indigenous Canadians, there is much to learn from these approaches. By respecting and integrating TEK into broader climate adaptation efforts, we can develop more holistic, effective strategies for facing the challenges ahead.

As we move forward, it’s crucial that we continue to support Indigenous-led climate initiatives and create more opportunities for knowledge sharing between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. Only by working together and respecting diverse knowledge systems can we hope to build a more resilient, sustainable future for all Canadians.

 

– By Rye Karonhiowanen Barberstock

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Addressing Climate Change with Indigenous Science and Environmental Education

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Indigenous science (or Native science) is “a science of the way of knowing the land.” It involves multiple ways of knowing the natural environment and highlights Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK). As part of environmental education, Indigenous science can address climate change by informing government policy, strengthening human connections with nature, and building relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities.

Indigenous scholars are educating policy makers, scientists, and students about Indigenous science in various ways. For example, Dr. Myrle Ballard (Lake St. Martin First Nation), Director of Indigenous Science at Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), raises awareness of Indigenous science through a process of “bridging, braiding, and weaving.” Dr. Ballard encourages better government decision making and collaborative research practices through linkages between Indigenous science and Western Science. In another example, at the University of New Mexico, Dr. Gregory Cajete (Santa Clara Pueblo) teaches about Native science, and encourages students to take responsibility for the environment, while also building a connection to it.

The Bunun People of Taiwan have designed an environmental education program involving TEK that engages their own community and non-Indigenous people. A key intention of the Bunun program is to encourage non-Indigenous people to adopt Indigenous environmental practices to combat climate change. The program strengthens Indigenous practices as a way to counter historical injustices caused by colonization.

Together, Indigenous science and environmental education can influence government policy and Western scientific practices, and foster diverse relationships, to address climate change.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

(Image Credit: Providence Doucet, Unsplash)

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Indigenous Design and Climate Change Adaptation

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Indigenous design draws from Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and brings cultural relevance and innovation to climate change adaptation. Indigenous design is also cognizant and respectful of Indigenous cultural traditions. There are several examples of Indigenous design as it relates to climate change, including practicing cultural burning and building infrastructure and architecture using local sustainable materials harvested locally.

Cultural burning is a form of slow controlled fires. The practice of cultural burning has different purposes among diverse Indigenous communities. In addition to managing wildfires, cultural burning is also practiced for “cultural and language preservation, fuel mitigation, food and medicinal plant revitalization, and habitat enhancement.” Cultural burning is a form of TEK, based on many centuries of experience among Indigenous peoples, and continues to be practiced worldwide. Australian architect, Julia Watson, uses the term “Lo-TEK” to reflect “resilient infrastructures developed by Indigenous people through Traditional Ecological Knowledge.” According to Watson, “Lo-TEK” subverts the term “low-tech,” which is a reference to outdated technology. Watson proposes that the term “Lo-TEK” is a much better description of Indigenous TEK in contemporary designs that work with nature and the climate. In turn, cultural burning is a form of Lo-TEK.

Some examples of Indigenous design in architecture include buildings that minimize environmental impact using sustainable materials like mud, bamboo, and adobe brick. Houses in the Mizoram region of Northeastern India—referred to as Zawlbuk houses—are built using bamboo, which grow readily in the local forests. The houses use “wood, leaves of trees, mud, grass, and straw” and have been known to survive natural disasters, like floods. Building with adobe brick is “an ancient construction method…dating back to 8300 BC” and a useful alternative to wood in arid regions. Adobe brick is used in building houses around the world, including in rural Kyrgyzstan and among the Pueblo in southwestern United States. This  traditional construction method permits a home to remain cool during the day and for the sunbaked bricks to slowly release heat overnight, revealing the adobe brick’s high thermal mass.

Indigenous design, including climate-related TEK, is at great risk of appropriation by non-Indigenous governments and practitioners, if there are no legal frameworks to protect it. Greater respect for, and promotion of, Indigenous engagement is needed to determine if, when, and how TEK is documented and shared. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has created a toolkit to assist Indigenous communities, and those who work with Indigenous peoples, to reflect upon whether TEK practices are documented (or need to be), and if so, how to do so fairly. Given that climate-related Indigenous knowledge has been recognized by the United Nations as a way forward, intellectual property will remain an important challenge to address before more widely integrating Indigenous design in climate change adaptation planning.

In turn, any effort in advancing the application of TEK, and therefore, Indigenous design, in climate change policy will require that Indigenous peoples are not sidelined from sustainable development policy and planning processes.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

(Image Credit: Eric Barbeau, Unsplash)

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How Indigenous Knowledge Helps Manage Climate Change Effects On Human-Water Ecosystems

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Outcomes of climate change on water include rising sea levels, warmer sea surface temperatures, and shifts in precipitation types, timing, and amounts. These outcomes have an impact on Indigenous Peoples’ relationship with water. Indigenous communities continue to draw from Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to maintain the overall vitality of human-water ecosystems in the context of climate change.

Sea surface temperatures have been increasing steadily throughout the 20th century and this trend continues. Changes in ocean temperature affect the ongoing presence of plants, fish life, and other animals. Increases in water temperature have also significantly altered the migration and breeding patterns of sea life, including shellfish. Another key impact is the presence and the frequency of the recurrence of “red tide,” a harmful algal bloom (HAB). Harmful algal blooms are toxic microscopic organisms (also known as cyanobacteria) that feed off the energy of light to grow; they are fatal to marine life, and can make humans sick.

The Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research (SEATOR) network has been monitoring, sampling, and reporting on the levels of toxins among shellfish around the Alaskan Panhandle. SEATOR benefits from Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge to help to predict harmful algal blooms (HAB), reduce poisoning, and harvest shellfish more effectively. Traditional harvesting practices of the Indigenous Peoples of Alaska help to keep Indigenous communities safe from the effects of HAB.

In another example of applying Indigenous Knowledge to manage human-water ecosystems, the Heiltsuk Nation (Bella Bella, British Columbia), on the West Coast of Canada, are applying traditional harvest practices, to facilitate the natural regeneration and resilience of kelp, at a small scale. With the assistance of researchers from the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University, the Heiltsuk Nation are showing how their stewardship practices can help manage the growth of perennial kelp to make the kelp resilient to changes in the climate. University researchers were “motivated by the information needs” of the Heiltsuk Nation and together they co-designed a study to “measure the ecological resilience of feather boa kelp…and determine what environmental variables most affected its recovery.” The combination of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western scientific practices permitted the researchers to explore how the social relationship of the Heiltsuk Peoples to the ecological resilience of their environment are affected by increases in ocean temperatures.

Colonization compounds the effect of climate change (and vice-versa) on human-water ecosystem relationships. In Madagascar, for example, while rising sea levels have displaced Indigenous communities, conventionally, being nomadic, by choice, was also a way for Indigenous Peoples to deal with the unpredictability of the climate. However, a shift to sedentary lifestyles, further entrenched by modernization and colonization, have also affected human-water ecosystem relationships in Madagascar.

Drawing from a wide variety of Indigenous bodies of knowledge rooted in both Indigenous experiences and practices, shed light on different ways to manage climate change effects and to better understand the fine balance of human-water ecosystems in a changing climate.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

(Image Credit: Frank McKenna, Unsplash)

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Inuit Coexistence with Polar Bears in the Context of Climate Change

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Polar bears and humans – especially Inuit – have a symbiotic relationship. This close relationship reveals the impact of climate change on both polar bears and Inuit, and points to the possibilities for climate adaptation.

Several compounding effects of climate threats experienced by polar bears and humans are highlighted by Polar Bears International. For example, climate warming largely created by human and industrial consumption of fossil fuels has led to longer seasonal periods where no Arctic ice is formed. Consequently, polar bears go through longer fasting periods, which in turn decreases the bear population. The potential for polar bear population collapse can be mitigated through conservation practices, including community-based wildlife management and conservation-hunting to counter overharvesting and unregulated commercial and sport hunting. These management practices would also contribute to “preserving the Inuit connection to the land and their cultural identity.”

As the Arctic becomes warmer, and at a fast rate, the relationship of polar bears – a predator at the top of the food chain – with birds and humans, changes. Melting sea ice results in polar bears spending more time on shore and this encourages the likelihood for conflicts with humans. Shrinking sea ice dramatically reduces the polar bears’ usual hunting range, such that the bears will hunt for food alternatives, like bird eggs, on the land. Climate change also slows down ocean currents and can contribute to extreme weather occurrences during the winter months. The wind and ocean currents carry high loads of toxicity and pollutants. When polar bears eat fish and seals, they “absorb [pollutants] at higher levels.” Reducing pollutants will help both the bears and humans, especially in the context weather extremes associated with climate change.

Canada is the home to two-thirds of the world’s polar bear population. Polar bears are a species of concern under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA) and are a protected species under provincial and territorial legislation. Harvest management practices that adapt to climate change assist Inuit to maintain their cultural links with polar bears and other wildlife, and can facilitate the conservation of polar bear species in Canada. The International Union for Conservation and Nature has classified the polar bear as a vulnerable species.

Since 2016, the collaborative research project BEARWATCH has been monitoring the impacts of Arctic climate change through polar bear activity, genomics, and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in and around the Inuit community of Gjoa Haven, located on the southeast coast of King William Island, North of the Arctic Circle. The project’s team has developed a toolkit for analyzing the molecular composition of bear droppings, or bear “scat,” in order to better monitor the polar bear population and to support and sustain Indigenous community-based monitoring programs.

Facilitating meaningful engagement of Inuit in collaborative climate change research and policy development could not only bring recognition and respect for Inuit ways of knowing and livelihoods, but could also help to sustain the strong cultural, environmental, and economic connections between Inuit and polar bears.

By Leela Viswanathan

(Image Credit: Noaa, Unsplash)

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