The story of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples stretches back to long before Europeans settlers first set foot in Newfoundland and Labrador’s L’Anse aux Meadows. These indigenous communities, including what is now referred to as First Nations, Inuit and Métis were not simply a single entity but many diverse communities with their own cultures, languages, practices and beliefs. However, one important cultural practice was shared by all – the oral tradition. This sacred and intricate form of storytelling ensured that knowledge was shared onward from one generation to the next. While this method of knowledge transmission included historical information, events, and family relations, it was also used to pass along detailed illustrations of cultural beliefs, values, customs, rituals, and what is now referred to as traditional ecological knowledge – an intimate knowledge of the land, its resources and wildlife.
Traditional ecological knowledge is an evolving composition that each generation builds upon by including their own observations, perspective and significance. The University of Manitoba’s Dr. Fikret Berkes described it as a “cumulative body of knowledge, practice and belief evolving by adaptive processes and handed down through generations by cultural transmission, about the relationship of living beings (including humans) with one another and with their environment”. This profound understanding, both cumulative and dynamic, builds on the experiences of people as they adapt to a rapidly changing landscape.
Belugas, Beavers, Birds and Blue Ice As a graduate student in 2019, I was conducting a research review when I came across an article where traditional ecological knowledge was gathered in group interviews in a northern indigenous community regarding migratory patterns, population dynamics and local behavior of beluga whales. As a budding indigenous scientist, I was intrigued. During one interview, a local elder shifted the discussion from belugas to the observed increase in the beaver population in the nearby river system. The researcher, who was considering how to best redirect this discussion back to the species in question, was intrigued when the relevance of the beaver was made clear. The elder explained that over recent years, the increase in the beaver population led to an increase in the number of beaver dams constructed in the local watershed where anadromous fish species were known to spawn. This affected the abundance and distribution of fish which are an important food source for marine mammals such as the beluga whale. Throughout the interview, participants were able to discuss in detail their understanding of the topics allowing the researcher to capture a wide range of detailed information much of which would have been missed if the locals had not been included in research efforts. Another example comes from a 2018 avian cholera study conducted in the eastern Canadian Arctic which used information gathered through interviews with local Inuit subsistence hunters who were able to provide information on the temporal scale of decades as well as geographical information within 200 km from their communities. This knowledge (Qaujimajatuqangit in Inuktitut) proved useful in identifying unusual mortality events, including a disease outbreak among bird populations in 2004 which had gone undetected by scientists. Beyond, wildlife and habitat ecology, indigenous knowledge can provide insight in the field of climate change research bridging the gap between historic conditions and the current state of the land (physical conditions, precipitation, vegetation, and wildlife) across large geographic areas. A prime example is found in a study of ‘Blue-Ice’, a term that is common to the Cree, Ojibwe and Ojicree Nations whose subarctic territories are found in the northern boreal forest region of Ontario, Canada. Blue-ice refers to a specific environmental condition that allows for the formation of strong ice at sub-zero temperatures over a period of several weeks, and only in the absence of snow which can weaken the ice. The appearance of blue-ice not only acts as a specific frame of reference for the changes in seasonal cycles but allows for transportation in traditional activities such as hunting and fishing, as well as the delivery of essential community supplies. The disappearance of blue-ice, as observed by indigenous communities, is an indicator of steadily warming temperatures which are already impacting transportation and food and energy security. Researchers have been turning to this knowledge system particularly in northern climes that are remote, difficult to access or lacking in historical data. And why not? Many regions have been meticulously studied by indigenous people who have adapted to it over thousands of years, earning their ability not just to survive, but to thrive for generations by trusting the accuracy and often the repeatability of experiential knowledge of local ecosystems and the services they provide. It is this accuracy and repeatability that lies at the heart of modern scientific methodologies.
Indigenous knowledge and perspectives have a history of being undervalued in many aspects of western society. In the scientific community this knowledge could be seen as less than legitimate, almost equal to ‘hearsay’. However, this is just one among many possible reasons for the lack of indigenous involvement. Others include the distrust of external agencies such as national and provincial governments due to a long history of negative experiences, unclear procedures for participation in processes, cultural and linguistic barriers and possibly the unwillingness to participate in undertakings that may encroach upon, undermine or fail to recognize, indigenous sovereignty.
In recent years, the Government of Canada has officially recognized the value of indigenous contributions to environmental science and resource management. However, the building and maintenance of positive working relationships through the continuation of communication between indigenous communities and scientific researchers remains crucial for ensuring effective joint environmental monitoring initiatives.
The concept of Two Eyed Seeing, or Etuaptmumk in the Mi’kmaw language, began with Dr. Albert Dennis Marshall, a Mi’kmaw elder from Eskasoni First Nation located in Unama’ki (Cape Breton Island), Nova Scotia, Canada. In this way of thinking, one eye acknowledges the strengths of indigenous ways-of-knowing and incorporates this wisdom into western scientific research as seen through the other eye. It is important to note that the guiding principle behind Two Eyed Seeing seeks to avoid the clash of two knowledge systems, but rather weaves them together into an integrated framework in the spirit of co-learning. In Dr. Marshall’s word, “The work can all too easily slip into a lazy, and blue mussels (m ytilis edulis ). w hile tradition members, the general Consensus being that both tokenistic approach in which Etuaptmumk and similar efforts quickly become mere jargon, trivialized, romanticized, co-opted, or used as a ‘mechanism’ where pieces of knowledge are merely assembled in a way that lacks the spirit of co-learning”.
In 2023, Dr. Albert Dennis Marshall was named to the Order of Canada for his work and advocacy in environmental issues, as well as Mi’kmaq language and culture revitalization. This prestigious appointment, honoring those who make extraordinary contributions to the nation, was bestowed by Canada’s first indigenous Governor General, Her Excellency the Right Honorable Mary Simon. krista beardy
promotes sustainable daily living both at home and in the
About the contributor
Krista Beardy is a researcher whose work brings together Western science and Indigenous knowledge, with a focus on bivalves and coastal ecosystems in the Bay of Fundy.
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As published in Issue 2: United in Discovery. Click any page to view it full size.
First published in Issue 2: United in Discovery, the Innately Science newspaper.