Session Description
Stewardship of the land and living in a reciprocal relationship with the Earth and its living beings is a duty recognized by many Indigenous peoples. As a result of colonialism, this has become known as environmental advocacy. Indigenous people now engage with settler institutions to protect themselves and the life forces that cannot speak up by centering Traditional Knowledge, which recognizes the Spirit inherent within all living beings, the land, and water. These values cannot be properly valued against the indicators set by the settler-state in its impact assessment processes. In order to preserve the fullness of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation's Denesuline people, the Nation has worked diligently to produce decolonial work; Indigenous Knowledge is the foundation, and Western science works to answer a lifetime of questions stemming from observed changes in the landscape and the overlooked cumulative impacts of 65 years of fossil fuel development.
Rapid changes in the environment challenge the ACFN’s resilience, governance, and traditional stewardship. Our presentations reconnect impact assessment with the spirit of the land by integrating cultural and spiritual water indicators with hydrology to strengthen decision-making, rebuild trust, and protect water, culture, and Treaty rights for generations. This session explores how the ACFN-DLRM uses the Knowledge passed down orally to bring back the Spirit of the land. Our community-based participatory research approach has improved our ability to represent our interests and concerns within settler institutions, giving us better leverage in pursuit of the affirmation of self-governance in our homelands.
Session Summary
For ACFN, reclaiming the land is reconnecting with its Spirit. This knowledge grounds our work as we develop cultural and spiritual indicators, assess cumulative impacts, and prepare to manage the impacts of climate change in a province determined to ignore the lessons of the past as we move into the future.
Session Chair
Keji Banjoko
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation - Dene Lands and Resource Management
Canada
Session Co-chair
Janelle Flett
Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation - Dene Lands and Resource Management
Canada