Literature Review: Local and Traditional Knowledge in the Peel River Watershed Literature Review Local and Traditional Knowledge In the Peel River Watershed _____________________________________ Brenda Parlee and Chelsea Martin I = i Parlee, B. and C. Martin ©2019 Tracking Change Project, University of Alberta All rights reserved. Compiled in October 2016. ii Literature Review: Local and Traditional Knowledge in the Peel River Watershed TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... iii List of Figues and Tables ............................................................................................................. iv Summary Points ............................................................................................................................ 1 Summary of Knowledge by Indicator Theme .......................................................................................... 2 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 2 Methods .......................................................................................................................................... 2 Searching for Secondary Sources of Publically Available Traditional Knowledge ................................. 3 Early Ethnographic Data .......................................................................................................................... 4 Traditional Knowledge and Oral Histories ............................................................................................... 4 Traditional Land Use Studies and Traditional Place Names .................................................................... 4 Ecological Knowledge Studies ................................................................................................................. 5 Assessment/Impact Specific Studies ........................................................................................................ 5 Monitoring Data ....................................................................................................................................... 5 Other ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 The Peel River Watershed............................................................................................................ 6 People of the Peel River Watershed ......................................................................................................... 6 Teetl'it Gwich'in ................................................................................................................................. 6 Vuntut Gwich’in ................................................................................................................................... 6 Tr’on dëk Hwëch’in ............................................................................................................................. 6 Northern Tuctchone.............................................................................................................................. 6 Living on the Land and Well-being ............................................................................................. 7 Traditional Land Use and Place Names...................................................................................... 8 Livelihood and Well-being ......................................................................................................... 11 Water Quality and Water Levels............................................................................................... 11 Fish and Fish Habitat ................................................................................................................ 12 Upper Peel Watershed ............................................................................................................................ 12 Lower Peel Watershed ............................................................................................................................ 13 Ducks and Geese ......................................................................................................................... 15 Disturbance of the Watershed ................................................................................................... 16 Climate Change ........................................................................................................................... 17 Governance and Stewardship .................................................................................................... 18 References .................................................................................................................................... 21 iii Parlee, B. and C. Martin LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Figure 1: Peel Watershed Planning Region 7 Figure 2: Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute—‘Talking Map’ 9 Figure 3: Adhòh tr’ih choo (Moosehide Canoe: Model made by Brian Francis 10 Figure 4: Headwaters of the Peel River 13 Table 1: Survey of Knowledge by Indicator Theme 2 Table 2: Gwich’in Names for Fish Species of the Peel River Watershed 14 iv Literature Review: Local and Traditional Knowledge in the Peel River Watershed SUMMARY POINTS This document is produced for the Tracking Change… project, is a collaborative research initiative led by the University of Alberta involving many Aboriginal organizations, co-management boards, and universities, as well as the Government of Alberta, the Government of the Northwest Territories and the Mackenzie River Basin Board. Funding for the project has been provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, the University of Alberta, the Government of the Northwest Territories, the Mackenzie River Basin Board and in-kind contributions from numerous others. The Peel River Basin is an important trans-boundary watershed that sits within the jurisdictions of the Government of the Yukon and the Government of the Northwest Territories. The watershed is recognized internationally as an important area of ecological biodiversity, but it is also home to many Gwich’in as well as northern Tutchone peoples, and is thus an important landscape with many integrated socio-economic, cultural, and ecological values. The Peel River Watershed is a mountainous area that boasts numerous tributaries, such as Bonnetplume, which are currently valued and recognized by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples for their beauty, pristine waters, and biodiversity. Unlike many other sub-basins of the Mackenzie, the Peel River Watershed has, until recently, been little disturbed by resource development. The recent decision of the Yukon Government to open up the area for mining exploration and development has thus been met with significant concern and opposition by those living in the region and internationally. Early ethnographic work describes the importance of the Peel to local Indigenous communities, including the importance of many of the rivers as transportation corridors and the fish within these rivers as critical to the food security of families who lived and traveled throughout the area. A significant body of local and traditional knowledge has been documented by the Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute that stems from the livelihood practices, observations and experiences of the Teetł'it t Gwich’in peoples. In addition to place names (documented and available as a teaching tool on their website: www.gwich’in.ca), there is a significant body of ethnographic material that has been documented and reported as well as archived though the offices of the Gwich’in Tribal Council. The Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board, also has also produced many reports which speak to the health of the aquatic ecosystem; a lesser extent of this knowledge pertains to the Peel River Watershed when compared to other areas of the Gwich’in Settlement Area. With growing recognition of the importance of the Peel River Watershed as a critical area of biodiversity, there are more opportunities for local Indigenous communities from both the Yukon and Northwest Territories to document their knowledge of this area. However, many gaps exist with respect to the availability of documented local and traditional knowledge in respect of all indicators of aquatic ecosystem health defined in this report. 1 Parlee, B. and C. Martin Table 1: Summary of Knowledge by Indicator Theme Indicator LTK Notable Sources, Programs, Projects Traditional Land Use—Indigenous Contemporary Use—Indigenous Subsistence Values/Historical—Fisheries Commercial Values/ Historical—Fisheries Subsistence Values/ Contemporary —Fisheries Commercial Values/ Contemporary —Fisheries Arctic Borderlands Knowledge Coop Gwich’in Social and Cultural Institute Fish Diversity Gwich’in Renewable Resources Board Fish Health Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation Fish Movements and Migration Government of the Yukon Water Quality Water Flow, Levels Climate Change Effects Effects of Disturbance Traditional Stewardship Practices INTRODUCTION The Peel River Watershed is an important trans-boundary basin that sits within the jurisdictions of the Government of the Yukon and the Government of the Northwest Territories. The watershed is recognized internationally as an important area of ecological biodiversity, but it also home to many Gwich’in as well northern