“Eye on the Wheel” A Strategic Plan for Linking Traditional Knowledge In Resource Planning and Management for the Muskwa Kechika Management Area prepared for The Knowledge & Understanding Committee of the Muskwa Kechika Advisory Board March 31, 2007 Prepared by Reg. C. Whiten, P.Ag MCIP InterraPlan Inc., Moberly Lake with Melanie Karjala, Dan Lousier “RE-EDITED DRAFT Nov 15, 2007” Preface In the preface of his book “Little Bit Know Something”, Robin Ridington relates the stories of Dunne-Za Elders to questions from an anthropologist’s perspective. He draws a central lesson from his in-depth experience with these people: ”How a person knows something is as important as what he or she knows….their knowledge of animals and of the land reflects an intelligence that goes back to the earliest human traditions…the Dunne-Za say that a person who speaks from the authority of his or her own experience.. “little bit know something”. Knowledge, the elders say, empowers a person to live in this world with intelligence and understanding. They recognize that knowledge is a distinctively human attribute. They recognize knowledge as a form of power. Since the time of their culture hero, Saya, Dunne-za men and women have sent their children into the bush to gain power from the animals and natural forces of their country. From these experiences, children have grown into adults who “little bit know something”. R. Ridington p.xiv-xv, ‘Little Bit Know Something’ Indeed, one’s personal experience in any given Only when you come to the place place in combination with Where you remember what is happening to you storied human Will the circle of time interactions can yield Turn around you many important, albeit Only when the tracks before you are subtle pieces of your own knowledge, special Will you turn with the circle insights, and even When your feet enter the tracks wisdom depending upon Of every other being the learner’s purpose and You will see them as your own depth of their encounter. And leave them all For the past fifteen years Behind you that I have worked, and lived, with the various “Eye on the Wheel” - Dunne-Za myth First Nations people of north-east BC, valuable insights have been shared with me about life in a northern environment, and powerful lessons from cross-cultural learning. Northern rural living has also taught me to appreciate the vast wealth of ‘local knowledge’ found amongst pioneer families and other long-time residents. Both forms of traditional and local knowledge, therefore, represent a combined base of experience for improved resource use and management decisions in the Muskwa Kechika Area . It is with this common perspective in mind, that our team assumed this challenge to help chart a course for the sharing of traditional knowledge in the MK area. In considering the input shared with us, we recognize the sensitivity of this topic and the implications of any new arrangements to share all forms of traditional & local knowledge. It is with the utmost respect that we present our understanding of First Nation community interests and aspirations. And we trust the Board will have a useful planning tool to engage future dialogue, and most importantly, in strengthening relationships. Reg. C. Whiten, Moberly Lake, 2007 InterraPlan Inc. 2 Moberly lake, B.C. © Copyright 2007 Muskwa-Kechika Advisory Board. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written prior permission of the author. “Eye on the Wheel” A Strategic Plan for Linking Traditional Knowledge In Resource Planning and Management for the Muskwa Kechika Management Area Whiten, Reg C., D. Lousier and M. Karjala, 2007 Eye on the Wheel – A Strategic Plan for Linking Traditional Knowledge in Resource Planning and Management for the Muskwa Kechika Management Area; report prepared for the Knowledge and Understanding Committee of the Muskwa Kechika Advisory Board, Moberly Lake, BC. The information contained within this document has been based upon personal interviews, document and literature reviews, as well as the authors’ opinions carried out during the project period January-March, 2007. This report was reviewed by representatives of the Muskwa-Kechika Advisory Board prior to submission, and further edits made November, 2007. Any other errors or omissions remain that of the author. InterraPlan Inc. 3 Moberly lake, B.C. Table of Contents Executive Summary 6 1. Introduction 9 1.1 Project Context and Methodology 9 2. First Nation Perspectives on Traditional Knowledge Sharing 17 2.1 Summary of Current TK Initiatives in the M-KMA 21 2.2 First Nations Recommendations on TK Integration 23 3. Overview of Government Perspectives on TK Integration 27 4. Strategic Actions for Traditional Knowledge Integration in Resource Management 28 4.1 Recommendations to Government for TK Integration 35 5. Developing Case-Study Applications for Traditional Knowledge in the M-KMA 37 6. Best Practices for Information Sharing 47 6.1 Highlights of TK Integration Practice 47 6.2 Lessons from the Halfway River First Nation/UNBC TK Study 48 6.3 Intellectual Property Rights and Protocols 54 6.4 Components of IPR Protection 55 6.5 Tools for Protecting TK Intellectual Property 58 6.6 Case Study Examples 61 6.7 Best Practices for Protecting Traditional Knowledge 63 6.8 Summary 64 6.9 References on Intellectual Property Rights 65 Appendices 66 A Muskwa-Kechika Management Area First Nations A1 Community Profiles 66 A2 Letter of Intent Between Kaska Nation & British Columbia 71 A3 First Nations Territorial Overlap and Treaty 8 Boundary Interpretation 77 B Resources on Applied Traditional Knowledge 78 B1 Geographic Valuation System: UNBC/Halfway River FN 79 B2 Considering Aboriginal traditional knowledge in environmental assessments conducted under the Canadian Env. Asst Act 80 B3 BC Government Heritage Resource Protection in Land & Resource 85 Management Plans (Fort Nelson LRMP, 1997) B4 First Nations, Heritage & Culture Objectives in Fort Nelson LRMP 86 InterraPlan Inc. 4 Moberly lake, B.C. C Government Policies and Perspectives on TK Integration 87 3.1 BC Ministry of Energy Mines & Petroleum Resources (including OGC) 87 3.2 BC Ministry of Forests and Range 91 3.3 BC Ministry of Environment (including EAO) 99 3.4 BC Ministry of Agriculture & Lands (Integrated Land Mgt Bureau) 104 3.5 BC Ministry of Tourism, Sport and the Arts 108 3.6 BC Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation 111 3.6 Federal Policies and Legislation Concerning TK 112 D Sample Agreements and Protocols for Information Sharing 114 D1 Traditional Knowledge Protocol Template 114 D2 University of BC Law School and Treaty 8 First Nations & 130 Treaty Aboriginal Rights Research D3 Association of Canadian Universities for Northern Studies (ACUNS 133 Ethical Principles for the Conduct of Research in the North D4 UNBC Consent Form for First Nations Community-Based Research 135 with First Nations Tables 1.0 First Nations TK Initiatives in the M-KMA 21 2.0 Recommended Government Agency Support for 35 Strategic Objective Implementation 3.0 Candidate Landscape Units for Applied TK Research 38 4.0 Resource Values in the Sulpher/8 Mile Landscape Unit 40 5.0 Resource Values in the Muskwa/West Landscape Unit 42 6.0 Resource Values in the Besa-Prophet Landscape Unit 44 7.0 Resource Values in the Halfway-Graham Landscape Unit 46 8.0 Components of Intellectual Property Rights Protection 56 Figures 1.0 First Nations of the Muskwa Kechika Management Area 12 2.0 Comparison of TEK and Knowledge from Western Science 14 3.0 The seasonal harvest cycle for Peace region First Nations 16 4.0 Sulphur/8 Mile Landscape Unit of the M-KMA 68 5.0 Muskwa West Landscape Unit of the M-KMA 70 6.0 Besa/Prophet Landscape Unit of the M-KMA 72 7.0 Halfway-Graham Landscape Unit of the M-KMA 74 InterraPlan Inc. 5 Moberly lake, B.C. Executive Summary For holiday travelers along the Alaska Highway, or to people who live far outside its boundaries, the region known as the Muskwa-Kechika Management Area (M-KMA) may be thought of as a mysterious, wild-land or wildlife refuge somewhere in the Rocky mountains of northern BC. In fact, residents of the Peace country may regard it in the same way, or perhaps as a unique recreational destination. While these characterizations are largely accurate, the M-KMA is much more. Before the area was formally designated, and its landscapes classified into various resource planning units and sustainable management zones – this world-class resource, has been known as an aboriginal homeland or traditional territory. Either, in whole, or in part, there exist 13 First Nations with connections and rights to the M-KMA. These communities have a mix of tribal origins, customary laws and governance structures that define them as indigenous people of Treaty 8 BC (1899), the Kaska Dena, and Tsay Key Nay. With this homeland connection, comes a long tradition of oral history, cultural practice and resource use throughout the landscape that has evolved in what can be described, as indigenous or traditional knowledge (TK). With the later creation of trap-lines, guide- outfitting territories, and rural communities, other non-aboriginal Canadians have also come to share this sense of place and have gained an intimate local knowledge of its natural and man-made features over many years being on the land. More recently, western-science understanding about this region - albeit over a much shorter time period - has been gained by a growing number of resource management professionals and research scientists from government, industry and other stakeholder groups.