COMMUNICATING THE CULTURAL VALUES OF A SACRED MOUNTAIN THROUGH COLLABORATION WITH THE STS’AILES NATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA by In Ae Kim B.Sc., Kangwon National University, 2003 M.Sc., Seoul National University, 2005 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE AND POSTDOCTORAL STUDIES (Forestry) THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (Vancouver) September 2016 © In Ae Kim, 2016 Abstract This research provides communication strategies for First Nations and forestry agencies in British Columbia. I have used a community-based, participatory, and case study approach to conduct an in-depth study of conflict resolution between Sts’ailes, a Coast Salish First Nation located near Vancouver, and the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (hereinafter the Ministry of Forests). This study identifies the cultural uses of forest resources among Sts’ailes people and communication challenges central to the conflict, and suggests strategies that can help to achieve meaningful communication and collaboration between First Nations people and forestry staff. The ultimate purpose of this study is to explore cultural values related to forest management among the Sts’ailes Nation and to explore the dynamics of their communication process, focusing on Kweh-Kwuch-Hum, a sacred mountain located on Sts’ailes traditional land. This study asks how First Nations can make themselves heard when “speaking” about cultural values within the context of forest management. It describes Sts’ailes people’s ways of using and maintaining access to forestlands and resources. The cultural values of forest uses are important to the revitalization of the Sts’ailes way of life, cultural identity and well- being. Here, I focus on the case of a conflict over logging on Kweh-Kwuch-Hum and the resulting Policy Pilot Project (2008) to analyze the communication strategies used by both sides in the conflict. I demonstrate that both the Sts’ailes and the Ministry of Forests improved their communication strategies as they worked on the Policy Pilot Project together. My study confirms the theoretical framework that was used to address the invisible values of forests, and suggests that being proactive, promoting social learning, and having a conflict resolution protocol can facilitate more reflexive communication. I suggest that by linking Indigenous knowledge, one type of knowledge system, to multi-level governance, more meaningful communication and collaboration can be achieved. The findings highlight the relevance of a collaborative approach to the field, and provide a valuable lesson in forest governance systems, not only for Canada, but also for other countries where there are differences between statutory rights and customary rights. ii Preface Part of an original manuscript is presented in this thesis in Chapter 4. The version that appears in Section 4. 8, titled “Cultural uses of non-timber forest products among the Sts’ailes, British Columbia,” has been published in a peer-reviewed journal (Kim, I., Mohs, G., Trosper, R.L. Cultural uses of non-timber forest products among the Sts’ailes, British Columbia, Canada. Journal of Forest Policy and Economics 22 [2012] p 40-46). The published article was written by In Ae Kim, in collaboration with her supervisory advisor, Dr. Ronald L. Trosper, Professor of American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona, and M.A. Gordon Mohs, former Cultural Advisor of the Department of Aboriginal Rights and Title at Sts’ailes. A version of Chapter 5 was presented at the International Union of Forest Research Organization Congress, in Seoul, August, 2010 (Kim, I-A., Mohs, G., and Trosper, R.L. Incorporating Cultural Values of Sacred Forests in Forest Management), and the abstract has been published in the International Forest Review, 12 (5) p 449. In Ae Kim identified the research problem and methodologies for this thesis and developed the research design under the guidance of Dr. Trosper, who suggested the use of a participatory approach early in the research. Kim made the field contacts and identified collaborating organizations, collected the data, and conducted the data analyses for the thesis. Dr. Trosper provided guidance on Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6. Dr. Menzies, of the UBC Department of Anthropology, provided guidance on the implications of non-timber forest products in Chapter 4, and gave suggestions to strengthen Chapter 6. Dr. Harshaw made suggestions on how to better organize and present the results. In revising and editing the manuscripts, Drs. Trosper, Menzies, and Bulkan, and university examiners, Drs. Satterfield, and Hoberg, and the external examiner, Dr. Turner, made valuable contributions that improved the quality of the thesis. The Sts’ailes Nation also provided ground-checking and fruitful comments on the thesis and presentation materials. This research was approved by the UBC Behavioural Research Ethics Board (Certificate Number H08-01008) and Sts’ailes Research Ethics Protocol. iii Table of contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... ii Preface ..................................................................................................................................... iii Table of contents .................................................................................................................... iv List of tables........................................................................................................................... vii List of figures ........................................................................................................................ viii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ ix Dedication ................................................................................................................................ x Chapter 1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Sts’ailes ................................................................................................................................ 3 1.2 Forest management in British Columbia .............................................................................. 4 1.3 Research focus and scope ..................................................................................................... 6 1.3.1 Study purpose and research questions .......................................................................... 6 1.3.2 Thesis structure ............................................................................................................. 8 1.4 Research reflection ............................................................................................................... 9 Chapter 2 Literature review ............................................................................................... 14 2.1 Language groups of Coast Salish ....................................................................................... 15 2.2 History of European contact ............................................................................................... 16 2.2.1 The impact of colonialism on the Lower Mainland .................................................... 17 2.2.2 Socio-economic changes ............................................................................................. 17 2.2.3 Cultural changes .......................................................................................................... 19 2.3 Recent efforts by Coast Salish to generate change ............................................................. 21 2.3.1 Socio-economic changes spearheaded by Sts’ailes and Coast Salish ......................... 21 2.3.2 Cultural changes in Sts’ailes ....................................................................................... 23 2.3.3 Aboriginal rights and title ........................................................................................... 25 2.3.4 Implications of traditional forest resource uses .......................................................... 25 2.3.5 Summary ..................................................................................................................... 26 2.4 Communication between First Nations and government agencies ..................................... 27 2.4.1 Communication barriers .............................................................................................. 28 2.4.2 Conditions necessary to facilitate communication ...................................................... 32 iv 2.4.3 Summary: what the examples contribute .................................................................... 37 Chapter 3 Theoretical framework and research methodology ....................................... 39 3.1 Theoretical framework ....................................................................................................... 39 3.1.1 Strategies to addressing cultural values ...................................................................... 39 3.1.2 Participatory research .................................................................................................. 42 3.2 Research methodology ....................................................................................................... 44 3.2.1 A case study