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TitleTraditional resource management strategies in the regional municipality of Wood Buffalo
Publication TypeReport
Year of Publication2007
Publication Languageen
Keywordscumulative effects management, ecosystem management, traditional resource management
Abstract

The objective of this study was to collect Aboriginal resource management strategies in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, with the end goal of contributing to SEWG's aims for recommending a management framework to address cumulative effects on ecosystems and landscapes in the region. For the study, a vast array of literature was reviewed, including traditional land use studies; impact assessment reports; cultural, historical, and ethnographic texts; and anthropological analyses of resource management strategies. Focus-group interviews, consisting of two to four participants each, were held with several communities in the fall of 2006. A guiding question, "How did people take care of the land?" was used to lead discussion, and participants were asked to think about how they and their ancestors had either taken care of in the past, or how they are currently taking care of, four particular aspects of the environment: the land, water, plants, and animals. The communities involved included Fort McKay First Nation, Métis Local 2020, Fort McMurray First Nation, Willow Lake Métis Local 780, Fort Chipewyan Métis Local 125, Chipewyan Prairie Dene First Nation, and Conklin Métis Local 193. Following an outline of the methodology used the results of the literature survey and interviews are presented, as well as the recommendations made by participants. Two extensive bibliographies make up the two appendices: the first is comprised of sources that provided "any details regarding the traditional resource management strategies of Aboriginal peoples living in the boreal forest" and the second of sources that were consulted but provided no relevant information on Aboriginal resource management. Some of the resource strategies identified in the literature include mobility, communication, respect and reciprocity, burning, and selective hunting and management of the harvest. Resource strategies identified in the interviews emerged from detailed traditional environmental knowledge on animal reproductive strategies, habitat, populations, forest ecology and ecological carrying capacity. Both the knowledge and the strategies are presented in the report.

Notes

Consulting firm commissioned by CEMA

Locational Keywords

Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo, Canadian Boreal Forest

Group

CEMA

Citation Key25093

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