Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge in the

Assessment of Species at Risk:

COSEWIC’s ATK Subcommittee

Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge in the

Assessment of Species at Risk:

COSEWIC’s ATK Subcommittee

Donna Hurlburt, Co-chair

ATK Subcommittee, COSEWIC

10 October 2012

Donna Hurlburt, Co-chair

ATK Subcommittee, COSEWIC

10 October 2012

Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge Subcommittee (ATK SC)

2 Co-chairs & 10 members (2 or 4 yrs)

Nominated by National Aboriginal Organizations

• Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami

• Métis National Council,

• Native Women‟s Association of Canada

• Assembly of First Nations

• Congress of Aboriginal Peoples

Ministerial appointments; “hats off at the door”

Status assessment only, not SARA management or recovery

Harlequin Duck

What is ATK?

No official definition for COSEWIC purposes, but has the following elements:

World view or way of knowing - includes ecological,

utilitarian, social and spiritual values; Humans are part of Natural World

Long-term descriptive data passed down through orally over many generations; localized

Information held by elders & resource users about species’ biology

Information in published reports or present-day information collected on Aboriginal lands

• Aboriginal names

• Species distribution

• Movement patterns

• Habitat types & health

• Changes in population size

• Body condition noticed in harvest

• Species interactions

• Potential threats

• Existing Aboriginal management

Relevant ATK could include:

COSEWIC does not need information on cultural significance, medicinal or spiritual use

ATK SC Prioritization of Species

ATK Source Report ATK Assessment

Report ATK Gathering

Report

All species to

be assessed

by COSEWIC

COSEWIC Status Report

COSEWIC ATK Reports

ATK Process and Protocols Guidelines for COSEWIC

Guidelines Development

Draft prepared by Process & Protocol Working Group

Draft reviewed by Knowledge Holders

Ontario Elders Workshop, Thunder Bay, ON (Feb „08)

West Elders Workshop, Edmonton, AB (Mar „08)

East/Quebec Elders Workshop, Halifax, NS (Oct „08)

North Elders Workshop, Rankin Inlet, NU (Jul „09)

Numerous other presentations to Aboriginal groups,

including NACOSAR

Final draft reviewed by subset of elders, Sault Ste Marie,

ON (Oct „09)

Approved by COSEWIC (Apr „10)

Purpose of Protocol

Educate contractors and facilitate

interactions between contractor &

Aboriginal communities

Ensure that ATK is recognized as a

very significant GIFT to be treated

with respect and integrity for the

benefit of species

Does not replace existing

community protocols

Guiding Principle #1-

Aboriginal communities are

presumed to be the

primary bodies to facilitate

access to ATK in species

assessment.

Access is subject to local

laws, protocols & practices.

Whooping Crane

Guiding Principle #2

To use ATK in

species assessment,

permission must be

secured from the ATK

Holders of such

knowledge.

Eskimo Curlew

Atlantic Walrus

Guiding Principle #3

ATK is to be treated

as public knowledge

only with the approval

of the ATK Holders, in

culturally appropriate ways.

Guiding Principle #4

ATK is to be given

equal recognition and

value with Western

Science & Community Knowledge.

COSEWIC ATK Process and Protocols

Guidelines

1. Community Approvals

2. Ethics Review

3. Completion of Permits

4. Prior Informed Consent

5. Interview with ATK Holder(s)

6. Info Review with ATK Holder(s)

7. ATK Integration into status

report

8. Post Assessment Meeting

Communication

Success: COSEWIC wants to include ATK

• Considered part of collective knowledge about a

species (fills knowledge gaps, corroborate

existing knowledge)

• Treated equal to other forms of knowledge in

status reports

• Has stalled assessments if ATK will be available

within 6 months

• Has re-opened assessments if new knowledge

made available

• Species Specialist Subcommittees ask for ATK

Challenges: Sharing ATK

• Selective use of ATK - IUCN criteria, Threats,

Management, Designatable units

• Must be shared in a public report

• Can protect sensitive information, risks unclear

• Must be available to COSEWIC

• Must know about it; must be gathered

• Need evidence (transparency, accountability)

• Needs to be referenced (living document)

• ATK is locally variable & evolves – no “one

stop shopping & constant need to update

Other than Wildlife Management Boards, Aboriginal peoples are rarely providing ATK directly to COSEWIC

• Internet searches (community or researcher reports)

• Court cases

• Environmental assessments

• Departmental sharing of ATK Reports on marine species from AFSAR, AAROM, etc.

• Recovery planning

Issues

• Capacity – Communities & COSEWIC

• Fear of unknown

• Mistrust

• Contract wording

• Lack of communication / Failure to be informed

• Reactive sharing

• Taking responsibility

Recommendations

1. Increased financial resources for ATK

SC

– ATK gathering is expensive and currently

impossible on current funding

– Reliance on publicly available information is

inappropriate

– Need for Information storage & database

development

– Subcommittee capacity

Recommendations

2. Need for Community education on

SARA

– Some education within national and

regional organizations, but grassroots

have little knowledge of SARA and

COSEWIC

– Little knowledge of implications of not

sharing knowledge

– Need to alleviate concerns of sharing

(little precedence on how ATK might

impact Aboriginal & Treaty Rights)

Recommendations

3. Need enhanced Community capacity to

manage ATK and associated activities

– Aboriginal communities need ability to

gather and store ATK within their own

communities

– Communities usually only have 1

person to deal with environmental

issues; many complain that they cannot

keep up with requests associated with

legislation or consultation

Recommendations

4. Need for improved flexibility in

processes

– Environment Canada processes (e.g.

intellectual property issues, contracting)

and COSEWIC processes (e.g. timelines,

single-species approaches) to be more

in-tune with Aboriginal needs and ways

of being

Recommendations

5. Improve opportunities for participation

– Need for relationship building (ATK not

readily shared with strangers for

unknown purposes)

– Need for communication (candidate

species, outcomes of assessments,

opportunities to share ATK)

donna.hurlburt@ns.sympatico.ca

http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/

http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/

donna.hurlburt@ns.sympatico.ca

http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/

http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/