Abstract Type: Independent oral presentation
Abstract TitlePathways to revitalize Indigenous shellfish harvest
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Abstract
Indigenous communities have feasted from their tidelands since time immemorial. Yet today, many are disconnected due to land development, pollution, overharvest, and colonial law. Coastal First Nations live within the reality of their inherent laws and ways of being, held in tension with the restrictions and confusion of Canadian laws, funding models and bureaucracies (Ballantyne et al., 2022; Flynn and Daum, 2021). There is a need to bring enriched understanding and clarity to coastal ecosystems governance to address the overlapping crises of biodiversity loss, climate change, and food insecurity. Indigenous-led governance could provide a way forward (Artelle et al., 2019). Featured through the example of shellfish management in Boundary Bay, Canada, this participatory action research study applies a critical coastal governance lens and systems thinking approach to evaluate existing colonial governance frameworks and complex interjurisdictional, intertidal relationships. By amplifying Indigenous voices through community filmmaking and story mapping, interwoven with systems analysis, this presentation provides a critical coastal governance lens that can address current gaps and dysfunction by centering Indigenous coastal knowledges, perspectives and voices from a specific coastline. Our analysis reveals that to operationalize this approach to coastal governance, Indigenous communities must be acknowledged and supported as leaders with the capacity and authority to carry out governance in their territory, influencing land and water management on a watershed scale. While legal resistance tools are effective in some cases to address issues of Aboriginal rights and title, collaborative approaches can be more effective (Lee et al. 2019; Simms et al. 2016; Phare et al., 2017). We elaborate short, medium and long-term recommendations to achieve a revitalized shellfish harvest and healthy bay ecosystem by centering Indigenous-led coastal governance.
Related Conference Topic Area
coastal and marine management
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Presenter Information
First Name Christy |
Last Name Juteau |
Affiliation University of Victoria/Kerr Wood Leidal Associates |
Author(s) Information
Author | First Name | Last Name | Affiliation |
1 | Christy | Juteau | University of Victoria |
2 | Harley | Chappell | Semiahmoo First Nation |
3 | Sarah Marie | Wiebe | University of Victoria |
4 | Rob | Lapper | University of Victoria |