Community resilience in First Nations includes ties to people both inside and outside the community, intergenerational communication, the sharing of stories, and family and community connectedness. This study, based on a survey of Internet users in the Sioux
In order to understand wabusk (polar bear, Ursus maritimus) behaviours and interactions with people in the Hudson Bay lowlands of northern Ontario we conducted this collaborative study of Cree kiskayndamowin/knowledge. Our findings reveal that Cree knowledge supports previously published information on polar bears, while adding further contextual findings: that male polar bears travel greater distances into the muskeg than previously recorded; that wabusk prey on amisk (beaver, Castor canadensis); that wabusk interact with muskwa (black bears, Ursus americanus); and that human-polar bear interactions occur
Across Canada, rural and remote First Nations face a significant 'digital divide'. As self-determining autonomous nations in Canada, these communities are building broadband systems to deliver public services to their members and residents. To address this challenge, First Nations are working towards a variety of innovative, locally driven broadband development initiatives. This paper contributes a theoretical discussion that frames our understanding of these initiatives by drawing on the paradigm of the 'First Mile' (Paisley & Richardson, 1998). We argue that broadband development policy in Canada must be re-framed to address the specific needs of First Nations. The First Mile position foregrounds community-based involvement, control, and ownership: a consideration we suggest has particular resonance for First Nations. This is because it holds potential to move beyond the historical context of paternalistic, colonial-derived development policies, in the context of broadband systems development. We argue First Nations broadband projects offer on-the-ground examples of a First Mile approach, and call for more research in this area.
ARIOUS STUDIES ON POLAR BEARS (Wabusk in Cree) indicate that the health and distribution of this animal and its habitat (i.e., dens, staging areas) are being affected by climate change (Scott et al., 2002; Obbard et al., 2006, 2007). Of special concern to the Muskekowuck Athinuwick/Cree People of northern Ontario are the Western Hudson Bay and the Southern Hudson Bay polar bear populations (the two located in Wînipekw, or Hudson and James bays), which the Cree comanage along with other stakeholders (i.e., Manitoba, Nunavut, Quebec, and other indigenous people with aboriginal and treaty rights). The co-management discussions among indigenous people with aboriginal and treaty rights and other stakeholders are complicated by proposed legislation that would change the polar bear's status in the United States and Canada (Lunn et al., 2006); by Inuit criticism of these proposed changes, which will affect their traditional practices (Freeman and Wenzel, 2006); and by the absence of the Muskekowuck Athinuwick/Cree People of northern Ontario from these discussions. This essay has two aims: to advocate Cree engagement in polar bear management and to remind resource managers, environmental non-governmental organizations, researchers, and academics that the Cree are a sovereign people with aboriginal and treaty rights that are affirmed and recognized in the Canadian Constitution. Although we do not claim to be objective, we do recognize-as Latour (1999) did-that all ways of knowing are socially constructed and influenced. We thus situate our subjectivity by stating that our perspective is not supported by any oil company, hunting proponent, or nonprofit environmental group. Two of the authors work with First Nation organizations, while the third is Métis. What we are attempting to do in this article is to ensure that all voices involved with polar bear management are heard. So far, the voice of the Muskekowuck Athinuwick/Cree People of northern Ontario, a recognized stakeholder in polar bear management, has been virtually silenced throughout polar bear debates. Reasons for this exclusion include the geographical isolation of these communities from decision-making centres in southern Canada, a lack of communication between management agencies and stakeholders, and a general lack
On 27 January 2011, the Fort Severn Cree nation presented its perspectives on the management of wabusk (Cree term for polar bear meaning the great wandering one) or polar bear (Ursus maritimus) to the international community. The following article provides an overview of the events that have transpired since the Conférence internationale mondes polaires held in Paris, France, on 26–28 January 2011. It begins by discussing the current state of the southern Hudson Bay polar bear sub-population and describing Cree interactions with polar bears before highlighting how the Fort Severn Cree nation is developing a co-management strategy through the indigenous stewardship model for polar bear management in its traditional territory in northern Ontario, Canada.
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