The Paths to Realizing Reconciliation: Indigenous Consultation in Jasper National Park

Abstract

Diverse Indigenous nations have traditional territories inside Jasper National Park (JNP), but the park was established without consultation with local Indigenous communities. Parks were marketed as empty landscapes, which celebrated romantic ideas of European colonial expansion. The current representations of Indigenous Peoples in interpretive content still reflect this lack of consultation. This research was guided by Indigenous methodologies. Data was collected through interviews with Jasper Indigenous Forum (JIF) members and the JNP management team. Findings indicate that JIF members want increased representation and greater control over how their histories and cultures are presented. Park management needs to work in close consultation with the JIF if they want to improve Indigenous representations in the park and support processes of reconciliation.

Recent protected area–Indigenous Peoples research articles in Canada and the USA: A meta-review

“…Thus, we would expect that both theoretical and empirical articles that purport to speak to critical Indigenous studies would similarly center, or at minimum acknowledge, Indigenous Knowledge. Johnston and Mason (2020) is a good example of such work.…”

Wildfire risk and response in Jasper National Park, Alberta: Application of an adaptation readiness framework

“…The management of wildfire within national parks is the responsibility of the Parks Canada Agency (Tymstra et al 2020). Within the Park, leadership is collaborating with Indigenous communities to increase their participation and representation in planning (Johnston and Mason 2020). The Park has experienced a number of fire management strategies, including prescribed burning and fire suppression (Parks Canada 2016).…”

“…The increasing risk of a major wildfire requires collaboration between planners, Indigenous representatives, industry professionals, and the community in order to achieve successful long‐term adaptation (MacDonald and Birchall 2019; Johnston and Mason 2020). This short commentary explores the history and impacts behind these conditions, and the current level of adaptation readiness in the Park.…”

Land Use Policy Frameworks in Canada and Aotearoa New Zealand: Examining the Opportunities and Barriers of Indigenous-Led Conservation and Protected Areas

“…Alongside these international human rights and conservation movements, Indigenous Peoples' political actions in settler-colonial countries have increasingly pushed state government management policies to better recognize Indigenous rights [14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. One result of this has been partnerships between Indigenous Nations or communities and state governments, which have facilitated various Indigenous-led conservation initiatives.…”