Indigenous Collaboration and Integration of ITK

The Indigenous Peoples of Canada have lived in harmony with nature and sustainably stewarded lands and forests for many generations. They hold intimate knowledge of the intricacies of the ecosystems and biodiversity of Canada’s forests and lands. Their knowledge has been built over numerous generations through direct interaction with the environment and respect for the land. First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples have always been influential forces on the structure of forests in Canada, but historically, they have rarely been championed as land stewards and knowledge holders. Indigenous people are to this day fighting to protect their right to cultural practices and values, as well as their inherent and inalienable right to steward Canadian land (Native Land, 2024).

Recently, the value of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge (ITK) for conservation and management purposes has been recognized and has come to the forefront of discourse among scientists and practitioners (Sinthumule, 2023; Alexander et al., 2019). Increasingly, Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) is being viewed as a form of conservation capable of improving traditional Canadian forest management practices. Weaving TEK with Western science knowledge has also been seen as one way to address the historical injustice and exclusion of Indigenous Peoples from management decisions on their land (CCFM, 2024; McGreggor, 2002).

Since the first settlers set foot on Canadian grounds, land development, land use changes, and urbanization have happened quickly. Permanent settlements, cities, towns, and villages, all products of Western civilization, sprang up across Canada within a few decades of land clearing. As of the early 1900s, and particularly after the Second World War, the existing settlements, cities, towns, and villages grew exponentially and intensified, while many new urban areas were established. This extensive urbanization has driven the growth of the gray infrastructure network (roads, electricity, power lines, etc.) needed to support urban centres and their surrounding areas. As a result of all these changes and economic opportunities in urban areas, Canada’s population has become predominantly urban, and this includes Indigenous people. Today, over 800,000 Indigenous people are living in cities in Canada (Trovato & Price, 2024). According to the 2016 Census, about 45% of registered Indigenous, 76% of Non-Status Indigenous, 50% of Inuit, and 70% of Métis live in urban areas (Indigenous Services Canada, 2020). 

Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK)

Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) has a significant cultural and traditional value for Indigenous communities and Canadian settlers. TEK has grown and evolved over thousands of years of lived experiences and shaped Canada’s culture and economy. Indigenous peoples held essential knowledge of practices related to navigating the natural environment. They mastered how to navigate waterways and use lakes, rivers, and streams as travel routes. For travelling by water, Indigenous people crafted canoes using birch bark (Marsh & Parrott, 2021) and designed snowshoes for travelling and hunting across the land in snowy months (Atleo & Boron, 2022).

Indigenous People, masters in trapping and hunting techniques, taught settlers how animals migrate, how to follow their tracks, and how to trap and skin them. Tapping maple trees to produce maple syrup, a knowledge and skill originally held by Indigenous Peoples in Canada, has become a staple of Canadian culture. While many parks and groups within and around urban areas host maple syrup festivals, demonstrating how the settlers tapped maple trees, they do not necessarily acknowledge and demonstrate Indigenous contribution (Pine, 2016; Moody, 2015; Huron, 2014).

Indigenous agricultural practices used by Haudenosaunee included methods such as the “Three Sisters” (corn, beans, and squash), which helped maximize crop yields and retain soil fertility (Decaire, 2012). In the early days of settlement, nature was the first medicine, and Indigenous Peoples hold profound knowledge of local plants with healing and medicinal properties. For example, Willow bark (similar to aspirin) was used to relieve pain, and Eastern white cedar was brewed into tea, which was used by settlers to prevent scurvy (Turner, 2019; Durzan, 2009). Indigenous Peoples also have a depth of knowledge in land management practices such as controlled burns to maintain vegetation communities and the associated wildlife on the landscape they rely on. In several cities, controlled fire has been used as a management practice in urban parks, and selective tree felling has also been acknowledged as beneficial (Moola et al., 2024). 

While these Indigenous practices and TEK have been used for survival and economic gain by settlers, shaping the Canadian culture as we know it today, TEK has historically not been acknowledged or honoured (Parks Canada, n.d.). TEK was taken, and proper credit and respect were not given to the Indigenous people who taught and shared their skills and knowledge, and land.  What the settlers did not learn or take from Indigenous people was how not to overcut, overhunt, overfish, how to respect the land, and how to think for future generations (Dick et al., 2022).

Perceptions about the land and values between Indigenous people and the European settlers were also two worlds apart. TEK, along with the abounded resources and land taken from Indigenous people, enabled colonizers to benefit economically to the point that the economic gains drove deforestation, erosion, pollution, loss of species, the collapse of fisheries, and many other problems caused by looking at the land as a commodity. This quickly led to the eventual control, marginalization, and exclusion of Indigenous Peoples and culture in Canada, causing devastating outcomes that still reverberate today. 

Indigenous Stewardship in Urban Canada

Since the establishment of permanent settlements and urban areas by colonial settlers, urban trees and gardens and their management in cities and towns have been dominated by Western values, design, and science to the exclusion of Indigenous Peoples and their knowledge and collaboration (Mullenbach et al., 2003).

However, Canadian society, including different levels of government and NGOs, is starting to engage Indigenous groups and perspectives in information sessions and at decision-making tables from conservation to land development actions. TEK is increasingly being viewed as a conservation method with the potential to improve traditional Canadian forest management practices while also addressing the historical exclusion of Indigenous peoples from management decisions on their land (CCFM, 2024). In some forest management cases, traditional and cultural activities are integrated in forest management plans where design and mapping of land protection zones are based on TEK (Cheveau et al. 2008). Indigenous Peoples are connected to and dependent on functioning, healthy forest ecosystems and their non-timber forest products, which brings a holistic perspective on how forests should be viewed and managed (Cheveau, Imbeau, Drapeau, & Bélanger, 2008). While Indigenous collaboration at the policy level of forestry requires more attention, there are many pockets of Indigenous stewardship across forested landscapes. For example, designations of “community forests” with management based on local values, beliefs, and decision-making are emerging across Canada in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec (NRCan, 2024). These community forests represent both industry-joint and Indigenous-led initiatives, which allow for self-determined co-management. With the support of industry and government, Indigenous communities can implement traditional stewardship practices and define their own desired outcomes for urban forest management while working towards forestry goals that are agreed upon by both forestry associations and residents.

Effective cooperation and co-management between industry, government, and Indigenous peoples in urban planning can also produce impactful land use and management practices. Recently, several First Nations in Manitoba showcased a landmark display of Indigenous-led urban development by securing the largest urban Indigenous reserve in Canada on the former site of the Winnipeg Kapyong Barracks. With largely Indigenous-led decision-making and strategic planning, green infrastructure (urban forests, water bodies, vegetation) was acknowledged as “vital” to sustainable community building in the Naawi-Oodena Master Plan. The First Nation will use native species for urban vegetation as a means of knowledge-sharing and appreciation of the cultural value of local plants while also creating essential habitat for native species of fauna and pollinators (Canada Lands Company, 2021).

Urban forests are a new phenomenon that emerged with the growth of urban centers. They are the result of complex changes and interactions between people and land, and their desire to make cities livable. Though urban forests are a complex mix of native and non-native trees and plants, they often receive a positive response from Indigenous people. Indigenous people, as small groups or individuals, bring their voices to urban areas and are often the first ones to stand for nature. They stand for trees, wildlife, and even Eastern white cedar fences in the face of development (Therrien, 2022). They observe the creatures that urban forests host and see what trees offer beyond dollar values. 

History, experience, and research have shown that TEK and traditional forestry practices contribute to higher levels of biodiversity and healthier ecosystems (Nitah, 2021). Indigenous people use and manage the land sustainably and respectfully (Fisher et al., 2019). Their historical practices, such as cultural burning and selective tree felling, have now been incorporated into select contemporary forest management plans, with prescribed burns and selective forestry taking place in almost all provinces and territories in Canada. Additionally, when locals are empowered to steward and manage urban forests, these forests tend to be more resilient, biodiverse, and socio-economically beneficial (NRCan, 2023). The incorporation of traditional practices such as prescribed burns, tree felling, pollinator gardens, and native plant protection into contemporary urban forestry is vital to not only fostering sustainable urban forest management practices but also a fundamental step towards reconciliation (see Tree Canada, n.d.). Pathways forward will require more knowledge, input, collaboration, and Indigenous led management in urban forestry.

The weaving of TEK into urban forest management, as well as fostering discourse, collaboration, and self-determination of Indigenous peoples, is essential to sustainable urban forest management (Reconciling Ways of Knowing, n.d.). Historically and today, urban forest management often excludes traditional Indigenous knowledge and management practices, but the pathway forward shows the importance, value, and need for TEK in urban forest management for the future.