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At the soul of everything we do at UINR is Netukulimk.

Netukulimk is the use of the natural bounty provided by the Creator for the self-support and well-being of the individual and the community. Netukulimk is achieving adequate standards of community nutrition and economic well-being without jeopardizing the integrity, diversity, or productivity of our environment.

As Mi’kmaq we have an inherent right to access and use our resources and we have have a responsibility to use those resources in a sustainable way. The Mi’kmaq way of resource management includes a spiritual element that ties together people, plants, animals, and the environment. UINR’s strength is in our ability to integrate scientific research with Mi’kmaq knowledge acquisition, utilization, and storage.

After years of consultation, research and planning, Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs released Mi’kmaq guidelines for moose hunting in Cape Breton.

Tia’muwe’l Netuklimkewe’l–Unama’ki Moose Harvesting According to Netukulimk was created by the Mi’kmaq people of Nova Scotia and is an important step for Mi’kmaq self-governance over our traditional resources.

If you don’t have a copy of the Guidelines yet, you can pick up a copy at the UINR office in Eskasoni, or you can download a copy at our website: www.uinr.ca The UINR website also has background information on the initiative.

Clifford Paul, Co-ordinator of the Moose Management Initiative expresses his thoughts on the guidelines: With these guidelines, Mi’kmaq are maintaining our ancient commitment as stewards of a very valuable resource–the moose.  These guidelines are a way to continue this relationship far into our future. It is a Mi’kmaq-led and ancient system of allowing the moose to continue for the benefit of the next seven generations.

Eric Zschelle, negotiator with Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn, explains the guidelines’ significance to Mi’kmaq self-governance: The Assembly saw this as a chance to pursue self-government and self-management. UINR had been exploring joint management with DNR and Parks Canada for a number of years, but governments were not willing to extend discussions into governance issues. The Made-in-Nova Scotia Process presented an opportunity to take this discussion further and expand the role of the Assembly and the governance project, to involve all Mi’kmaq communities of Nova Scotia.

clifford@uinr.ca

However, in the 1800s, moose disappeared from Unama’ki and this ancient relationship came to an abrupt end that lasted for almost 100 years. Cape Breton Mi’kmaq were separated from a very valuable resource and all it offered.

In the 1940s, Parks Canada brought 18 moose to the Cape Breton Highlands to give tourists a large mammal to see in the Park. The moose liked it here. Lots to eat, room to roam and they flourished and spread. In the absence of their major predators, wolves, Unama’ki became a moose haven, especially after the spruce budworm devastation of the 1970s. With a massive clearcutting of damaged softwood, hardwood shoots began to grow, offering ideal browse conditions for moose to thrive.

The 1970s and 80s were a also a time of heavy litigation in the courts, with Mi’kmaq hunters being charged and treaties tested. Late in the 1980s, the Mi’kmaq proved that our treaties were valid, proving to Canada and the rest of the world that Mi’kmaq treaties still existed and were in
force. These litigation victories coincided and grew with the moose population–10,000 animals from the original 18. A real population explosion!

With the traditional relationship between Mi’kmaq and moose reestablished, the Mi’kmaq felt it was time to become managers and stewards of
the resource, to manage the hunt for our children and their children–the next seven generations. Mi’kmaq Elders advised that with these rights come great responsibilities. They saw the importance of balance, conservation and preservation of the herd and said the time had come for self-management.

In response to Elders and community members concerns, Grand Council asked Charlie Dennis to take on moose management as part of his duties. With Parks Canada, he established two committees and began to develop draft guidelines. This process reached a stumbling block–Mi’kmaq could not govern our people while off reserve where the hunting takes place.

It was clear that we were dealing with Mi’kmaq rights and, in the early 2000s, the issue was brought to the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs. As a result, Kwilmu’kw Maw-klusuaqn (KMK) established the Moose Working Group and moose management became an important first issue to establish Mi’kmaq rights and unify the concerns of the Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq communities.

In 2006, Clifford Paul was hired as Moose Management Coordinator. His role at UINR is to engage Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq communities in active discussions around moose issues and promote discussions on the management of the Cape Breton moose herd and hunting practices. Clifford’s philosophy is simple. We come to your community with a blank book. You tell us what is right and what you feel is important and we will listen.

Over the next couple of years, Clifford and a team of advisors from KMK visited every Mi’kmaq community in Nova Scotia to talk moose. He heard a deep concern for conservation and protection of the herd so it will available for future generations. A more respectful relationship is required and, as stewards of the resource, communities’ communal rights take priority over individual rights.

Clifford visited each community several times, gathering information and seeing common themes arising at every meeting. In September of 2008, Mawikwamk Wjit Tia’muk–Mi’kmaq–Gathering on Moose was held in Wagmatcook, bringing together delegates from across Nova Scotia to look at some of the issues important to moose management. The two-day event reached consensus on three issues:

1. Non-native accompaniment
2. No-hunting time/A Mi’kmaq hunting season
3. Hunter advisory groups

A fourth issue, selling moose, did not achieve consensus and further discussions are needed.

Out of this session, draft guidelines were developed and brought to the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaq Chiefs for review. Changes were made and now Tiamuwel Netuklimkewe–Unama’ki Moose Harvesting According to Netukulimk was approved.

The Guidelines will be officially released on August 17 asking Mi’kmaq hunters for voluntary compliance over the next two years. Over this time, Clifford and his team will again visit communities to talk about the Guidelines, answer questions and work out more details for the future.

Clifford explains, The Guidelines are just one tool in the management plan. The Mi’kmaq Legal Support Network is developing the legal regulations and at the same time, we are moving forward with our Natural Resource Officer Program.

The key component in our management plan is the Mi’kmaq response to these initial Guidelines. It is a living document and through the hunters’ and communities’ feedback we will once again regain stewardship over this important resource.

clifford @uinr.ca

Tiamuwel Netuklimkewe–Unama’ki Moose Harvesting According to Netukulimk will be released on August 17 at a press conference in Wagmatcook. Following the official release, it will be available in every Mi’kmaq community and can be downloaded at www.uinr.ca.

The voluntary guidelines focus on 5 main areas:

• Safety
• Community Authority and Hunting Advisory Groups
• The No-Hunting Time
• ID and Non-Mi’kmaq Helpers
• Hunter Reporting

The forests of the earth can be viewed from two different perspectives; one being an acknowledgment and celebration of the life given to the forests through the hard labour of the living earth, and one being a view which places value only on the products we humans manufacture from the forests. The first view is inherent in First Nation societies around the globe. The second is a Eurocentric view which predominates in current culture. When we speak of preserving our forests, from these two perspectives, we mean very different things. For someone outside First Nation culture and beliefs, a person means the preservation of the forest industry to serve the wants of people. When we speak from inside First Nation culture and beliefs, we mean the preservation of the forest to provide for our needs.

First Nation people understand the earth to be a living entity, indeed the living Mother upon whom we all depend. The trees work hard to gather their sap, to bloom, to let go of their spring life, and to live again when a new cycle begins. Therefore our economic perspective is based upon a principle not known in other economic systems: gratitude for this work. We understand our place to be one of dependence. We perceive our continued existence to be dependant upon another living being; our Mother the Earth. We recognize a responsibility to live in harmonious way with the life upon which we depend. Our learning then comes from the species around us, who teach us how to live in this harmonious way.

The Eurocentric perspective is quite different. It depends upon forgetting that the earth and forests live. Labour is thought to be the domain of human beings, who therefore bring value to an otherwise valueless entity by virtue of this labour. The place of humans is one of supremacy, and our dependence is upon sustaining an economy of greed. The responsibility is to do well in this economics of greed, to compete as it were, and therefore the teachers are other humans. The products we want, rather than the products we need, become our purpose when we relate to the forests.

In this way, when Europeans came to our land, they flooded our living forests; they cut away all life from our forests, they altered what our Mother the Earth naturally grew to suit their needs. And we, as a First Nation people, grieved for this.

albert@uinr.ca

For a taste of some of our findings, here are some quotes from the workshop.

If the Elders before us were asked these questions about 50 years ago, they would have had all the answers. When they died, their knowledge died with them. We used to take home remedies from our Elders that worked for our ailments, but we didn’t know what it was that we were taking and we still don’t know but it worked.

When you see a fox, people don’t like it. I don’t like when people say things against fox. They are a native species. It’s our fault for taking away their habitat. We forget how we interact with nature. We are imposing on this animal’s habitat.

Before white man, the native people would migrate depending on where the food was. They would migrate to match the migration patterns of eels, salmon and certain species. The Grand Council would organize who went where so they wouldn’t overhunt or overfish any area. During the winter they moved inland. They would eat dried stuff and hunt moose and beaver. They would keep eels and fish in pools so they would stay fresh until they would eat them.

A lot of our people think owls are bad luck. You can listen in between the hoots and there is a voice with a message from an ancestor. But it’s not bad luck. Listen to him and try to understand the message.

When I was a kid I walked through eelgrass. They are great nurseries. You would see a lot of minnows, pinfish and eels and watch them swim away. I want to talk to youth to let them know that eelgrass beds are important nurseries. Eelgrass has decreased a lot. It is different today.

There is a lot less eelgrass around the Bras d’Or. I’m amazed by the infestation of green crab. I think the one most important single cause for the decline in eelgrass is the green crab.

I did a lot of diving in the 1970s on eelgrass beds. There is such a difference now. Now you only get a fraction of eelgrass beds that there once was. Eelgrass looks like there is a film of something on the leaves and fronds. It doesn’t look healthy. This occurs in many places. In Georges River, eelgrass and wharves are covered in black tunicates, blanketing the eelgrass. It’s [black tunicate] in more coves than ever before. Shallow species have died.

Legend had it that a large serpent existed in the Lakes, and people would stay away in the fall. It was later found to be an “eel ball”. This ball of eels congregated in late February in a river mouth and rolled back and forth along the channel for up to two weeks. Fishermen would make a string of holes in the ice heading upstream and each would have an opportunity to fish as the ball rolled past their hole and on to the next. These “rolling eels” are disappearing.

In River Denys, there is a big oyster growing area. It was once the most productive oyster growing area in all the Bras d’Or. This area is now under silt. This is related to the cutting of trees.

Oysters used to be a big revenue thing in Malagawatch but now you can hardly find any anywhere.

Anywhere where they allow dragging in the Lakes, it destroys everything. Dragging turns an underwater forest into a desert with one pass.

From UINR Marten – Vol.2. Issue.4 – Winter 2006

UINR, Parks Canada, and the Government of Canada want to incorporate both TEK and western science in the pursuit of ecological integrity in the national parks. First Nations are always consulted during park management planning. TEK is also used in species-at-risk programs and environmental assessments and screenings.

UINR’s Cheryl Berubé is working on developing processes and protocols that are based on shared ethics and principals, respecting the intellectual property rights of the Aboriginal people.

Watch our next issue for her findings.

UINR Marten – Vol.2. Issue.3 – Autumn 2006

Fifty Elders from Mi’kmaq and other Unama’ki communities met for two days in a workshop to contribute traditional ecological knowledge to a two-eyed seeing approach for the Bras d’Or Lakes Collaborative Environmental Planning Initiative.

The workshop included traditional music, ceremonies, and extensive discussions on the natural history of the Lakes. The Sarah Denny Cultural Centre in Eskasoni played host to the collaborative effort of UINR, DFO, and CBU’s Integrative Science Program.

Clifford Paul and Murdena Marshall were among the facilitators for the event. UINR staff, along with Jason Naug and Penny Doherty from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans were also on hand to facilitate and assist. The sessions focused on Land: Animals and Plants; Water: Salt and Fresh; and Climate and Significant Areas.

Among many of the changes noted was the change in plants around the Lakes. Gooseberries, raspberries, wild strawberries, and blackberries were once abundant but have declined. Potential reasons for the decline in berries were discussed including climate change, acid rain, and the escalation in development of houses and land. It was also noted that mint and hazelnuts have declined.

The loss of plants has had an impact on the Aboriginal community. Elders noted that plants are very important for ceremonial purposes. For example, sweetgrass is used for opening prayers. Plants are often used to make medicines and salves but now it is difficult to find the plants. Elders expressed concern not only about the loss of plants in the area, but also about the loss of traditional knowledge about plants.

The second day ended with a unanimous endorsement by the Elders to have Albert Marshall represent the Elders in matters relating to the environment. This endorsement is a recognition of Albert’s passion and knowledge on issues relating to the environment and his deep traditional knowledge.

On a bright sunny afternoon in June of 1955, the Canso Causeway opened to the general public.  There were hundreds of people applauding on both sides of the Strait. The Strait was known to the Mi’kmaq as Tui’knek. The pomp and festivities were deafening.  Among the group were some Mi’kmaq, huddled together to watch the proceedings.  Within the small group, there stood a Mi’kmaq man 45 years of age. He wasn’t applauding but instead was very introspective as he watched along with the others.  Finally, he spoke and the words he spoke had no meaning at the time but, because our teachings come from each other and from Elders, one man did take the prediction seriously and revealed it only a few years ago when the Elders met in Eskasoni at a Talking Circle.

This man who is now about 70 years old, recalled the words spoken by the Elder that bright June afternoon of 1955. He said, “I heard this Elder say, In 50 years the District of Mi’kmak’i will not have eels. There will be no more eels because the causeway has closed the main artery for eel migration. This Elder who spoke these words has now passed on. He lived in We’koqma’q, Inverness County.  The words he spoke in 1955 are now being realized by both the Mi’kmaq and the general population.  The wise man was Roddie Gould.

The moral of this observation:

Aboriginal science and the world views and philosophies from which they are derived, provide models, lessons, meanings, and possibilities on what it means to participate with nature, rather than attempting to dominate nature. Our lessons are carefully delivered by our Elders since they have learned through many years of exploring, searching, and conclusions.

albert@uinr.ca

The remainder of the day was spent discussing the pros and cons of setting up a council, and identifying some of the challenges and opportunities. Many of the youth felt a reluctance to share their views in front of the Elders, fearing that their “modern” world view would not be met with approval, and mindful of the cultural insistence on respect for elders. The Elders expressed a sense that the younger generation has lost respect for traditional understandings of family and daily spiritual life. They have some despair in their attempts to reach young people whom they perceive as having been taken away from their culture by a foreign school system and by a language that lacks an inherent understanding of community.

All agree that they must begin building bridges over the differences and find ways to connect. At this workshop, it was determined that the best approach would be to have youth and Elders meet regularly but separately, then come together for joint meetings on an established schedule, perhaps four times a year or more. Each group should be asked about specific issues, and provide input on them, then come together to share their thoughts and approaches. A regular meeting of the two councils was recommended as a way to exchange information. Many felt that there was some apathy among Mi’kmaq youth and something would have to be done to reach them and sell them on the importance of participating. Watch for more from this initiative.

laurie@uinr.ca

From UINR Marten – Vol.2. Issue.2 – Summer 2006