Tribal Parks and Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas: Lessons Learned from B.C. Examples

Published by: David Suzuki Foundation
Authored by: Rachel Plotkin
Partners: The Firelight Group
ISBN: 978-1-988424-22-4

Environmental rights, Biodiversity Indigenous protected and conserved areas, British Columbia, caribou, conservation, Indigenous Peoples, land use

We learn from our ancestors, elders and our people that being out there on the land and water… What I used to ask my dad was: what is sovereignty? … What is our rights and title? And it’s simple; his answer is so simple: it’s being out there on the land and water and practising, doing it, practising your rights and your title. That’s how simple it is.

Marilyn Baptiste, Xeni Gwet’in First Nation

We travelled to communities in B.C. that are establishing Indigenous protected and conserved areas to share lessons learned.

Indigenous Peoples across Canada are taking a leadership role in protecting places that are essential to them and securing spaces where they can actively practise Indigenous ways of life.

This report builds on important foundational work including the recent report completed by the Canadian Indigenous Circle of Experts, We Rise Together: Achieving Pathway to Canada Target 1 through the creation of Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas in the spirit of practice and reconciliation.