Wildlife Conservation in the North: Historic Approaches and their Consequences; Seeking Insights for Contemporary Resource Management

Abstract

Recent studies in the field of Canadian environmental history have suggested that early state wildlife conservation programs in northern Canadawere closely tied tobroader efforts to colonize the social and economic lives of the region’s Aboriginal people. Although it is tempting to draw a sharp distinction between the “bad old days” of autocratic conservation and the more inclusive approaches of the enlightened present such as co-management and the incorporation of traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) into wildlife management decision-making, this paper will argue that many conflicts associated with the older colonial conservation regime have survived to the present day. Recent anthropological literature has suggested that traditional environmental knowledge is often marginalized in wildlife decision making bodies when juxtaposed with scientific expertise or bureaucratic priorities. Aboriginal people may now be recognized as formal participants in the management of wildlife and protected areas, but this tentative shift in political power represents an incomplete attempt to decolonize wildlife management practices in the North. The paper concludes with policy recommendations that might further apportion power over northern wildlife and protected areas to Aboriginal people.