How Can Urban Parks Support Urban Indigenous Peoples? Exploratory Cases from Saskatoon and Portland

Abstract

In Anglo settler states, parks and Indigenous peoples interact in myriad ways, given the tight connection between Indigenous peoples and land and that parks are manifestations of settler control of land and heritage. Current park–Indigenous research is limited by a focus on rural locales, despite that more than half of Indigenous peoples live in urban areas. This exploratory paper draws connections between literature rooted in urban Indigenous studies and park management. I argue the literature’s current emphasis on rural locales neglects to consider how urban parks, might contribute to reconciliation if they affirmatively support urban Indigenous identities and cultural activities. I use two mini case studies—the Meewasin Valley Authority (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) and Fort Vancouver National Historic Site (Portland, Oregon)—to highlight some of the ways in which urban parks can support urban Indigenous peoples’ responses to persistent urban settler-colonialism.

The potential for Indigenous-led conservation in urbanized landscapes in Canada

“…While no urban Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas have yet to be established in Canadian cities, experience with IPCAs in other geographies has shown that they fundamentally differ from state-led processes in their governance, emphasis on Indigenous knowledge and legal systems, and acceptance of sustainable customary use, such as spiritual, cultural, economic and subsistence functions (Finegan, 2021;Mansuy et al, 2023;Townsend and Roth, 2023). As noted by Hernandez and Vogt (2022), p. 38 "to Indigenize restoration [and other environmental stewardship], Indigenous peoples require a seat not just at the table but at the head of the table. "…”

“…However, as noted by the National Association of Friendships Centers (2022), the urban Indigenous context is complex, and urban Indigenous populations are not easily defined solely on demographic or geographic criteria used in government census programs. Furthermore, individuals' relationships with urban geographies are nuanced and reflect colonialism's historical and ongoing consequences, such as deterritorialization and systemic racism (Peters, 2004;Finegan, 2021). For example, Indigenous urban populations are more mobile than non-Indigenous residents.…”

“…Indeed, Canadian towns and cities today sprawl across places where Indigenous Peoples historically gathered and/or settled or were important traditional harvesting areas such as akaronto (Toronto), win nipee (Winnipeg), and manimisāskwatān (Saskatoon) (Place, 2012). Colonial policies of deterritorialization, such as the expulsion of Indigenous Peoples to distant reserves located far from urban areas and regulations and pass systems that effectively barred Indigenous Peoples from towns and cities, have contributed to the erasure of urban Indigeneity in much of the contemporary urban landscape, outside of western Canada (Finegan, 2021). As noted by Peters (2004): "Urbanization patterns are linked to actions that removed Aboriginal people from emerging urban areas, and indeed, unlike other migrants, many Aboriginal people residing in urban areas are in fact residing in their traditional territories.…”

“…A considerable research gap exists on the role of IPLC in urban conservation, including studies on governance and other policy directions (e.g., stewardship of urban biocultural diversity Stålhammar and Brink, 2021;Albuquerque et al, 2023) or the outcomes of green space protection for urban Indigenous populations specifically (e.g., benefits for health and wellbeing, Hatala et al, 2020). The few studies that have been done have drawn attention to the degradation of Indigenous socioecological systems with urbanization (Darby et al, 2011;Simpson and Bagelman, 2018) and that these negative impacts are often further exacerbated by state-led conservation of remaining urban green space which disconnects Indigenous Peoples from sources of traditional foods and cultural sites (Finegan, 2021;Hernandez and Vogt, 2022). For example, Simpson and Bagelman (2018) report that over 95 percent of Indigenous agroecological systems in Lekwungen territory (Victoria, British Columbia) have been lost with urbanization.…”

“…No urban IPCAs have yet to be established in Canada, though other activities to Indigenize urban green space are underway, sometimes in partnership with Crown governments (i.e., federal, provincial, territorial and municipal 10.3389/fhumd.2024.1340379 Frontiers in Human Dynamics 03 frontiersin.org governments). They include the recognition of Indigenous place names on signage, trails and other infrastructure that celebrate the Indigenous presence in urban greenspace, educational programming focused on Indigenous plant knowledge and reclaiming ancestral food systems, as well as the restoration of customary practices that sustain biocultural diversity (e.g., Indigenous involvement in prescribed burning programs ;Finegan, 2021;Roos et al, 2021;Hernandez and Vogt, 2022).…”