Pop-up restoration in colonial contexts: applying an indigenous food systems lens to ecological restoration

Grenz, Jennifer; Armstrong, Chelsey Geralda

doi:10.3389/fsufs.2023.1244790

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 80 publications

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“…courage to create solutions informed by multiple worldviews, honouring the true history of lands and waters (Grenz and Armstrong 2023), and applying a food systems lens. In this case, we demonstrate how consideration of allowing Sumas Lake to return, drawing upon Indigenous laws, knowledges, and decisionmaking, such as understanding the responsibility of Xoĺhmet te mekw staḿ ı ́t kwelat/xaʔɬəmət ct mək ̓ ʷ ʔə kʷə sweʔs ('we have to take care of everything that belongs to us') 1 could reclaim climate resiliency in the Fraser Valley, while enacting ecological and food systems reconciliation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reclaiming the Xhotsa: climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration via the return of Sumas Lake

Finn,

Ned - Kwilosintun,

Ballantyne

et al. 2024

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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Sumas Lake (Xhotsa), located in the Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada, was the heart of Semá:th Nation Territory and the epicenter of a complex Indigenous food system. For the Semá:th people, the lake represented life and livelihood. In 1924, the lake was stolen and drained in an instance of land theft that occurred during a nationwide campaign of land dispossession and genocide, decimating an ecology that supported a rich and diverse Indigenous food system and replacing it with a settler food system. A century later, in November 2021 climate change induced flooding caused the lake to return, resulting in the evacuation of thousands of people and causing millions in damages to homes and infrastructure. Since the flood, the response has been a continuation of the status quo to protect settler agricultural lands via increased investment in hard structures that control the flow of water based on assumptions of the predictability of future flow conditions. We offer a missing narrative by bringing together an analysis of Indigenous laws and oral tradition with an assessment of the economic costs of “managed retreat”, defined as the purposeful relocation of people and infrastructure out of harm’s way. We find that the cost of buying out properties in the lakebed and allowing the lake to return is close to half the cost ($1 billion) of maintaining the status quo ($2.4 billion), while facilitating climate adaptation, and restoration of a floodplain ecosystem that supported thriving populations of people, salmon, sturgeon, ducks, and food and medicinal plants– including many species which are now endangered. Returning Sumas Lake by centering ‘Water Back’ as a climate resiliency solution, enacts both food systems and ecological reconciliation, addressing the harms caused by the loss of the lake to the Semá:th People that is still felt to this day. In a time when climate change induced flooding is predicted to increase, this study demonstrates how the inclusion of Indigenous laws and knowledges are critical to the development of solutions toward a more sustainable and just future.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reclaiming the Xhotsa: climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration via the return of Sumas Lake

Finn,

Ned - Kwilosintun,

Ballantyne

et al. 2024

Front. Conserv. Sci.

Self Cite

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Ethnoecological perspectives on environmental stewardship: Tenets and basis of reciprocity in Gitxsan and nłeʔkepmx (Nlaka'pamux) Territories

Armstrong,

Grenz,

Zyp‐Loring

et al. 2024

People and Nature

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Local and Indigenous Peoples steward and protect a significant proportion of biologically diverse ecosystems globally. This fact is increasingly acknowledged by researchers and international organizations, offering both opportunities and challenges at the intersection of Indigenous and western knowledge production in the context of environmental management research and policy. Drawing on half a century of ethnoecological research and personal experiences in Gitxsan and nłeʔkepmx Territories in the Pacific Northwest of North America, this research considers the role of reciprocity as an inherent philosophy and tenet for successful environmental stewardship. Reciprocity is a legal responsibility and moral perspective that foregrounds many Indigenous worldviews. Such cultural drivers and obligations towards lands and biota appear to be unknown, marginalized or instrumentalized in mainstream and western science and policy. We conclude that fundamental elements of reciprocity may not be adequately blended or braided into western environmental management frameworks. As such, alternatives to blending include acknowledging sole proprietary and self‐determining rights for Indigenous Peoples to govern and steward lands outside of western infrastructures and value systems. This study raises critical questions about the feasibility of reconciling reciprocity with western environmental management practices and regulations. It explores the implications for Indigenous rights and sovereignty, and climate change mitigation. By addressing these complex issues, we contribute to ongoing discourse on the integration of Indigenous and western knowledge in environmental stewardship research, and the ethical, historical and cultural challenges that come with it. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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How does restoration ecology consider climate change uncertainties in forested ecosystems?

Pita,

Wickham,

Davis

et al. 2024

Restoration Ecology

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Forest restoration is a powerful tool that combats forest loss and mitigates climate change. Our review asks how climate change considerations are integrated into forest restoration. We asked: (1) How many articles about forest restoration practices discuss climate change; (2) has this changed over time; and (3) when climate change is mentioned, how is it considered? We used the framework created by Simonson et al. in 2021, which describes seven unique areas where practitioners can consider climate change impacts in their projects. These areas include adjusting species and location for projected changes to fitness, mitigating risks, and aligning practice with policy. We reviewed the literature through Web of Science and evaluated publications for inclusion of these considerations. We found that the number of publications about forest restoration projects has increased significantly since the early 2000s, exceeding 200 in 2021. The proportion of these including the terms “climate change” or “global warming,” has also increased (35% in 2021). Climate change concepts were only considered in what we defined as an “in‐depth” context in 83 of the 186 publications we reviewed (45%). However, the majority of publications (115 of 186, 61%) did incorporate at least one of the seven considerations, even if they did not satisfy our definition for in‐depth climate change consideration. Several articles discussed other considerations not described by Simonson et al. (2021), leading us to recommend adding an eighth criterion to their framework: consider place‐based communities and Indigenous Knowledge Holders' responses to climate change in forest restoration.

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Pop-up restoration in colonial contexts: applying an indigenous food systems lens to ecological restoration

Cited by 4 publications

References 80 publications

Reclaiming the Xhotsa: climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration via the return of Sumas Lake

Reclaiming the Xhotsa: climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration via the return of Sumas Lake

Ethnoecological perspectives on environmental stewardship: Tenets and basis of reciprocity in Gitxsan and nłeʔkepmx (Nlaka'pamux) Territories

How does restoration ecology consider climate change uncertainties in forested ecosystems?

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