Haida Governance Strategies for Effective Ecosystem Based Management
Date
2021-04-29
Authors
Mays, Jacqueline
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Abstract
The emerging focus in British Columbia on Indigenous self-determination over negotiated borders requires a detailed focus from governments on the acknowledgement of Indigenous entitlement and the sustainable management of land and marine ecosystems that have stood the test of time. Rich in resources that have provided revenue for the province, these ecosystems have been significantly impacted by exploitative extraction practices that have damaged both the environment and the subsistence and cultural livelihoods of their Indigenous stewards. While B.C. laws have provided some protection to Indigenous Nations and their ancestral domains, these laws have often been created to favour corporations rather than addressing the special protection afforded to Indigenous Nations under international and domestic law. As a result, many Nations are forced to depend on political clout for regaining self-determination.
For coastal nations like the Haida, management over ancestral domains is particularly challenging due to the complex matrix of legislation over the land and surrounding oceanscapes. Juxtaposed within the liminal state of a Pacific Ocean borderland that encompasses the administrative borders of Canada, the United States, British Columbia, and Alaska, the ancestral domain of the Haida Nation seems a boundless expanse that is consistently unacknowledged and at risk of infringement by a host of entities. With the aim of addressing this policy gap, the Borders in Globalization Project functions as an international academic network to assist policymakers in making informed decisions on equitable co-management agreements that take these points and others into consideration.
This report summarizes the Haida Nation’s evolution in governance since the creation of its governing council, through examination of the strategies by which it has managed the resource base within its borders.
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Haida, self-determination, co-management, Indigenous, border, maritime