Adaptation through knowledge coexistence: insights for environmental and sea lamprey stewardship

ABSTRACT

Strategies for tackling environmental issues, including the consequences of invasive species and corresponding control efforts, are frequently approached through a Western scientific lens that often overlooks Indigenous rights and Indigenous knowledge systems. This can cause numerous issues from costly delays in implementing control programmes, overlooking vital ecosystem information and alternative options, legal action due to infringement on rights, and perpetuating systems of oppression. This research uses social science and Indigenous methodologies to understand the Denny’s Dam rehabilitation (DDR) as a case study for relationship-building and knowledge coexistence between the Saugeen Ojibway Nation and the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission in controlling sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus), an invasive species in the Laurentian Great Lakes. To evaluate the successes and shortcomings of the project, virtual semi-structured interviews (n = 14) were conducted with key decision-makers and others involved in the rehabilitation of Denny’s Dam, a sea lamprey barrier. Analysis of these interviews identify four main factors that were crucial in the success of the DDR partnership: meaningful communication, funding and capacity, going beyond duty to consult requirements, and early engagement. The DDR shows how knowledge coexistence approaches, including Two-Eyed Seeing, can lead to equitable decision-making, foster collaboration, and contribute to addressing challenges like climate change, invasive species, and various environmental degradation.

KEYWORDS:

• Knowledge coexistence
• indigenous partnership
• sea lamprey
• climate change adaptation
• two-eyed seeing

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for all those who have helped with this research project including: the SON Fisheries Committee, Dr. Nathan Young, Dr. Andrea Reid, and the reviewers of this paper. A special thanks to the participants for sharing your experiences and insights. It is through your wisdom that the DDR now serves as an example in sea lamprey stewardship. As well, this research was conducted in connection with a larger research project entitled Sea Lamprey Research & Management – Indigenous Input & Inclusion (3I Project), which is funded by the GLFC and is researching Indigenous perspectives and experience with sea lamprey and sea lamprey control across the Great Lakes Basin. This research was conducted about SON Territory, and virtually facilitated within the Territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinaabeg, and Neutral/Attawandaron Peoples and on the Haldimand Tract – land promised to the Six Nations running 10 kilometers on either side of the Grand River.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 It should be noted that the term “management” comes from a Western paradigm of understanding the environment and human relationships with it. This is not representative of an Indigenous, particularly Anishinaabe worldview. Therefore, the word “stewardship” will henceforth be used instead of “management” as it better reflects an Anishinaabe approach but does not fully encompass it and carries its own connotations (see Foster 2005; Nonkes et al. 2023; Worrell and Appleby 2000).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Great Lakes Fishery Commission [Grant Number 2021_REI_541002].