Indigenous Engagement in Transboundary Water

Governance

Exploring the relationship between boundaries,Indigenous engagement, and Indigenous action

in the context of water governance

Warrick Baijius, PhD candidateDepartment of Geography and Planning

Wuskwi SipihkFirst Nation

Intr

od

uct

ion

• Community and Watershed Context

• Land Use/Land Cover Change

• Water Governance, Planning, and State-Indigenous Engagement

• Boundary Concepts

• Indigenous Action as Indigenous Engagement

• Discussion

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Co

nte

xtCommunity Partner

2017-11-15 PFSRB 2017 - Indigenous Engagement in Water Governance 3

Map source:Swan Lake IWMP Public Consultation Summary document

Wuskwi SipihkFirst Nation

Co

nte

xtSwan River Watershed

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Sources: GeoBase 50k DEMWater Survey of Canada

Co

nte

xtSwan River Watershed

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Sources: Google EarthWater Survey of Canada

Agricultural Drainage

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Agricultural Drainage

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Land Cover Change

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Circa 1984 Circa 2015

Images: Google Earth

R1

1984 2004 2009 2011 2015

R2

1984 1997 2004 2008 2015

R3

1984 1988 2000 2014 2015

R4

1989 1990 1991 1992 1993

R5

1984 1995 1996 2010 2015

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Land Cover Change - Detailed

Lan

d C

ove

r C

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Ero

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n

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Image: 5km LANDSAT 7 Orthophoto. Source: mli.gov.mb.ca

Lan

d C

ove

r C

han

ge -

Ero

sio

n

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Image: 5km LANDSAT 7 Orthophoto. Source: mli.gov.mb.ca

Lan

d C

ove

r C

han

ge -

Ero

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n

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Image: 5km LANDSAT 7 Orthophoto. Source: mli.gov.mb.ca

Forestry

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Go

vern

ance

Co

nte

xtLegislation and Governance

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Manitoba Government

Conservation District Act

CD Commission

Conservation Districts

Sub-district committees

CD Boards

Water Protection Act

Watershed Planning

Authorities

Water Council

Go

vern

ance

Co

nte

xtPolicy and Public Participation

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Go

vern

ance

Co

nte

xtWatershed Planning

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Source: https://www.gov.mb.ca/waterstewardship/iwmp/pdf/iwmp_handout.pdf

Bo

un

dar

ies

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• Jurisdiction, Responsibility, Ownership

• Knowledge, Concepts, and Language

• Ways of Being, Living, and Doing

Bo

un

dar

ies

Jurisdiction, Responsibility, and Ownership

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Image above: Wikipedia - Dominion Land Survey. CC BY-SA 3.0Left: INAC, online

Bo

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dar

ies

Knowledge, Concepts, and Language

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Images: Stewart et al. 2010. Field Manual on Buffer Design for the Canadian Prairies.

Bo

un

dar

ies

Ways of Being, Living, and Doing

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Four Aspects of the Self A World of Relations

From: D’Arcy Rheault (1999). Anishinaabe Mino-Bimaadiziwin: The Way of a Good Life. Debwewin Press, Ontario.

Ind

igen

ou

s A

ctio

nJurisdiction and Ownership

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Map: 2014 Swan River IWMP

Ind

igen

ou

s A

ctio

nKnowledge and Power

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Above and top: 2014 Swan River IWMPLeft: Kate Ely, Hydrologist, http://aquadoc.typepad.com/waterwired/2008/12/postmodern-hydrologic-cycle.html

Ind

igen

ou

s A

ctio

nKnowledge and Power

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Above and right: CEC Bipole III Public Hearing transcripts

Ways of Being and Doing - Praxis

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Ind

igen

ou

s A

ctio

n

Dis

cuss

ion

• Administrative and Property Boundaries

• Praxis

• Ethical Spaces

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Acknowledgements

• Wuskwi Sipihk First Nation and Dan Soprovich (Lands Manager)

• CREATE H2O + NSERC

• Advisors• Bob Patrick (U of S)

• Chris Furgal (Trent U)

• Committee members• Sarah Nickel

• Bram Noble

• Graham Strickert

• Ryan Walker

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