NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Sahtu Settlement Area

Tags: social sciences, traditional knowledge, culture, land use, protected area, heritage sites

Project Description: Ducks Unlimited Canada and the Community of Fort Good Hope have been working together for the past five years to achieve protected area status for Ts'ude'hliline-Tuyetah, a 14,907 km² area bordered on the east by the Mackenzie River and on the west by the Gwich’in Settlement Area boundary. This area was first identified in the Sahtu Land Use Planning process and by the Sahtu Heritage Places and Sites Joint Working Group as important from a cultural and ecological standpoint. As part of conducting ecological, socio-economic and cultural Protected Area Strategy (PAS) evaluations of the area, this study aims to develop a dataset of cultural values present in Ts'ude'hliline-Tuyetah. Traditional land use and occupancy mapping interviews will be carried out with people knowledgeable about the area (i.e., past and present land users). Standard data collection techniques (e.g., utliizing base-maps overlayed with mylars on which people mark points, lines and polygons) will be used to produce map biographies. This information will then be digitized and incorporated into the GIS system for digital mapping. Interviews will be recorded and relevant portions translated, transcribed and/or summarized. Knowledgeable individuals will be identified and their participation in interviews requested. Members of the research team will travel to Fort Good Hope prior to the commencement of interviews to work with potential participants, explain the research and gain community feedback. The community’s assistance will be sought to review and comment on the interview schedule. Once the research protocol is approved by the community, the research team will travel to Fort Good Hope to conduct mapping interviews. The number of interviews will depend on the amount of knowledge that still exists about the study area. The goal is to interview as many people as necessary to gather information that covers the entire area or a majority of the area. The community will be actively involved in this research as coordinators and participants. Once interviews are completed, the local community will be informed about the results of study by newsletter and through radio broadcasts. The newsletter and radio piece will be translated, in whole or in part, into Sahtu Dene. Maps will also be printed and made available to local schools and community organizations. Copies of all data will remain in the community under the care of K’asho Got’ine Band Council, the Yamoga Land Corporation, the Sahtu Land Use Planning Board and the K’asho Got’ine Cultural Centre. The study will be conducted from June 1 to October 31, 2006 within the municipal bounds of Fort Good Hope.