‘We took it all the way!’
Faced with the difficult decision to approve a large gold mine, the community of Wemindji sought ways to ensure that one fifth of their territory would be protected from development.
Today, two important watersheds comprising 4,500 square kilometres are protected in perpetuity by the Paakumshumwaau-Maatuskaau Biodiversity Reserve. A further 25,000 square kilometres of marine territory is under consideration by Parks Canada and the Grand Council of the Crees for a National Marine Conservation Area.
“This book is important to the community as it illustrates that working with researchers from university institutions is beneficial to both parties,” says Rodney Mark, former chief of Wemindji and current director of social and cultural development for the Cree Nation Government. He and Colin Scott are the project’s co-leads.
“What’s unusual about this story was that we went beyond the research,” Mulrennan says. “We took it all the way. We worked with the community and with the province to put the protected area in place!”
Mulrennan, along with graduate students in her research group, continues to support efforts to advance Indigenous-led conservation. She is currently the research lead on Indigenous conservation governance for the SSHRC-funded Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership program and the Centre for Indigenous Conservation and Development Alternatives, funded by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Société et culture.
Staying connected
Mulrennan, together with her students and often her family, regularly visits Eeyou Istchee.
“It’s beautiful,” says Mulrennan of the protected region. “And it contributes in vital ways to the maintenance of Cree connections to territory as well as Cree land-based activities, knowledge, language and customs."
The project is a response to calls for a far-reaching rethinking of conservation premised on recognition of the continuing authority of Indigenous peoples for stewardship of their lands and waters. University researchers can play an important role in this rethinking.
Mark is proud of the years-long research project’s results.
“These collaborations engage us in research that is meaningful and that sets the agenda for the community in terms of protected areas and development.”
Learn more about Caring for the Eeyou Istchee: : Protected Areas Creation on Wemindji Cree Territory, co-edited by Monica Mulrennan.
Find out more about Concordia’s Department of Geography, Planning and Environment.