Aboriginal Management of National Parks
I just returned from a sailing trip to Gwaii Hannas National Park in Haida Gwaii off British Columbia's northern coast. It is interesting to see how the Haida people are co-managing the National Park with Parks Canada. I had the chance to talk to some of the Haida Watchmen at the heritage sites; those times were some of the best parts of the visit. Hearing about the Haida culture from someone who is living it makes it much more powerful than getting it second-hand.
I found quite a contrast between how we (non-Haida) and the Haida described the sites. We would call them abandoned but the Haida don't. They regard them as part of their living culture. If you look at this video you will see what remains. They give equal weight to the spirits and history as built architecture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaYLyYoNTzY
Are you aware of similar comanagement agreements for parks or protected areas?
Carol
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Must have been a great trip, thank you for posting!
At the website of the Council of the Haida Nation, I found links to the conservation / co-management plans for those who want to read details: [url]http://www.haidanation.ca/Pages/Splash/Public_Notices/ConManagementPlans.html[/url]http://www.haidanation.ca/Pages/Splash/Public_Notices/ConManagementPlans.html
Sad to read (at http://www.haidalanguage.org ) that only a few dozen speakers of Haida, remain today, all in their 70s. If tourism could lead to a revival of their language, perhaps teaching basic skills to tourists, it would be great.
The creation of such 'co-managed' protected areas around the world is a compromise between the (former?) colonial power and the indigenous people, in terms of settling land ownership disputes. Ideally, full-management of the protected area should be given to the indigenous community, if such a community still exists in an organised form. It is a complex ethical and political issue of course, in terms of which laws and development / conservation model should apply, and who is entitled to decide/vote, and the answer depends on local politics as well as one's political views.0 Like
