Help Tribal and First Nation Representatives Attend CERF 2015

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We need your help to send representatives from multiple US Tribes and Canadian First Nations to CERF 2015 in Portland, Oregon in November 8 - 12. The CERF conference is held every two years, and is an important opportunity for coastal researchers and managers to exchange information on the latest science affecting their work and learn from each other. It is usually attended by over 1,500 people from around the world. However, indigenous peoples have not had high attendance at previous CERF conferences, largely because of cost and time availability.

We wish to change this starting with the 2015 conference. A small group of Tribal and First Nation representatives have scheduled a special session composed solely of Tribal and First Nation speakers to present their research and resource management approaches. The session will showcase how Tribes and First Nations across the Pacific Northwest interweave cultural values into their governance structure and their research, restoration, and management approaches to ensure sustainable native species and First Foods. It will provide an overview of Pacific Northwest Tribes and First Nations; historical use of estuaries and coasts; and how cultural values are integrated into governance and resource management for the maintenance of First Foods, focusing on anadromous fish recovery, shellfish habitat enhancement and aquatic resource management. Presenters will discuss research, restoration, and funding needs of Tribes and First Nations resource management programs. The session will end with a brief networking opportunity to match researchers and managers to relevant Tribal and First Nation representatives to fill these needs.

We need to raise $5,000 to support the travel, food and lodging of representatives coming from out of town. We need just a little more help.

Please consider donating to this worthy cause!

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ROLE OF HISTORICAL USE AND CULTURAL VALUES IN TRIBAL AND FIRST NATION GOVERNANCE, RESEARCH AND RESTORATION 

Monday, November 9 | 8 am - 12:30 pm
SCI 106A and SCI 106B - Room B114

Session Description
The objective of this session is to highlight how Tribes and First Nations across the Pacific Northwest interweave cultural values into their governance structure and as a result, their research, restoration, and management approaches to ensure sustainable native species and First Foods. The session will also provide opportunities to fill research gaps by Tribes and First Nations by linking them to researchers, restoration practitioners, and resource managers working to harvest, protect and recover natural resources and aquatic species. Topics of the session will include an overview of Tribes and First Nations within the Pacific Northwest, historical use of estuaries and coasts, and how cultural values are integrated into governance and management of natural resources for the maintenance of First Foods. This includes the consideration of how any action that Tribes or First Nations take will interact with the sustainability of fishing, hunting and foraging, with a focus on anadromous fish recovery, shellfish habitat enhancement and aquatic resource management.

The session will begin with an overview of Tribes and First Nations within the Pacific Northwest, and the historic importance and use of estuaries and coasts to indigenous residents of the Pacific Northwest. A discussion of the First Foods concept and other frameworks for resource management will follow. The First Foods framework focuses on protecting and recovering species and related habitats that historically were part of tribal members’ diets and culture. Historically, Pacific salmon and other fish (eulachon, herring, lamprey) formed a large part of the diets of tribal members; as a result, salmon are an iconic cultural component of tribal society and spirituality. Not surprisingly, they are a large focus of current research and restoration efforts of tribal governments now. This session will showcase multiple examples of how the different Tribes and First Nations interweave cultural values into the protection and restoration of native species.

Presenters will discuss research, restoration, and funding needs of Tribes and First Nations resource management programs. The session will end with a brief networking opportunity to match researchers and managers to relevant Tribal and First Nation representatives to fill these needs.

Session Conveners

Charles Hudson
Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, Portland, OR, USA

Taylor Aalvik
Cowlitz Indian Tribe, Longview, WA, USA

Richard Bussanich
Okanagan Nation Alliance, Westbank, British Columbia, Canada

D.R. Michel
Upper Columbia United Tribes, Spokane, WA, USA

Skye Augustine
Northwest Indian College, Bellingham, WA, USA

Heather Ray
Upper Snake River Tribes Foundation, Boise, ID, USA

Catherine Corbett
Lower Columbia Estuary Partnership, Portland, OR, USA

Jesse Ford
Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, USA

Gary Williams
GL Williams and Associates, Ltd., Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada