A Human-Relational Approach to Climate Change, Traditional Knowledge, and First Nations in Canada

The impacts of climate change are unevenly distributed over Earth’s surface and among human populations. This research examines the impacts of climate change in selected First Nation reservation communities in Saskatchewan, Canada. First Nations represent one of three groups of Indigenous peoples in Canada that include the Métis and the Inuit. First Nation reservations, or “lands reserved for the Indians” (Indian Act 1876), are the creation of the federal government Indian Act (1876), which sought to concentrate and isolate First Nations people in a broader process of cultural assimilation. There are over 700 First Nation reservations across Canada. Climate change research has helped to illustrate the heightened risk exposure for First Nations on reservations due to limited resources to prepare for, and react to, climate-induced emergencies such as wildfires and flooding. Equally important, we argue, are the impacts of climate change on the cultural and traditional practices of First Nations people in Canada. The goal of this paper is to make a direct contribution to this body of literature by taking a human-relational approach to explore the socio-cultural impacts of climate change on community members. Community members in three case study reservations conducted household semi-structured interviews and survey questionnaires. This research shows how climate change is altering traditional medicine harvest and wild berry collection areas, displacing wild game such as caribou and waterfowl, and altering drinking water quality and availability to community members. The physical impacts of climate change produce a direct social and cultural impact on these communities. The northern latitude and concentrated populations of First Nations people made Canada an appropriate area from which to conduct this study. This research contributes to a broader global discourse on the interplay of traditional knowledge systems, Indigenous culture and climate change.