“More precious than gold” : Indigenous water governance in the context of Modern land claims in Yukon ...

• Main Author: Wilson, Nicole J.
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2018
• Subjects: Carcross; First Nations; Tagish; Yukon
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0365818; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0365818

Water governance is a priority for Indigenous peoples, whose complex relationships to water are essential to material and cultural well-being. Indigenous water governance refers to Indigenous modes of interacting with and decision-making processes about water including ontologies, epistemologies, and forms of governance distinct to a given people and adapted over time. Indigenous peoples around the world are presently struggling to protect the waters within their territories against unprecedented changes occurring as a consequence of global environmental change and unsustainable resource development. This dissertation empirically investigates how Indigenous water governance is shaped by the Modern land claims in Yukon, Canada focusing on four of fourteen Yukon First Nations (Carcross/Tagish, Kluane, Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in and White River); the challenges of navigating complex water governance landscapes where historical and ongoing colonialism shape Indigenous water rights and access; Indigenous approaches to ...