Łeghágots'enetę (learning together): the importance of indigenous perspectives in the identification of biological variation

• Published in: Ecology and Society
• Main Authors: Jean L. Polfus, Micheline Manseau, Deborah Simmons, Michael Neyelle, Walter Bayha, Frederick Andrew, Leon Andrew, Cornelya F. C. Klütsch, Keren Rice, Paul Wilson
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Resilience Alliance 2016
• Subjects: aboriginal; biocultural diversity; biodiversity; caribou; collaborative research; ecology; First Nation; genetic variation; indigenous communities; population genetics; population structure; Rangifer tarandus; resource management; social-ecological systems; traditional knowledge; Biology (General); QH301-705.5; QH540-549.5; Canada; Northwest Territories
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.5751/ES-08284-210218; https://doaj.org/article/75fdbd3cf89544b387075b958694b647

Using multiple knowledge sources to interpret patterns of biodiversity can generate the comprehensive species characterizations that are required for effective conservation strategies. Caribou (Rangifer tarandus) display substantial intraspecific variation across their distribution and in the Sahtú Region of the Northwest Territories, Canada, three caribou types, each with a different conservation status, co-occur. Caribou are essential to the economies, culture, and livelihoods of northern indigenous peoples. Indigenous communities across the north are insisting that caribou research be community-driven and collaborative. In response to questions that arose through dialogue with five Sahtú Dene and Métis communities, we jointly developed a research approach to understand caribou differentiation and population structure. Our goal was to examine caribou variation through analysis of population genetics and an exploration of the relationships Dene and Métis people establish with animals within bioculturally diverse systems. To cultivate a research environment that supported ÅeghaÌgots'enetę "learning together" we collaborated with Éehdzo Got'ı̨nÄ (Renewable Resources Councils), elders, and an advisory group. Dene knowledge and categorization systems include a comprehensive understanding of the origin, behaviors, dynamic interactions, and spatial structure of caribou. Dene people classify tǫdzı "boreal woodland caribou" based on unique behaviors, habitat preferences, and morphology that differ from ÉekweÌ¨Ì "barren-ground" or shuÌhta ÉepeÌ¨Ì "mountain" caribou. Similarly, genetic analysis of material (microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA) from caribou fecal pellets, collected in collaboration with community members during the winter, provided additional evidence for population differentiation that corresponded to the caribou types recognized by Dene people and produced insights into the evolutionary histories that contribute to the various forms. We developed culturally respectful and relevant descriptions ...