Experiential Science 30: Freshwater Ecology (Indigenous Knowledge Lesson Plan)

• Main Authors: Karsgaard, Carrie, Mackay, Mackenzie, Catholique, Alexandria
• Other Authors: Parlee, Brenda
• Format: Course Material
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: community health and security; fish health; fishers' knowledge; local traditional knowledge; fishing livelihoods; Mackenzie Riber Basin; on-the-land experience; Mackenzie River; Mackenzie river
• Online Access: https://era.library.ualberta.ca/items/b045ec6a-ada6-44ec-b2d4-b40c8a196e10; https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-7ve7-c161

Fish are an important part of many people’s diets, and having reliable access to fish in a nearby waterway is an important part of many communities’ health and food security. While western science provides important information about local fish resources, fishers and Indigenous peoples have been gathering and passing on information about fish populations for generations. This knowledge is key to the livelihoods of communities throughout the Mackenzie River basin. In this lesson, students will conduct fieldwork to investigate local fish resources in a way that is rooted in Indigenous knowledge and on-the-land experience.