Fort McKay Territory-wide Traditional Use Study Project Update Submitted to: Alvaro Pinto, Fort McKay Sustainability Department Prepared by: Integral Ecology Group, Ltd. April 11, 2012 Project Background The Fort McKay Territory-wide Traditional Use Study (FM TUS) is designed to document through – mapping interviews and field validation - Fort McKay Community member’s life on the land including places where they have lived, traveled, gathered resources and conducted ceremonies. TUS is a form of social science investigation that brings together Community knowledge with ethnographic, archival, and sometimes archaeological information to provide clarity on places and values of cultural, economic, heritage or community importance. Existing Fort McKay TUS information is incomplete and the existing studies did not document site visits to TU locations so the spatial accuracy of the mapped information is limited. The current available information, therefore, under-represents the extent of Fort McKay’s Treaty and Aboriginal rights. The FM TUS uses sound defensible methods to document the Community’s TU designed to withstand the scrutiny of court. The FM TUS offers the following benefits to the Community: Records cultural information before knowledge holders pass away; Provides educational and learning opportunities for youth and other Communities members; Offers employment; Contributes to land use planning and resource management projects (including reclamation), and Assists in land monitoring activities. The FM TUS is a three-year project that will proceed in a phased approach. Community researchers have been trained in the research methodology and participate in both interviews and site visits. This ensures Community members are engaged in all aspects of the project, contributing to cultural knowledge transfer among Community members. Quality control and ongoing communication with Community researchers are built into the study design. All Community members with knowledge of the land will be interviewed, and interviews are prioritized according to the following criteria: People with knowledge of an area proposed to be developed, Age of Community members (oldest elders will be invited to participate first) Trappers and most experienced land users This TUS study includes 30 days of interviews per year (interviews range from 1-3 days in length depending on the knowledge and availability of the interviewee) and 2-3 weeks of field validation per year. In addition, all TUS interviews are be video recorded and fully transcribed. Information gathered
Fort McKay Territory-wide Traditional Use Study Project Update Submitted to: Alvaro Pinto, Fort McKay Sustainability Department Prepared by: Integral Ecology Group, Ltd. April 11, 2012 Project Background The Fort McKay Territory-wide Traditional Use Study (FM TUS) is designed to document – through mapping interviews and field validation - Fort McKay Community member’s life on the land including places where they have lived, traveled, gathered resources and conducted ceremonies. TUS is a form of social science investigation that brings together Community knowledge with ethnographic, archival, and sometimes archaeological information to provide clarity on places and values of cultural, economic, heritage or community importance. Existing Fort McKay TUS information is incomplete and the existing studies did not document site visits to TU locations so the spatial accuracy of the mapped information is limited. The current available information, therefore, under-represents the extent of Fort McKay’s Treaty and Aboriginal rights. The FM TUS uses sound defensible methods to document the Community’s TU designed to withstand the scrutiny of court. The FM TUS offers the following benefits to the Community: Records cultural information before knowledge holders pass away; Provides educational and learning opportunities for youth and other Communities members; Offers employment; Contributes to land use planning and resource management projects (including reclamation), and Assists in land monitoring activities. The FM TUS is a three-year project that will proceed in a phased approach. Community researchers have been trained in the research methodology and participate in both interviews and site visits. This ensures Community members are engaged in all aspects of the project, contributing to cultural knowledge transfer among Community members. Quality control and ongoing communication with Community researchers are built into the study design. All Community members with knowledge of the land will be interviewed, and interviews are prioritized according to the following criteria: People with knowledge of an area proposed to be developed, Age of Community members (oldest elders will be invited to participate first) Trappers and most experienced land users This TUS study includes 30 days of interviews per year (interviews range from 1-3 days in length depending on the knowledge and availability of the interviewee) and 2-3 weeks of field validation per year. In addition, all TUS interviews are be video recorded and fully transcribed. Information gathered
TTW%20TUS%20Project%20Update%20April%202012.docx