Mamawi-atosketan in the Saskatchewan River Delta.

Abstract:

The Saskatchewan River Delta, the largest freshwater delta in North America, faces several threats from upstream development such as: water withdrawal for irrigation, flow control for hydro-power production, and climate change. Indigenous people from the community of Cumberland House in partnership with scientists have created an informal delta stewardship committee. The committee’s members have collaborated successfully to bring significant attention to the impacts on the delta and have begun to influence policy change. Policy changes include: 1) collaboration among the different local government entities including: First Nation, Metis, the local municipality, scientists and conservation groups through a Memorandum of Understanding called ‘Mamawi-atosketan’ – Cree for ‘let’s all work together’ ; 2) the ability to control invasive plants by conducting controlled burns on traplines, a practice that had been banned for over 30 years; 3) renewed partnerships with conservation groups to manage overgrown vegetation in critical wetlands, 4) partnerships electricity producing utilities to invest in local stewardship efforts, and 5) changes to the operations of a major hydropower facility to mimic natural flows. Examples will describe how policy changes came about, as well as how local knowledge and scientific experiments were complimentary by maximizing accessibility and responsiveness.