The North and the Artic are bearing the brunt of the effects of climate change. Building resiliency in Indigenous and northern communities through climate monitoring will help keep them safe and healthy and help avoid some of the steep and rising costs associated with extreme weather.
With this in mind, Dan Vandal, Minister of Northern Affairs, recently announced funding to help communities in the Northwest Territories monitor the effects of climate change. The North Slave Métis Alliance is receiving federal funding over three years for its Guardianship program and community-based climate and wildlife monitoring work. The Guardianship program aims to connect community members to the land while gathering and documenting important information about the overall health of the ecosystem in their Traditional Territory.
Weaving together Indigenous Knowledge with science, Guardians monitor and record wildlife observations, road and snow conditions, weather conditions, and harvesting activities with a focus on barren-ground caribou and wood bison. The project also supported youth to participate in a land-based learning program.
North Slave Métis Alliance staff members, Alan Alex and Jess Smart, with North Slave Métis Alliance member and vice president, Alan Harman Jr., and Mason Dominico (consultant), set up a weather station at Old Fort Rae, amidst -35°C weather, in February 2023. Credit: Government of Canada.
“Indigenous and northern communities are on the frontlines of climate change as the effects are having real impacts on their livelihoods, infrastructure, cultures, and way of life,” said Minister Vandal. “By taking action to adapt to a changing climate, we can build resilient northern communities and economies that are able to thrive for generations to come. The choices and adaptation actions we take today will help decide the future of our communities, our livelihoods, our environment, and our economy.”
Through the Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring Program, the North Slave Métis Alliance is receiving $186,000 over three years to support its Guardianship program. This builds on their previously funded monitoring work ($106,000 from 2021–2023).
“The work done by the Guardianship Program not only empowers our members to safeguard the land but also strengthens the protection of our cultural and ecological values, which are becoming ever more critical in our changing world,” said Marc Whitford, president of the North Slave Métis Alliance. “The data collected by our Guardians will facilitate and enhance the integration of Traditional Knowledge into decision-making processes and foster deeper cultural engagement and expression for our Métis community.”
The Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring Program provides funding to support the development and implementation of community-based climate monitoring projects. Using both Indigenous Knowledge and Western science, these projects provide the necessary data to inform community adaptation actions and can be used to help address climate data gaps within Canada.
To date, the Indigenous Community-Based Climate Monitoring Program has supported a total of 227 projects across Canada with an investment of more than $45 million.
For further information on this initiative, visit: NSMA Guardianship Programs
Featured image: North Slave Métis community member Darryl Bohnet, alongside North Slave Métis Alliance staff members, Jess Smart and Orna Phelan, collecting water samples at Prelude Lake during the final round of summer sampling in 2023. Credit: Government of Canada.
