The status is Active (Partial). Directly responsive Canadian activity exists: Indigenous-led land-management institutions and Indigenous-operated or Indigenous-centred research bodies conduct land-use planning support, land-governance knowledge sharing, cumulative effects research, case examples, and community-based research on land and water management. However, this activity is not shown to operate through the NIES “Indigenous Centre of Excellence for Land Management” contemplated by Call #46, nor is it shown to be nationally coordinated as a Call #50 research-and-case-study program. Scaling, coordinating, or formally linking these institutions could help satisfy the Call, but the current structure only partially matches the Call as written.
Supporting Evidence
-
Indigenous peoples and marine protected area governance: A Mi’kmaq and Atlantic Canada case study
Type of Evidence: Academic Literature
Summary of Key Findings:This research examines Mi’kmaq involvement in marine protected area (MPA) governance in Canada, identifying systemic barriers, lack of cultural understanding, fisheries conflicts, and limited capacity as key challenges, while highlighting opportunities such as meaningful consultation, recognition of Indigenous worldviews, and alternative governance approaches that concurrently address Indigenous rights and marine conservation.
Topics & Keywords:Governance, Indigenous worldviews, Marine protected areas, Mi’kmaq, Systemic barriersLimitations:The study is constrained by a small sample size (n=17), limited perspective diversity due to recruitment challenges, inability to generalize findings across all stakeholder groups, a data gap from absent non-Indigenous fisher participation, and the need for further research on applying Mi’kmaq concepts in MPA governance.
More Information About Indigenous peoples and marine protected area governance: A Mi’kmaq and Atlantic Canada case study
-
From Participant to Partner: Applying Indigenous Understandings of Treaties to Canada’s Environmental Impact Assessment Processes
Type of Evidence: Academic Literature
Summary of Key Findings:The paper examines how Indigenous involvement in environmental assessments can be improved by addressing colonial legacies and proposing treaty-based frameworks that shift Indigenous communities from mere participants to equal partners through meaningful collaboration and respect for Indigenous knowledge.
Topics & Keywords:Colonialism, Environmental Impact Assessment Processes, Indigenous Involvement, Reconciliation, Sustainable Environmental Decision-MakingLimitations:The Impact Assessment Act fails to address long-standing issues including marginalization of Indigenous interests, extractive use of Indigenous knowledge, dominance of colonial and neoliberal values, unilateral ministerial decision-making power, procedural obstacles such as tight deadlines and narrow scopes, and the continued exclusion of Indigenous Peoples as equal partners in the EA process.
More Information About From Participant to Partner: Applying Indigenous Understandings of Treaties to Canada’s Environmental Impact Assessment Processes
-
Lands Advisory Board & Resource Centre
Type of Evidence: Organization Website
Summary of Key Findings:LABRC supports First Nations in regaining control of reserve lands and resources by helping communities draft and implement land codes, providing technical and administrative support for land governance, land-use planning, surveys, environmental management, and registry systems, thereby enabling economic development, improved land certainty, and self-determination outside the Indian Act.
Topics & Keywords:environmental law, Indigenous land governance, Land Code, reserve lands, resource governanceLimitations:As an organizational and policy-support website rather than an independent research body, LABRC does not provide peer-reviewed data or empirical outcome assessments, resulting in limited publicly available evidence to validate the long-term effectiveness or comparative success of its governance model.
More Information About Lands Advisory Board & Resource Centre