This Hub will prioritize outreach and collaborative (bicultural) approaches by including youth and Elders, emerging scholars and seasoned researchers or managers, and working together to facilitate meaningful research and useful and relevant knowledge sharing materials. Relationships will be supported by ceremony, planning meetings, skill-development, and shared experiences. Reciprocity will come from co- creating Indigenous-led outreach products and working with western decision-makers to identify pathways to incorporating Indigenous knowledge in management planning, wildlife policies, and ongoing wildlife management practices.
This Hub will advance the connection of the Stoney Nakoda (and other Indigenous Nations) to both bison and the lands of Mînî Rhpa Mâkoche (Banff National Park) by modelling ethical biculturalism that upholds Indigenous knowledge and methodologies alongside Western perspectives. Further, the stories told through outreach will not only promote the crucial role of bison in the ecosystem, it will challenge people to think holistically and acknowledge the place of Indigenous peoples in the landscape and in wildlife management. As seen in previous work, this project affirms the tie between the Stoney Nakoda People and places where they have historically been excluded. That connection is a pathway to well-being among the entire community.
The Hub will generate outreach opportunities such as a film, report, photos, and short-format content that will not only share insights from observations of bison on the landscape, but that will also demonstrate the value of Indigenous-led research as a pathway to self-determination. This should be even more impactful when the outreach materials are created by Stoney youth under the guidance of empathetic film professionals.
This Hub is Indigenous-led and represents a significant commitment by the Stoney Nakoda Nation to inform the management of bison directly through policy impacts, and indirectly by building relationships with decision-makers and academics who are also seeking impactful research and learning opportunities.
