Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs)

By Trish Nash, IPCA Program Manager, UINR

Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR) represents the five Mi’kmaw communities in Cape Breton and was formed to ensure natural resources are used in a sustainable way. UINR uses the following Mi’kmaw principles to guide their work:

Netukulimk - gifts provided by the Creator should be used sustainably for the well-being of the individual and the community. Netukulimk is achieving adequate standards of community nutrition and economic well-being without jeopardizing the integrity, diversity, or productivity of our environment.

Etuaptmumk – embraces learning using the strengths of Mi’kmaw knowledge in one eye, and the best from Western science in the other, and using both eyes for the benefit of all. This is also known as Two-Eyed Seeing and was developed by Mi’kmaw Elders Albert and Murdena Marshall from Eskasoni.

Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas were created by a federal committee called the Indigenous Circle of Experts (ICE) to describe land protection where Indigenous governments have the primary role. IPCAs share three elements, they are: Indigenous led, represent a long-term commitment to conservation, and elevate Indigenous rights and responsibilities. Culture and language are at the heart of every IPCA. The We Rise Together Report developed in 2018 by ICE is a clear turning point in Canadian history, and provides a clear path to a hopeful future consistent with the principle of free, prior, and informed consent as expressed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

The legacy of parks in Canada failed to recognize the important connection Indigenous peoples have with Mother Earth. Many were removed from their territories to make way for tourism and recreation development, or to maintain a pristine wilderness devoid of people. IPCAs are important to reconciliation in Canada, and will help identify ways to heal and create respectful relationships between the Crown, Canadians, Indigenous Peoples, and with the land, water, and sky. IPCAs will honour people and all their relations (animals, trees, rocks) on Turtle Island.

In August 2019, the Federal Government announced funding for protected and conserved areas to meet the goal of protecting 25 percent of lands and oceans in Canada by 2025. The project, Advancing Target 1 In Nova Scotia – A Collaborative Conservation Approach led by the Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Climate Change and the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs received funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada to create a network of protected areas across the province by 2023. Project partners include the Nova Scotia Nature Trust, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ducks Unlimited, and municipal governments.

UINR held a number of engagement sessions in 2020 with Unama’ki Elders and other Knowledge Holders. The IPCA concept was discussed, important Mi’kmaw principles and values were identified, and the Kluskap’s Cave site was chosen for a possible IPCA. Kluskap is a central figure in Mi’kmaw stories and legends, and Kluskap’s home, Kluskapewiktut, is a sacred site that draws Mi’kmaq from across Atlantic Canada. Many Mi’kmaq consider the cave to be the centre of the Universe, and the place where Kluskap will return one day. Findings from the engagement sessions and key informant interviews, which will guide the establishment of IPCAs in Unama’ki, are found in the Tan Telolt’ik Report.

The Unama’ki IPCA decision-making framework is comprised of four central themes, each with a number of underlying principles. A Mi’kmaw youth beside Kluskap’s Cave is at the centre of the circle.

A 5,000-hectare area of interest has been identified for the IPCA, grounded in the legends of Kluskap. It reflects the interconnectedness between the stories, land, water, and sky and includes multiple jurisdictions and land tenures. The IPCA is an opportunity to recognize Mi’kmaw title and rights and embrace Mi’kmaw values - values that serve us all well, conserve biodiversity, and fight climate change.  

Map indicating the area of interest for the Kluskap IPCA project located west of Sydney, Cape Breton.

The area of interest also contains an internationally important bird area (IBA), a marine Ecologically and Biologically Sensitive Area (EBSA), the provincial Kluskap wilderness area, provincial crown lands with existing licenses for forestry and mining, an island owned by the Nova Scotia Nature Trust, federal land, and private lands owned by American and Canadian citizens. The St. Ann’s Marine Protected Area is 80 km to the east. 

The land seascape approach, diverse land tenures and jurisdictions, and a developed and populated land base make the creation of this IPCA unique in Canada. The first step will be to secure and protect the lands and waters through the use of agreements, conservation easements, co-governance arrangements, purchase, and a new Mi’kmaq land trust called Sespite’tmnej Kmitknu (let us protect our homeland) Conservancy. An ecological connectivity corridor has also been proposed from the Kluskap IPCA north to the Cape Bretons Highlands National Park and south to the Bras d’Or Biosphere Reserve.

In a recent news release, Nova Scotia Environment and Climate Change Minister Keith Irving commented on the first IPCA land purchase in Nova Scotia secured by UINR for the Kluskap IPCA:

“This is a significant development for land protection in Nova Scotia. I want to acknowledge and congratulate the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs and Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources on their work developing the guiding principles at this site for land protection, along with the framework that led to the creation the first Indigenous protected and Conserved Area in Nova Scotia at this important site at Cape Dauphin in Unama'ki.”

Unama’ki Mi’kmaw Elder leading a walk to sacred Kluskap’s Cave.

The Kluskap IPCA is about building respectful reciprocal relationships with crown governments, other Indigenous Nations, environmental organizations, and a renewed relationship with land and water…this is reconciliation.

Nova Scotia is on the unceded traditional territory of the Mi’kmaq. Land ownership is a foreign concept to the Mi’kmaq as they do not see land as a possession but a gift from the Creator. The Mi’kmaq recently established Sepite’tmnej Kmitknu Conservancy, a land trust that will allow land to be secured through purchase, donation, and easement using a Mi’kmaq lens - traditional knowledge, values, and laws. In January 2021, UINR purchased a key property that contains the trailhead, first section of the trail and a large portion of the coastline that overlooks the Bird Islands. This property will eventually be transferred to the Conservancy.

Access to the Cave is on a 1.7 km long trail, down a cliff and over a stream. The trail and cave are sacred and have never been developed or publicized for public use. Visitation by non-Mi’kmaq has increased significantly over the last five years and has resulted in degradation of the trail and large amounts of graffiti along streams and in the cave. Mi’kmaw Elders are concerned with the lack of respect being shown at the site and for the safety of visitors.

The Mi’kmaw IPCA Project is led by the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs, with four Mi’kmaw organizations coordinating the work. The Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources, Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq, Eskasoni Fish and Wildlife Commission, and Kwilmuk Maw-klusuaqn (Seeking for Consensus) are working on behalf of the Mi’kmaq of Nova Scotia. Initially seven areas were proposed - two in Unama’ki (Cape Breton) and seven on the mainland.

Mi’kmaw communities interested in an IPCA in Unama’ki can contact UINR. On the mainland, the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM) or the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs can be contacted.

For more information: Trish Nash, IPCA Program Manager, UINR  patricia@uinr.ca