Caribou summit asks a burning question: What’s the future of the Porcupine herd? | 24CA News

The Porcupine caribou is likely one of the few barren-ground herds within the circumpolar world that is still robust and wholesome — and the communities who depend on it need to be certain that it stays that means. 

This was the important thing takeaway from a three-day Caribou Summit held in Fort McPherson, N.W.T., final week. Organized by the Gwich’in Tribal council, it was the primary occasion of its variety for the area. 

“These types of gatherings … bring out the best in our people,” mentioned Ken Kyikavichik, grand chief of the Gwich’in Tribal Council, in an interview on the summit’s first night time. “The collective power and the collective knowledge we have in this room really is astounding.”

The herd has gained worldwide consideration over time due to ongoing debate within the U.S. over improvement in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the place the herd’s calving grounds are. 

The Porcupine caribou stand as an anomaly amid Canada’s many barren-ground caribou herds struggling main declines. Data collected in 2018 marked a historic excessive, with 205,000 to 235,000 animals counted. 

Today, that quantity sits round 218,000, in accordance with caribou biologist Mike Suitor with the Yukon Government.

“Right now, it’s actually one of the biggest herds in the world,” Suitor mentioned.

“We collect information from a scientific perspective, but we also collect a lot of information working with harvesters and talking to people in the community, and a lot of indications are still fairly positive.

Herd is healthy and numbers are strong – for now 

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly why the Porcupine caribou herd is doing so well at the moment, Suitor said. 

It could be that the diversity of the herd’s range has allowed the animals to better adapt to the changing climate, or that there’s fewer human-made obstacles (save for the Dempster Highway) impacting their migration. 

It also likely has to do with how proactive Indigenous communities have been in managing the herd. Gwich’in, Inuvialuit, and other First Nations governments signed the Porcupine Caribou Management Agreement in 1985, subsequently creating the Porcupine Caribou Management Board. 

But Suitor warned that a dip in numbers is inevitable. 

“It’s regular for some herds — they go up, they go down,” he said. “If I used to be a betting individual, I’d say that there is a cheap probability it’s going to decline within the close to future. Is that two years? Five years? Ten years? It’s onerous to say.”

Kyikavichik says this reality magnified the summit’s importance.

“We do not need to wait till we’re in a disaster state of affairs, per se,” he said. “We notice how lucky we’re that we now have a wholesome herd. So, it is actually essential for us to collect and be certain that we do what we will so the caribou stay robust when it comes to numbers.

“The vitality of the herd is our primary concern, so that our future generations do have access to vadzaih (caribou).”

Vehicles, meat wastage as high points

People from throughout the western Arctic traveled to Fort McPherson to share their ideas and on the summit. Open classes explored the previous, current, and way forward for the herd.

The use of ATVs and snowmobiles for looking was high of thoughts for a lot of within the crowd, with some expressing concern over the automobiles’ influence on the panorama and animals.

“We have to talk about chasing caribou with Ski-doos,” mentioned native elder Robert Alexie. “Those poor caribou … they don’t get a chance to eat. That’s cruelty. It’s really bad.”

Agnes Francis, a Fort McPherson resident, and full-time harvester, echoed Alexie’s sentiment.

“I really am against stuff like that,” she informed CBC. “When we teach our kids and our grandkids to hunt, we teach them that walking is the best way to respect the land and to respect the animal. Because if you’re using a four wheeler, you’re chasing it, and it’s getting scared. 

“Think about the best way it is making their spirit really feel.” 

Meat wastage was another popular topic of discussion. A number of community members recounted experiences of finding caribou carcasses and heads left along the Dempster Highway.

Joe Tetlichi, chair of the Porcupine Caribou Management Board, said the organization has been aware of problems with improper hunting practices for some time now, but lacks the power to stop it. 

As such, Tetlichi said the responsibility of change lies with communities and harvesters themselves. 

“I actually really feel that it is everyone’s particular person accountability once they go on the market to do finest practices,” he said. 

“It’s the frequent sense strategy. You go in there, and also you do what it’s essential do for the long run sustainability of the Porcupine caribou — if that is harvesting off the street, cleansing up your kill web site, [or] passing these teachings on to younger individuals. 

“That, to me, is common sense.”

Despite a number of requires formal resolutions and bylaws to handle these points, none have been handed on the summit’s finish. Leaders throughout the Gwich’in Nation are anticipated to convene once more within the coming weeks and decide concrete motion objects primarily based on what was shared. 

Kyikavichik confirmed {that a} ban on the usage of ATVs for looking, stricter protocols for harvesting seasons, and the creation of a land guardian program are being thought of. 

Returning to conventional values and empowering youth

Perhaps the strongest message shared ultimately week’s gathering was a have to reconnect with conventional Gwich’in values. 

Many attendees spoke about previous practices, resembling taking solely what was wanted and sharing with these unable to reap for themselves, and advocated for a return to those teachings. 

“It’s really important … to always be mindful of where we come from, and who we are as Gwich’in people,” mentioned Lorraine Netro of the Vuntut Gwitchin First Nation. “We have a spiritual connection to the caribou, we have a spiritual connection to the land, we have a spiritual connection to the water. And so it’s within us to take care of everything around us.”

A key a part of that is listening to the recommendation of Elders and knowledge-keepers, Netro mentioned.

But as extra move away, that is change into more durable to do.

Nineteen-year-old Alana Francis voiced considerations over the accessibility of conventional data.

“People say we need to start listening to our older people, but where [are] the teachings being taught?” Francis requested. “Why aren’t the traditional teachings of caribou and the stories behind it being taught in school?”

She added: “We listen to our parents the most, and if our parents aren’t practicing these [teachings], then the younger generation isn’t going to be practicing it either.” 

In half, the summit sought to assist in that intergenerational switch of data. Daily demonstrations round skinning caribou and getting ready meat have been held every afternoon, with native youth invited to take part and be taught underneath the mild steering of elders. 

For former Teetl’it Gwich’in chief Wanda Pascal, it was heart-warming to witness, and an essential begin. 

She even advised a separate summit particularly for youth out on the land — a means of getting ready the subsequent era of stewards to combat for the Porcupine caribou. 

“Taking the kids out on the land is really powerful, because that’s the only way they’re going to learn,” Pascal mentioned. “Education is really important.”

Netro agreed. “I know our youth are strong. Like anything else, we just have to reaffirm those commitments by communicating with them, by walking with them, by encouraging them.”