Shifting attitudes point us to better future

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 25/03/2023 (1065 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

They’re just passing references tucked into the “Land, Ocean, Food and Water” section of the International Panel on Climate Change report released this week.

But if acted on, and that’s a big “if” given our predisposition toward maintaining the status quo, they would fundamentally change how we frame our conversations around sustainable agriculture in the face of climate change.

“Co-operation, and inclusive decision-making, with local communities and Indigenous Peoples, as well as recognition of inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples, is integral to successful adaptation across forests and other ecosystems,” the report says on page 73.

It later states that: “Climate literacy and information provided through climate services and community approaches, including those that are informed by Indigenous Knowledge and local knowledge, can accelerate behavioural changes and planning… The way choices are presented can enable adoption of low greenhouse gas-intensive socio-cultural options, such as shifts to balanced, sustainable healthy diets, reduced food waste, and active mobility….”

If you are wondering, the IPCC defines a balanced, sustainable healthy diet as one that “features plant-based foods, such as those based on coarse grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, and animal-sourced food produced in resilient, sustainable and low-GHG emission systems.”

One of the reasons these references in a rather lengthy, convoluted report jumped out at me is that I’ve lately seen more of the same in documents and reports speaking to the value of knowledge from traditional and Indigenous sources in the dialogue around sustainability.

Indigenous and traditional knowledge are rooted in observational science, typically passed through the generations through oral storytelling. It is all too often embedded in languages that are at risk of disappearing.

For example, this region’s first inhabitants likely noticed that the bison herds they depended on for food and clothing gravitated towards the lush new growth that emerged after Prairie wildfires started by lightning. Hence, they started using fire to draw the bison to areas where they could easily harvest them. Newcomers didn’t understand. All they saw were careless fires.

It’s a given in scientific research that the answers one gets are highly influenced by the questions one asks. Those questions are driven by the underlying values of the people asking.

Most of us look at undeveloped land and think ‘weedy’ and wasted. Others see those patches as pockets of biodiversity, which is gaining prominence in the whole climate change mitigation discussion.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada acknowledges this subconscious bias in its new strategic plan for science. There’s growing recognition, at least in scientific circles, that there are “different ways of knowing” that are valuable despite our difficulties in quantifying them.

“Indigenous Peoples have spent thousands of years gathering knowledge from the land and living on it, so traditional knowledges (including local and traditional knowledges, traditional ecological knowledge, and Indigenous ways of knowing) are inherently valuable,” it says. “However, governmental departments have historically privileged Western knowledge systems, often to the detriment of diverse Canadians whose knowledge and priorities are not visible in mainstream science and policy initiatives.”

The department is attempting to rectify that through a newly created Indigenous Science Liaison Office to co-develop science projects to improve food security and economic development opportunities for Indigenous communities. Plus, it wants to leverage those perspectives to help make Canadian agriculture generally more sustainable and resilient.

“Embracing diverse worldviews and ways of knowing will further support AAFC’s mission to include the unique perspectives of its diverse scientists and citizens, and positively impact the quality of science it continues to do,” it says.

It’s also a step towards righting past wrongs. Not only were Indigenous Peoples deprived of their land as new farmers flooded onto the Prairies, but structural and informal hurdles prevented them from fully participating in the emerging agricultural economy.

They couldn’t use reservation land as equity to obtain financing because they didn’t own it and had no other collateral. Nor were they given the tools and livestock promised to them under the treaties. They were also required to market through local Indian agents who took advantage.

This shifting cadence can’t rewrite history. But it points us all toward a better future.

Laura Rance is vice-president of content for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@farmmedia.com