Assembly of First Nations

Biodiversity loss continues at an alarming rate but in order for transformational change to occur we need to know our place on Mother Earth. The Mi'kmaw Nation is located in eastern Turtle Island or what is now referred to as Canada. Their ancestral territory of Mi'ma'ki is unceded and falls under the Peace and Friendship treaties signed with the British crown in the 1700's. These treaties uphold the right for Mi'kmaq to practice their traditional activities and laws. Mi'kmaw guiding principles or laws handed down from generation to generation dictate how each individual is to act on land, sea, and sky. Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR) was established in 1999, represents five Mi'kmaw First Nation communities, and operates on the principles of Netukulimk (responsibility to use resources wisely), Etuaptmumk (two-eyed seeing), and Msit no'kmaq (all our relations). UINR works in partnership with Mi'kmaw communities, crown governments, academic institutions, and conservation organizations on projects that fulfill the responsibility to protect Unama'ki (Cape Breton Island) for future generations.These wholistic and multi-dimensional projects can be categorized into colonial terms as co-governance of protected areas (marine and terrestrial), natural climate solutions (protection of old growth forests, barrier beaches, and nearshore vegetation), biocultural system services (using culture and ecosystems to create valuation), and bi-national biocultural landscape connectivity (Canada and USA). Using Etuaptmumk or two-eyed seeing, developed by Mi'kmaw Elder Albert Marshall, means traditional and western science knowledges were used for decision-making in each project. Co-designing, co-learning, and co-governing projects lead to strong, respectful relationships with each other and Mother Earth. By implementing and monitoring these projects long-term, Mi'kmaq can demonstrate the power of culture, acting as a collective, traditional laws, and knowing your place. This presentation will give you an eagle's eye view of UINR's work and how it is changing the conservation landscape.

Abstract The full text of this preprint has been withdrawn by the authors while they make corrections to the work. Therefore, the authors do not wish this work to be cited as a reference. Questions should be directed to the corresponding author.

Abstract This article explores a way First Nations in Canada can move beyond the constraints of the Indian Act and rebuild their own governance. It argues that exercising their inherent right to self‐government through policy development and control is a path forward. It outlines a process for First Nations to review their existing policies, understand their legal authority, and realign policy to reflect their own cultures, values and priorities. By taking control of their own policymaking, First Nations can address community needs more effectively, reduce reliance on federal control, and build a foundation for stronger governance.

Emerging research increasingly links climate change to infectious disease outcomes, including zoonotic transmission and spillover events and destruction of health-supporting infrastructure (ie, housing, nutrition, sanitation, and healthcare). However, Indigenous communities have understood the interdependence of ecological and human health for millennia. This knowledge is encompassed by relationality, an ontological and epistemological stance that revolves around relationships with relatives (including landscapes, animals, plants, humans, ancestors, and spiritual entities). Relational methodologies prioritize interdisciplinary thinking and reciprocity between learners, subjects of interest, and community. Without exploiting or appropriating knowledge from any specific Indigenous community, we illustrate a generalized concept of relationality that is applicable to infectious disease research. Relational methods reveal historic and ongoing colonialism as fundamental causes of both climate change and infectious disease. These issues will never be fully understood without accounting for colonialism and its entanglements with pathogens and the science that studies them. Climate and health research will be improved through application of relational methods and active repair of ongoing colonial violence.

Abstract This article examines the implementation of Bill C‐92: An Act Respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis Children, Youth and Families, which affirms the inherent right of Indigenous Peoples to self‐govern in child and family services. Through qualitative analysis of 11 First Nations laws enacted between 2021 and 2024, the study explores how communities are developing governance structures, ratifying laws, and engaging members in law‐making. Findings reveal diverse models—from Band Council‐led systems to Indigenous Governing Bodies under Section 35 of the Constitution Act—with varying levels of cultural integration and transparency. Five case studies highlight approaches grounded in traditional knowledge, language revitalization, and relational governance. The article discusses tensions between delegated authority under the Indian Act and inherent rights, alongside challenges related to funding and capacity. It concludes with recommendations to strengthen Indigenous‐led governance rooted in Indigenous legal traditions, languages, and community‐defined child and family wellbeing.

ABSTRACTThe loss of species represents critical ecological events with far‐reaching implications for conservation biology. Accurate determinations of population status are therefore essential. Erroneous declarations of extinction or extirpation can lead to legal and policy inertia, the premature termination of recovery efforts, and the ongoing degradation of critical habitat. These outcomes ultimately heighten the risk to any remaining individuals and undermine Indigenous peoples’ cultural ways of life within which species are embedded. This study challenges the status designation of a caribou population with empirical evidence derived from a traditional ecological knowledge‐based conservation monitoring program initiated by West Moberly First Nations in the western subarctic of Canada. Relational, field‐based methods confirmed the presence of caribou where the governments of British Columbia and Canada had declared the species extirpated. These results necessitate an urgent reassessment not only of the status of the specific caribou subpopulation but also of broader conservation strategies, land use policies, and environmental monitoring. More fundamentally, the study underscores the imperative to center Indigenous knowledges in conservation biology and to critically examine the epistemic foundations that underpin species status determinations and recovery planning.

Abstract Early Stuart sockeye salmonOncorhynchus nerkaundergo one of the most intensive and far-reaching migrations in the Fraser River (British Columbia, Canada) that has likely exerted selective pressures shaping their genetics and physiology. To support upper Fraser River sockeye management objectives, there is a need to further understand the unique genetics of these populations. Based on neutral genetic markers, Early Stuart sockeye are considered a metapopulation with little to no genetic differentiation among their approximately 50 spawning streams. In this study we make use of existing resources to evaluate genome-wide genetic differentiation in this metapopulation and put it into the context of other nearby populations. We confirm that genetic differentiation is low or negligible in the metapopulation at a whole-genome level, although we identify a slight increase in differentiation at greater distances within the watershed compared to more proximal streams (e.g.,FST= 0.001-0.002 compared with undifferentiated). Even the greatest differentiation detected is very low, being nine times lower than that between run timing groups (Early Stuart vs. Stuart-Summer; e.g.,FST= 0.0091). Notably, a region of major differentiation was detected between the run timing groups on Chr18 between 56.3-58.0 Mbp (averageFST= 0.661). This genomic region appears to contain a unique haplotype specific to the Stuart-Summer, Nadina River, and Stellako River populations (i.e., upstream to the Nechako River). By contrast, Early Stuart and other upper Fraser River sockeye outside of the Nechako Watershed do not possess this haplotype. The genomic region is within ancestral chromosome 15.2, the homeolog to a chromosome arm of Chr12 (i.e., 15.1); this arm of Chr12 is known to contain a major differentiated region associated with run timing and life history variation in Alaska and the Okanagan. This finding provides additional evidence for the importance of this genomic region in both homeologous chromosomes within different populations of the same species, and points to the uniqueness of upper Fraser River sockeye in this potential major effect locus.

The boreal peatlands of the northern Canadian Shield in Ontario, Canada, serve as headwater systems for the Hudson Bay Lowlands (HBL), the third-largest peatland complex globally and a critical carbon reservoir. This landscape—shaped by a heterogeneous mix of exposed bedrock outcrops and low-conductivity glacio-marine sediments—comprises a mosaic of treed peatlands, post-glacial lakes, and river systems, which play a key role in regulating water and carbon fluxes to downstream ecosystems. Despite their importance, the hydrological connectivity of these peatlands and their role in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) transport remain poorly understood, especially in the context of changing hydrological conditions.This study investigates the hydrological and DOC dynamics along two 400 m flowpaths that originate in peatlands and terminate at Tomorrow Lake (49°55'2"N, 80°41'59"W), a 2.5 km² post-glacial lake draining into the North French River watershed. In June 2024, five monitoring nests were installed along each transect, equipped with porewater sippers (30 and 50 cm below ground surface) and screened pipes at depths of 75, 100, 150, and 200 cm. Continuous water table data were logged, and DOC concentrations were measured during June, August, and September 2024. A meteorological station, installed in August, captured local hydrological inputs and outputs, providing a detailed view of seasonal variability.Results reveal a complex “fill-and-spill” hydrological connectivity at the flowpath outlets, driven by variations in topography. In the steeper transect, water tables dropped sharply from 150 cm bgs at the lake interface, entering the underlying low-conductivity mineral soil. This suggests slow, diffuse subsurface flow as the dominant transport mechanism. Average DOC concentrations correspondingly declined from 33 mg/L in the peatland center to 19 mg/L at the lake edge, aligning closely with average lake outflow concentrations (16 mg/L) and indicating potential carbon filtration through the mineral soil. By contrast, in the flatter transect, water tables remained elevated near the lake interface (

Indigenous perspectives regarding disability are underrepresented in scholarly literature. This article profiles traditional perspectives and contemporary experiences regarding disability through voices from the lands of the Nisg ̱ a’a Nation. Influenced by Indigenous theory, this case study is based on semi-structured interviews with six diverse Indigenous community leaders including Simgigat (Hereditary Chiefs) and Sigidim Haanaḵ’ (Matriarchs). Four themes emerged: (1) Indigenous laws and cultural protocols enact principles of equity and inclusion; (2) language, kinship, and culture inform Indigenous perspectives regarding disability; (3) the gift of disability is celebrated through storytelling; and (4) colonization has negatively impacted disability for Indigenous Peoples. In addition, this study demonstrates that further research is needed on contemporary and historical disability policy in the Indian Act and disabilities in the context of Indian Residential Schools. This research considers the imposition of Western and colonially constructed disability identities while demonstrating that Indigenous knowledges, traditions, and practices are crucial to decolonizing understandings of disability in Canada and around the world.