The Pacific coast salmon fishery has a legacy extending into the shadows of
historic time. Since the last ice age, aboriginal communities have actively
participated in the harvesting, regulation and management of the salmon
resource. First Nations' societies developed governance structures which
regulated resource use and access. Prior to colonization and the
articulation of a state resource management system, indigenous systems
were the sole management regime and they functioned to sustain the
fishery for thousands of years. As European colonization proceeded and
British Columbia joined Confederation in 1871, federal institutions began
to assert their authority over the management of the Pacific fishery. The
net effect was to suppress and marginalize indigenous populations from an
active and meaningful role in fisheries management.
This thesis provides an analysis of First Nations involvement in current
fisheries management in the Skeena inland fisheries and explores the
potential of co-management agreements for reconciling the two systems of
resource management. The objectives of the thesis are: (i) to outline the
divergent value systems which underlie resource-based conflict in crosscultural
settings; (ii) to identify key components of the indigenous resource
management system as expressed within the fishery; (iii) to apply three
analytical frameworks to help analyze the current regulatory regime within
the inland fisheries; and (iv) to identify recommendations arising from the
case study for the future of co-management within the inland fisheries.
The introductory chapters outline the historical, philosophical and
theoretical contexts for the research. My case study focuses upon the
current fisheries management regime, within the inland fisheries, of the
Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en Nations. The study examines key features of the
indigenous resource management system and discusses how this system
acted to restrict access and regulate harvesting activities. Government
regulations which have impacted First Nations harvesting are outlined and
the history of fisheries conflict between the state and the Gitxsan and
Wet'suwet'en is profiled. The core of the conflict involved a jurisdictional
dispute concerning aboriginal rights and authority within the fisheries.
Litigation by First Nations resulted in key court rulings which established
a legal framework for aboriginal fishing rights. The policy response by
government to the new legal context involved the delivery of the
Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy. This program, which is intended to deliver
co-management, is assessed in terms of its application within the fisheries
of the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en Nations.
It is argued that a form of co-management is being expressed but the
program is not addressing key concerns raised by the First Nations.
Nineteen strengths evident within the current fisheries management
practice of the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en are identified. Some of these
include internal policy development, role of the hereditary system,
community support, watershed focus and a pro-active stance. The analysis
leads me to conclude that the Gitxsan and Wet'suwet'en agreements under
the Aboriginal Fisheries Strategy are more enhanced than other AFS
agreements and I argue that this is directly related to the political
empowerment processes which have been actively expressed by these First
Nations. It is suggested that co-management, empowerment and
community economic development are inter-related processes each acting
to reinforce the other. I end my research by generating 13
recommendations to enhance fisheries co-management, sustainability and
to deliver some measure of historical justice. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/11455 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Peruniak, Jain Anne |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 9704052 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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