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British Columbia Masters Student Update

Posted by Laura Addicott on January 4, 2016 in Students

Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii), a cultural keystone species, are a critical part of the social-ecological systems of British Columbiaā€™s central coast. For millennia, Heiltsuk First Nation has depended on this forage fish for food, social, ceremonial, and economic purposes. My research, nested within the coast-wide ā€œHerring Schoolā€ initiative, documents the components of Heiltsuk First Nationā€™s relationship with Pacific herring and how this relationship has changed over time. Results identify (1) how Heiltsuk social institutions, local and traditional ecological knowledge, and worldview (Gviā€™ilas) have informed herring management strategies from pre-contact times until present, and (2) how changes in state-led herring management and other social and institutional developments in BC have affected the role and transmission of Heiltsuk local knowledge and management strategies over time.

Alishaā€™s full report,Ā Everything revolves around the herringā€: The Heiltsuk-Herring relationship through time,Ā is availableĀ Ā [pdf 860 KB]