In early 2014, the SRRB started working on a Spatial State of Knowledge Project to find, and catalogue, maps and computerized mapping files of the Sahtú Settlement Region.

The types of map information that is being sought includes:

1. Traditional ecological knowledge information;
2. Wildlife information;
3. Habitat information.

Many different maps and computer mapping files from research projects through the years are stored in various places – Government, Universities, offices across the Sahtú Settlement Region, and in other places as well. These maps include information on such topic as forests, caribou migration, moose ranges, and traditional place names. A lot of these maps have already been identified and catalogued, and more will be added to the catalogue during 2014-2015. The next steps will be to have the catalogue, and possibly some of the publicly- available mapping files, available on the SRRB website for community/regional organizations and researchers to use.

Team Members

• Kristi Benson
• Heidi Brown
• Shauna Morgan

• Aurora Research Institute

Funders

Environmental Studies Research Fund, Environmental and Natural Resources (ENR, NWT)

Total Budget

$50,000

Acknowledgements 

Special thanks to the staff at the Aurora Research Institute who provide valuable GIS support.

http://nwtresearch.com/about-us 

 The objective of this work is to identify, purchase, and operationalize (including customization and any required educational and engagement components) a community-controlled database system to archive and link traditional knowledge materials in various formats (GIS, audio, text, photos, video) as basis for using traditional knowledge materials in research and decision-making.

This project will assess the current data-management needs, and existing and future capacity of appropriate community and regional decision-makers (Renewable Resource Councils and the Sahtú Renewable Resources Board, among others). This includes: engagement with future users of the proposed data management vehicle; identifying possible software choices and configurations; showcasing examples of select software choices with end users, selection and purchase of candidate software; customization and web-enabling; data entry or migration; training and follow-up.

Team Members

•  Heidi Brown
• Kristi Benson
• Joe Hanlon, Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı
• Deborah Simmons, Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı

Funders

 Environmental Studies Research Fund(ESRF)

Total Budget

This project is part of the Wildlife, Habitat and Harvesting program funded by the Environmental Studies Research Fund. The objective of this work is to address a gap identified in early work on the Spatial State of Knowledge project: the accessibility of previously recorded harvester knowledge to the community and regional organizations mandated to manage resources in the Sahtú Settlement Region.  This includes key place names, ecological knowledge, and land use projects and datasets which define the harvesting landscape. These projects, the existence of which may or may not be common knowledge among decision-making organizations, include documentation of harvester knowledge, knowledge of changes in habitat (both natural and due to earlier exploration and development activities in the study area), and other socio-ecologic topics. Often, the work has been topical, centering on place names, family biographies, characterizing caribou populations and biodiversity, and describing long term changes in ecology and harvesting practices.

As traditionally named places in Dene languages are the framework upon which other types of spatially-oriented, ecological, and traditional use information are structured, this project will bring together little known and recently re-discovered place names datasets, along with more recent place names work.  The names will be assessed through working with linguist(s), and verified with knowledgeable Elders and land-users.  Gaps in existing names and required changes will be assessed through engagement. 

As place names are extremely important as a baseline ecological dataset, and were identified as a gap in early Spatial State of Knowledge work, this project will address this gap and directly increase the available socio-ecological information to regional and community organizations for assessing development.

Team Members

• Heidi Brown, GIS Researcher
• Kristi Benson, GIS Researcher
• Joe Hanlon, Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı
• Deborah Simmons, Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı

Funders

Environmental Studies Research Fund, Environment and Natural Resources - GNWT

Total Budget

$50,000

The Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı wants a good idea of what computer-based mapping information exists and how to use it best.  Overall, our goals are:

Goal 1: to identify all the previously-recorded information on maps.
We’re asking ourselves: What maps can be found in the RRC offices, that have elders’ and hunters’ information on them?  Are there maps in offices in Yellowknife or elsewhere?  What projects happened recently or long ago, that included recording information on maps?

Goal 2: to bring this information together
We’re hoping to bring the maps, or paper or digital copies of them, to the SRRB office.

Goal 3: to make the information accessible to the communities to see and use.
We’re planning on creating a web-based map that RRCs can look at, once they enter a password to protect the special information.

Goal 4: to save the original research maps from decay.
In some cases, the maps are old and ripped and need to be cared for by a professional who will carefully preserve them for future generations.

There are two specific projects that are underway now to further these goals.

The first project, Dene Mapping Project Repatriation and Analysis: Understanding valued places at the intersection of caribou ecology and harvesting, includes work with the maps and computer files from the Dene Mapping Project, undertaken by the Dene Nation across the NWT in the 1970s and 1980s.  There is a trails map from this work which is being updated to modern computer standards, and other hunter/trapper wildlife observations on the maps which have remained hidden for decades will be brought to light and made available.  The old maps will be preserved by a specialist known as a conservator, and scanned for use in decision-making and research.  Once the information is updated and available, the SRRB will be working with the communities in meetings and workshops to understand how and when to use this information properly.

The second project is much broader in scope: Wildlife, Habitat and Harvesting: Responses to Exploration and Development in the Central Mackenzie Valley (CMV): State of Spatial Knowledge Component.  Overall, this project is focussed on aboriginal harvester responses to oil and gas exploration and development from traditional knowledge and scientific perspectives.  For the spatial state of knowledge component, the project’s goals are to identify and make accessible all the maps – computer and paper – that people have recorded information on and make sure that they remain confidential but useful for communities as appropriate. 

Through these and other projects, we are weaving together the information provided so generously over the years by many knowledgeable hunters, trappers, and other land-users, and hope that their knowledge and memories will last long into the future through the power of computerized mapping technology!

Team Members

• Deborah Simmons, Ɂehdzo Got’ı̨nę Gots’ę́ Nákedı
• Kristi Benson
• Heidi Brown
• Sue Cross
• Jean Polfus, University of Manitoba

Funders

Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program (NWT CIMP), SRRB Wildlife Fund, Education, Culture and Employment(ECE NWT) 

Total Budget

$97,000