What would forestry look like if Indigenous cultural values were the driving force behind management decisions, instead of western values? How would it be different? What would it mean to put timber as a secondary priority to ecosystem health? What if the primary intention of harvesting was to accomplish some ecosystem goal? What happens to the ecosystem? The community? The money? Let’s find out.

Resources

Westbank First Nation: https://www.wfn.ca/

Sponsors

West Fraser: https://www.westfraser.com/

GreenLink Forestry Inc.: http://greenlinkforestry.com/

Damaged Timber: https://www.damagedtimber.com/

Giveaway

Enter YourForest10 at checkout at the Damaged Timber store for a 10% discount!

Quotes

11.22 - 11.34: “I really want to be that voice for the trees, the voice for the land itself, the voice for the water, and all the things that haven’t had a voice up until this point or a limited voice at the very least.”

Takeaways

Dave’s forestry journey (4.24)

Dave has recently gotten the opportunity to work with Westbank First Nation on their community forest. This has changed how he thinks of forestry and land.

Jordan’s forestry journey (09.24)

Jordan, a member of the Westbank First Nation, has been elected to the council since 2019. He works with the community forest using a stewardship value approach.

“The work on the land is healing for our people” (16.27)

Jordan says that working in the community forest is a way for Indigenous people to re-establish the connection to the land that colonization took from them. 

Decision-making based on what the land wants, not what regulations want (18.12)

Dave acknowledges that every member of the ecosystem is interconnected. He regularly seeks feedback on forestry initiatives from diverse members of the community.

Active healing comes with honest discussions (23.54)

Jordan sees the opportunity for community forest members to work with the industry as a form of reconciliation and relationship building.

Upholding and incorporating Indigenous values (27.48)

Jordan feels that by helping foresters protect the lands by sharing Indigenous land values and laws, First Nations members can affect political change. 

“The worst plan you can have is the plan you can finish” (35.04)

Dave shares that land plans evolve constantly as more knowledge is added by community members about different portions of the community forest.

Connection and responsibility (41.37)

Jordan adds that stewardship springs from our responsibility to recognize Indigenous land rights as well as the implications one decision has on another aspect of the land.

7 generational planning (48.00)

Dave talks about basing all their forest management principles on the 7 generation planning framework, which considers the impact on the land for 7 generations to come.

WFN Management (1.03.16)

Dave explains the structure of the Westbank First Nation community forest management, licensing agreements and economic model. However, he maintains that “ensuring the land is cared for” in the best interest of the community is more important than profits.

Knowledge beyond the books (1.17.04)

Dave states Indigenous and non-Indigenous local knowledge is needed when working with any land, which is gained by conversing with those who have an intimate connection with the land.