The Métis National Council hosted a two-day symposium in Vancouver from February 20-21, 2019, on Métis Nation Knowledge Systems, Traditional Knowledge and the role of Indigenous knowledge in protecting the environment. Over 100 Métis representatives and guests gathered at the Pinnacle Harbourfront Hotel.
Keynote speakers included Jennifer Tamil-Corpus, from the Tebtebba Foundation, Philippines, who spoke to the international protection of Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expression. Professor James Hopkins from the University of Arizona shared with Métis Nation environment officials and technicians his experience with witnessing the extinction of the Yaqui Catfish and its effect on the Yaqui Pueblo. Speakers also included Preston Hardison, from the Tulalip Tribes of Washington and Rita Bouvier, a Métis scholar from Saskatchewan who spoke to the role of Indigenous languages in creating knowledge systems.
The Métis National Council hosted several meetings in Vancouver all week on biodiversity, Species at Risk, climate change and the environment. The Métis Nation has recently engaged in a nation-to-nation relationship with the Government of Canada. It is currently working with various agencies to create a longer-term strategic plan for the Métis Nation in the areas of policy development, community-based climate change monitoring, and knowledge systems design to support work already under way with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
A full agenda of the forum is attached. (PDF)
President Chartier welcomes the delegates
Kathy Hodgson-Smith provides an overview of the Symposium
Professor Frank Tough (University of Alberta) speaks on databasing Indigenous knowledge
Jennifer Tamil-Corpus (Tebtebba Foundation, Philippines)
Professor James Hopkins (University of Arizona)
