Kwusen principal Towagh Behr presents to the AER

In March of 2021, Kwusen principal Towagh Behr led a presentation to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) entitled “Traditional Land Use Studies: Context, Methods, and Role in Environmental Assessments.” Towagh presented to about 50 AER staff and other Alberta government employees. It was an interesting opportunity to share Kwusen’s understanding of Indigenous Rights in relation to the Environmental Assessment (EA) process with the people who implement regulatory processes in the oil sands.

Towagh discussed Traditional Land Use Studies (TLUS) in relation to Environmental Assessments and the historic land agreements that still impact them (such as Treaty No. 8). Towagh’s presentation considered both the limitations and benefits of TLU mapping, which is the most common research method used to identify potential impacts to Aboriginal and Treaty Rights within the context of Environmental Assessments. He framed mapped TLU sites as a small sample of land use activities that have been practiced throughout vast territories for thousands of years and will continue to be practiced in the future. Towagh emphasized that the tendency to view site-specific mapped TLU data as a complete data set, instead of as a demonstrative sample of much wider cultural practices over an entire territory, is a common issue in Environmental Assessments.

The presentation also offered an opportunity to reflect on the way in which TLU sites are understood by Indigenous peoples as fragments of larger ecosystems, territories, and cultural landscapes, which are imbued with meaning and connection beyond individual instances of Rights-based activity on the land. Towagh noted that in the course of interviewing hundreds of elders and knowledge holders, he has learned that the relationship Indigenous people share with the land is more familial than “proprietary”. For an Indigenous community, mapped TLU sites are not isolated things but small instances of use drawn out of a web of connections that make the land inseparable from linguistic, spiritual, and cultural practices that have been carried out since time immemorial.

Presenting to the AER was a memorable experience and Towagh would like to thank Donna Hovsepian for asking him to present and AER staff for attending.

Towagh presenting virtually to the AER (left) and Wilfred Grandjambe being interviewed during “Moose Lake Home & Refuge”(right)