Preparing Our Home: Indigenous Community Resilience Sharing Circles (May Circle)

Sharing Circle video:

About the speaker:

Chief Patrick Michell is a member of the Nlaka’pamux Nation and his home community is at the Kanaka Bar. Patrick received an Administrative Management diploma from Douglas College and a Bachelor of Laws degree from UBC.

Patrick became Chief of Kanaka in May of 2015 just after the community had approved its first Land Use Plan. With a community mandate to find ways to become self-sufficient in terms of energy, agriculture, economy and employment, Kanaka’s Council initiated the process to achieve full self-sufficiency across six foundation areas. Kanaka Bar’s traditional territory has seven year-round fresh water sources, sun, wind, land and people – all essential elements for creating year-round sources of energy and food (meats, fruits, vegetables) and other legacy assets.

About the event:

The traditional territory of the T’eqt”aqtn’mux’s (The Crossing Place People) is located in what is currently known as the Fraser Canyon region of B.C. between the towns of Boston Bar and Lytton.

The community vision: “Kanaka Bar is committed to using its lands and resources to maintain a self-sufficient, sustainable and vibrant community” is being implemented through land use plans, solar panels, improved housing, community-led food security initiatives and climate change adaptation.

Over the recent years, many changes have been observed throughout the communities Traditional Territory: wildlife is moving away from the community and traveling further up-mountain; salmon numbers are decreasing and are swimming deeper in the Fraser River in search of cooler temperatures and vegetation growth is changing; and consistent rainfall has been replaced by long periods of dry weather and unpredictable storms. In response, Kanaka Bar has undertaken a Community Vulnerability Assessment to better understand how their environment may continue to change, and how these changes may impact key community values. In May 2021, Community Resilience Plan was launched designed to reflect the hopes and wishes of T’eqt’’aqtn’mux (the Crossing Place people) living both on- and off- reserve.

In the words of Chief Patrick Michell: “We survived for 8,000 years, we survived colonization and we will survive climate change. That is our story. What we do today determines our tomorrow and what you believe, you can achieve”.

Resources:

Community Resilience Plan (May 2021): https://www.kanakabarband.ca/files/summer-plan-2021.pdf

Kanaka Bar’s Community Vulnerability Assessment: http://www.kanakabarband.ca/climate-change/reports

Kanaka Bar’s Adaptation Strategy: http://www.kanakabarband.ca/climate-change/adaptation-strategy

Kanaka Bar’s Bi-Annual Plans: https://www.kanakabarband.ca/library feature 6 month written implementation plans.

CBC Radio Podcast and Narrative: https://www.kanakabarband.ca/newsroom/kanaka-in-the-news called “Look out Your Window”.

Episode 9 of Power to the People, APTN (subscription required): https://www.aptn.ca/powertothepeople/episode-guide/season-1/

“Kanaka Bar four steps ahead of climate change”: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2018/02/15/first-nation-four-steps-ahead-climate-change

Quest for Resilience: “We Choose Life” ~ Interview with Chief Patrick Michell, Kanaka Bar: https://www.zn-advisory.com/blog/2021/5/13/quest-for-resilience