This insightful podcast provides a unique perspective on indigenous co-management in Canada from a senior leader with decades of experience navigating the complex world of public service and Indigenous relations. In this conversation, I really enjoyed and learned from the thoughtful reflections from Michael Wernick on his career serving as Deputy Minister of Indigenous Affairs and Clerk of the Privy Council, where he gained intimate knowledge of the challenges and opportunities for reconciliation. Wernick shares sage insights and lessons learned and provides strategic advice to help influence decision-makers. With the benefit of hindsight, he also assesses progress made and the continued hard work ahead for reconciliation. This engaging discussion touches on nation-to-nation relationships, treaty rights, Indigenous co-management, and the importance of building trust through respectful collaboration at all levels of government and society. To get a plethora of co-management resources, visit www.co-management.ca

To join an excellent learning community on this topic, visit www.cloudberry.cc

To pick up Michael Wernick's book, visit https://www.ubcpress.ca/governing-canada

In this episode of the Co-management Commons Podcast, we get to compare and contrast two different co-management systems. Dr. Denis Ndeloh shares his experiences with wildlife management in Nunavut, Canada and Cameroon. He compares top-down wildlife management approaches in Cameroon versus more collaborative co-management systems in Nunavut and Canada. Dr. Ndeloh stresses the importance of understanding and integrating traditional ecological knowledge from indigenous communities and shares his research journey including the challenges and lessons learned while conducting research on traditional ecological knowledge in Cameroon. Dr. Ndeloh also stresses the need to suspend personal beliefs and truly trust indigenous knowledge systems for decision-making. He is a great storyteller. Stay tuned until the end for a transformative story shared by a research participant in Cameroon about a chimpanzee encounter that changed his worldview.

n Episode 23 of the Co-management Commons Podcast, Dr. Natalie Ban shares her academic background, positionality, and early research influences in the Amazon that made her reflect on research approaches. Natalie emphasizes the importance of building trust over time with Indigenous communities. She highlights a seaweed harvesting project that deepened her cultural understanding. Natalie also reflects on changing approaches to Indigenous research. Natalie also provides an example of a community-engaged project that influenced policy change. Natalie is optimistic as she sees First Nations increasingly visioning their own futures, and she hopes to mentor more indigenous students and researchers. Chapters 0:00:00 - Introductions 0:01:24 - Positionality 0:03:08 - Post-secondary beginnings and research experiences 0:09:13 - Success in building relationships 0:14:19 - Discussion about methods and terminology 0:19:34 - Opportunities to engage and learn from Indigenous practices 0:23:33 - Thoughts on institutional boundaries and hurdles 0:29:12 - Discussing human well-being 0:35:30 - A research-to-policy case study on Dungeness crab 0:45:11 - Co-governance vs co-management 0:49:54 - Thoughts on First Nations research progress co-management 0:53:44 - Fisheries Congress insights 0:57:29 - Final advice for researchers considering work with Indigenous Peoples Links https://thenarwhal.ca/bc-first-nation...