Supporting the cultural use and stewardship of Large Cultural Cedar in Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw territories

Indigenous peoples in many parts of the world are regaining control of biocultural resources critical to their culture, spirituality, subsistence, and livelihoods. Some Indigenous groups have asserted their rights by developing intergenerational stewardship strategies for such resources, to ensure the continuity of cultural practices and maintain ecosystem health. In this thesis, I describe research conducted in partnership with an Indigenous organization representing six Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw First Nations whose traditional territories cover a portion of the south-central coast of British Columbia (BC), Canada, including part of the region known as the "Great Bear Rainforest." I use a mixed-methods approach that bridges disparate knowledge systems to coproduce knowledge and tools for a Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw stewardship strategy for western redcedar (Thuja plicata), a cultural keystone species. First, I interview Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw carvers about carving practices and the availability of large redcedar trees now and in the past. I show that enduring legacies of colonial policies and institutions, and more recent colonial forces, have shaped historical and contemporary cedar carving practices. Despite these pressures, some carvers have used their knowledge and practices to foster a revival of cultural carving and resistance to colonial legacies. Second, I review and synthesize scientific literature about factors associated with decay in redcedar, and discuss the implications of this knowledge for Indigenous stewardship. Third, I draw on carvers' interviews to inform an ecological field study of site conditions and tree characteristics associated with heartwood decay in large cultural redcedar trees. I identify a set of external environmental and biological indicators of decay, for use in Indigenous stewardship. Last, I develop a policy evaluation framework based on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. I use the framework to evaluate and reveal deficiencies in the BC government's main regulatory policy governing large cultural redcedar in the Great Bear Rainforest. I show that the self-declared Kwakwa̲ka̲'wakw large cultural cedar stewardship policy addresses most of these deficiencies and can serve as a model for Indigenous stewardship. Collectively, this research supports Indigenous-led stewardship by partnering with Indigenous groups to develop new analytical and technical tools and uncover social-ecological and traditional knowledge that advances scholarship and informs cultural cedar stewardship.