The Joint Nations Grizzly Bear Summit, held in June 2024 at Manning Park Resort, brought together Indigenous leadership, settler scientists, and governmental agencies to explore collaborative approaches for grizzly bear recovery in the North Cascades. This summit, led by the Okanagan Nation Alliance, fostered meaningful dialogue and built relationships to advance grizzly bear co-management strategies.
The Joint Nations Grizzly Bear Summit was a three-day event from June 4 to June 6, 2024, organized by a coalition of Indigenous and non-Indigenous partners. The Summit focused on exploring the feasibility of reintroducing grizzly bears into the North Cascades region of southern British Columbia. The event aimed to create a space for co-learning between Indigenous and Western governments, blending Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Western scientific perspectives on grizzly bear conservation and management practices.
“People genuinely listened, and even gently challenged one another to do more and to do better, for Indigenous communities and the grizzly bears.”
— Anna Santo, PhD Student, UBCV Partner
Attendees included representatives from Indigenous Nations who share territory with the North Cascades grizzly bear population unit, as well as provincial and federal government officials, scientists, NGO organizations and other key stakeholders. Participants engaged in various activities such as ceremony, field trips, and knowledge exchange.
A highlight of the summit was the creation of a short film documenting the process and outcomes of the event. This film showcases the diversity of perspectives shared and serves as an archival resource for future educational and research efforts on grizzly bear recovery.
See below for project details and a project report with co-lead Anna Santo, a PhD student at the Institute for Resource, Environment and Sustainability (UBC). She is interested in the social dimensions of ecosystem rewilding and climate change mitigation and offered additional organizing capacity for the Summit.
Project Details
Project Title: Joint Nations Grizzly Bear Summit
Project co-leads:
- Mackenzie Clarke, tmixʷ Biologist, Okanagan Nation Alliance
- Anna Santo, PhD Student, Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability, Faculty of Science, UBC Vancouver
Project duration: June 4 – September 30, 2024
Learn more:
- Learn more about the Joint Nations Grizzly Bear Initiative
- Short film about the Joint Nations Grizzly Bear Summit
This project was supported by the Partnership Recognition and Exploration (PRE) Fund.
Project Report with Anna Santo, Faculty of Science, UBC Vancouver
Edits have been made to this written Q&A for clarity, style, and tone.
Why is this project important and how is it supporting the needs or goals of the target Joint Nations Grizzly Bear Initiative?
The summit was essential for fostering a Two-Eyed Seeing approach to grizzly bear stewardship, which draws from Indigenous and Western scientific ways of knowing. The Joint Nations Grizzly Bear Summit created a safe space for meaningful knowledge exchange and relationship building. This approach strengthens the sustainability of recovery efforts in the North Cascades.
What strengths did each party bring to the project?
The Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA), as the administrative body for several Indigenous Nations, led the initiative by coordinating recovery efforts and maintaining relationships with various communities. They provided crucial expertise on current recovery efforts and event logistics.
UBC contributed by offering additional organizing capacity, archiving the summit’s outcomes in a short film and photography, and providing scientific perspectives through several UBC-affiliated speakers and organizers. The collaboration between partners was key to the summit’s success.
During the project, what opportunities did participants have to teach, learn, or do research?
The summit provided several opportunities for learning and exchange. Indigenous Nations shared their priorities and experiences with grizzly bear stewardship, while government agencies, scientists, and NGOs presented on their work. Group discussions, field trips to observe and discuss bear habitat, and a ceremony created opportunities for deeper understanding of the landscape from both Indigenous and Western scientific perspectives.
What was your favorite outcome or experience from the project?
One of the most significant outcomes was hearing directly from Indigenous leadership and community members. The summit brought together leaders, guardians, and members of the Nations for open and personal discussions. The informal structure allowed for genuine listening and even gentle challenges, fostering a shared commitment to doing more for communities and grizzly bears.
Please share up to three lessons that you learned over the course of your project.
- There is no substitute for spending time together in person to build strong relationships.
- Honoring the spiritual and sacred dimensions of grizzly bear stewardship through ceremony was important.
- The level of collaboration required to make an initiative like this successful became evident when everyone came together in person.
Now that you have completed this work, what can you envision doing next?
Next, the Joint Nations Grizzly Bear Initiative will focus on engaging local communities to prepare for safe coexistence with grizzly bears, developing educational materials, and launching a website and social media strategy.
For more information on the Joint Nations Grizzly Bear Initiative, visit their website and watch the short film.