Wednesday

Please click on the session names below to view more information about each session, including speakers and talks (please note that co-authors are acknowledged in the full Congress programme with abstracts). Also, note that venues for each session are NOT YET CONFIRMED.

*TWH = Tin Wis Hall; TWM = Tin Wis Muu-chiink Room; CFS = Clayoquot Field Station Classroom; MBL = Middle Beach Lodge; Theatre = Clayoquot Sound Community Theatre; TCH = Tofino Community Hall. ALL VENUES ARE TENTATIVE, FINAL PROGRAM WILL BE POSTED IN MARCH 2010

Wednesday, May 12
Plenary Sessions
8:00 am - 12:00 am

Indigenous Forum
10:30 am to 12:00 pm
Tin Wis Main Hall

Program to be announced at the Congress.

Youth Forum - Traditional Foods - Digital Storytelling by Nuu-chah-nulth Youth
10:30 am to 12:00 pm
Tin Wis Main Hall

Co-chairs: Kelly Poirier

“Storytelling is the way we have communicated since our earliest ancestors gathered around a fire. The stories and anecdotes we share with one another are the way we let each other know who we are, where we come from, where is the we are going and, most importantly, what we care about.” - Dana Atchley

“Digital Storytelling modern expression of the ancient art of storytelling. Digital stories derive their power by weaving images, music, narrative and voice together, thereby giving deep dimension and vivid color to characters, situations, experiences, and insights. Tell your story now digitally. - Leslie Rule, Digital Storytelling Association

Over the past 100 years, Nuu-chah-nulth people have lost access to traditional foods and the healthy lifestyle these afford. Whereas in the past, all social and traditional activities centred on food, the current situation leans towards individual isolation and a diet that promotes acute and chronic disease.  Elders in Nuu-chah-nulth communities hold a wealth of knowledge about traditional foods that have sustained our populations for many generations.  
 
In this session Nuu-chah-nulth youth will share digital stories about their traditional foods.  These stories are the end product of a journey these young people have taken to connect with their Elders and their traditional territories to learn about their traditional foods and culture.  Stories are the best way to embody, share and remember knowledge. It is through storytelling that Nuu-chah-nulth people have always communicated their history and teachings.  Today young people have new technology to tell their stories.  We will look at these stories and hear how young people think we can use technology combined with Traditional Ecological Knowledge to address some of the health concern facing First Nation communities. 

Wednesday, May 12
Early Afternoon Concurrent Sessions
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm

Contributed Papers: Cultural Transmission of Knowledge I
Wednesday May 12, 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm, Tin Wis Hall
Chair: Rebecca Hurwitz (Clayoquot Biosphere Trust, Canada)

• Josie Douglas (CSIRO, Australia) "Embedding Indigneous Knowledge and Language in Bush Schools of Central Australia"
• Gail Wagner (University of South Carolina, USA) "Do College Kids Know Plants?"
• Lisa Fenton (University of Kent, UK) "British 'Bushcraft' and Indigenous Knowledge"
• Joe McCarter (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand) and Michael Gavin (Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand) "Conserving Traditional Ecological Knowledge: The case of Kastom Schools on Malekula Island, Vanauatu"
• Audrey Msimanga (University of the Witwaterstrand, South Africa) "What Indigenous Knowledge do students in urban schools have? Ideas for using students’ knowledge of owls to implement the new science curriculum in South Africa"
  

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Indigenous Forum: Indigenous Peoples’ Food Systems: Building Partnerships to Document and Maintain Local Food to Promote Health
Wednesday May 12, 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm, Tin Wis Muu-chiink Room
Co-Chairs: Harriet Kuhnlein (Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment, McGill University, Canada) and John Rampanen (Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations)

This session is comprised of two presentations and then discussion about Indigenous Food Systems.

• Harriet Kuhnlein (Centre for Indigenous Peoples' Nutrition and Environment, McGill University, Canada) 

Health of Indigenous peoples globally is compromised by the nutrition transition and loss of ecosystem integrity and cultural foundations of diet The many dimensions of identity and culture contained in the food that people eat impacts the social, emotional, and spiritual aspects of life, as well as physical health.  Our work with 12 case studies in 9 countries has the goal of protecting food systems and the cultures and ecosystems in which they are based.  Each case study is led by a partnership of an in-country academic leader and a community leader, who formed teams to implement the research.  From 2001 to 2008 case studies have documented their food systems with focus on scientific identifications and nutrient composition. Also documented are cultural benefits and patterns of use by age and gender groups.  Nine of these have progressed with community interventions that have used a broad range of activities (to date there are 171 activities on record), and five have now successfully scaled-up their interventions to surrounding communities.   While the character of interventions varies, the unifying thread is promotion of local food known within the culture for health benefits.  The overall program serves as a model of how communities can document their food systems and uses this information as a platform to conduct health promotion activities emphasizing culture and ecosystem provisioning.

John Rampanen (Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations) is the coordinator of nananiiqsuu haahuupa: Sharing the Grandparent’s Teachings. Nananiiqsuu haahuupa is a one-day cultural sharing workshop that explores the rich and diverse history and traditions of Nuu-chah-nulth way of life. John is actively involved in Indigenous food security and food sovereignty issues across Vancouver Island, Canada.  

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The immaterial components of food sovereignty: towards a germane bridge between science, community needs, and the spiritual world(s)
Wednesday May 12, 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm* plus evening, Clayoquot Field Station Classroom
Chair: Andrea Pieroni (University of Gastronomic Sciences, Italy)
* Please note this is a double session that may extend into the evening as well

Confirmed participants: 

• Earl Claxton Jr. (Feasting for Change, Tsawout First Natiion, Canada)
• Fiona Devereaux Community Nutritionist for Aboriginal Health, Vancouver Island Health Authority, Canada)
• Eli Enns (Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations Nation Building Program, Canada)
• Dr. Justin Nolan (University of Arkansas, USA)
• Dawn Morrison (B.C. Food Systems Network - Working Group on Indigenous Food, Canada)
• Lisa Price (Wageningen University, the Netherlands)
• Jennifer (Jen) Pukonen (Raincoast Education Society, Canada)
• Cassandra Quave (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, USA)
• Prof. Nancy Turner (University of Victoria, Canada)
  
• Lewis Williams (Feasting for Change, Tsawout First Nation, Camada) 
• Felice Wyndham (University of British Columbia, Canada)

Session Description: The Nyeleni Declaration has defined in 2007 what food sovereignty should mean. Nevertheless, there is still a need for a better understanding of the links among traditional/local knowledge, environmental, social, and economic sustainability, and the immaterial/intangible components attached to food sovereignty   (and their representations within local communities). In this session - via innovative non-academic methods, such us brainstorming & clustering, artistic performances, exchange/sharing insights, silences and
words - we would like to propose a "Tofino's Declaration on the immaterial components of food sovereignty", and eventually to produce a book and a video afterwards

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Community Conservation in context: can designations embrace the diversity of global experiences?
Wednesday May 12, 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm*, Clayoquot Sound Community Theatre
Chair: Eli Enns (Tla-o-qui-aht First Nations, Canada) and Jamili Nais (Sabah Parks, Borneo)
*Please note this is a double session with a 30 min break.

Moderators: Gary Martin (Global Diversity Fund, USA) and Jessica Brown (New England Biolabs Foundation, USA)

Presenters: 

• Marie Roué (Director of Research, National Centre for Scientific Research - CNRS/MNHN, France) Co-management of a World Heritage site: Laponia and the Sami  
• Yildiz Aumeeruddy-Thomas (CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research, France) Local knowledge within protected area systems and biodiversity networks: situated knowledge, patrimony and territoriality
• Yvonne Rodas Cerqueira (University of Porto, Portugal), João Honrado, and Henrique Miguel Pereira, Local perception of changing rural mountain communities in Northern Portugal: Is conservation the answer to sustaining traditional agricultural practices?
• Emily Caruso (University of Kent, UK) From 'anti-politics' to empowerment in the collaborative management of the Ashaninka Communal Reserve
• Community presentations on ICCAs from Mexico, Ethiopia, Canada, Kyrgyzstan, Vanuatu, Australia, Kenya, Morocco, and more. 

Session Description: In two 90-minute sessions, we will explore new developments in community conservation through presentations and roundtable discussions, with a specific focus on assessing established and emergent international designations such as Biosphere Reserves, Cultural Landscapes, Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS), Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs), and Indigenous Conservation Territories (ICTs). This session will build on a pre-congress workshop that brings together indigenous and local peoples and their partners who are involved in diverse community conservation projects. They will present brief case studies of diverse local initiatives as a way of illustrating and stimulating our public debate of community conservation.  Speakers from international NGOs and research institutions will give presentations and answers questions on their experiences and perspectives related to community conservation. The presentations may be multimedia, including community video, photographic exhibitions, spoken commentary as well as other forms of cultural expression.  This session is linked with the “Indigenous Forum: Building a Global Coalition to Protect Sacred Natural Sites” sessions on Thursday May 13 from 1:30 pm – 5:00 pm.  As the ISE Congress program went to press, representatives of indigenous and local people from Australia, Canada, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Tanzania and Vanuatu had confirmed their participation in these linked sessions. 

Our session will be guided by the following perspectives and questions:

International, national and local designations are one approach to addressing threats to the continued co-evolution of biological and cultural diversity (‘biocultural diversity’) in diverse landscapes.  Efforts to implement designations such as cultural landscapes and other forms of landscape management have increased in recent decades. 

This has led to concerns that – as expressed in a 2005 UNESCO-sponsored seminar on Cultural Landscapes in the 21st Century – “… this has been at the expense of local community interaction with, and control over, their own local environments.” The biodiversity conservation community has been seriously challenged by fundamental critiques and practical failures related to conservation activities that exclude local communities and undermine local peoples’ livelihoods and control over resources. 

These developments have raised awareness that conservation interventions have the potential to fuel rather than mitigate social and economic drivers that undermine local cultures and biodiversity. External interventions may alter rather than conserve people’s cultural practices, the biodiversity they manage and their environments. Programmes that seek to address poverty and provide wider support for these cultures and their biodiversity – through for example infrastructural support, market integration, publicity and tourism – generate both benefits and threats to biocultural diversity. The success or failure of these efforts may hinge on understanding local rights, interactions between culture and nature over time, management of the commons and appropriate partnerships, among other factors. 

FAO, GEF, IUCN, UNESCO and other global institutions are responding to these concerns by expanding existing frameworks and creating new designations.  Additional denominations are arising within the framework of national law, local customs and interactions with indigenous peoples’ organizations. These efforts raise a provocative question: to what extent do such designations empower or inhibit community efforts to reverse the loss of biocultural diversity in the landscapes they manage?  

While focusing on this central issue, participants in this session are welcome to address complementary questions:  

• What are the roles of local peoples, national organizations and international agencies in conserving biocultural diversity through heritage and conservation concepts and programmes?
• Should responsibilities for conservation be shared, left in the hands of local people or managed by external agents?
• Under which conditions is it possible for local communities to reverse biocultural diversity loss, either autonomously or with external support?
• Are there sensitive and positive ways that outsiders (such as representatives of non-governmental organisations and governmental agencies) can assist local peoples to move towards local control and more effective conservation?
•  Can ecosystem and landscape approaches to agricultural biodiversity conservation, community-based natural resource management (CBNRM) and enterprise-driven conservation have a sufficiently robust concept of cultural diversity to maintain biological diversity in anthropogenic landscapes?
• Is the dichotomy between cultural and natural world heritage sites rendered invalid by new perspectives on biocultural interactions and local rights?  Does the cultural landscape category sufficiently embrace these perspectives?
• Are there hybrid approaches and innovative tools for addressing challenges and embracing opportunities?

This session will inform a Special Issue of the International Journal of Heritage Studies on “Preserving Biocultural Diversity on a Landscape Scale: the Roles of Local, National and International Designations” which will be published in 2010

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Policy and Advocacy within the ISE
Wednesday May 12, 1:30 pm - 5:00 pm*,  Middle Beach Lodge
Co-chairs: Sarah Laird, Kelly Bannister and Maui Solomon (ISE Board)
* Note this is a double session with a 30 minute break

Session Description: The International Society of Ethnobiology, with its unique mission, Code of Ethics, and diverse membership, is well-positioned to offer information, insight, and alternative perspectives to policy processes. The Society can also serve as a voice in support of Indigenous peoples and others who face crises, and through advocacy can stand in solidarity with these groups.

The ISE Global Coalition for Biological and Cultural Diversity was established in 1990 by the Kunming Action Plan. The purpose of the Global Coalition is "to encourage the permanent and meaningful dialogue between indigenous peoples, scientists and environmentalists in order to develop a unified strategy to defend the biological and cultural diversity of planet Earth." Through the ISE Global Coalition, the ISE has effectively worked in policy and advocacy primarily to promote the key elements and the values of the ISE Code of Ethics. Policy and advocacy work are part of the founding mission of the ISE, however the Society’s role in both has to date often been ad hoc.

This session intends to explore the potential for the ISE to:

1. more effectively and proactively engage with a range of international policy processes, and
2. develop a process to respond in a timely manner in support of groups in need of international voices speaking out on their behalf.

The session will include short panel presentations, followed by a facilitated discussion and information exchanges. The areas to be covered may include: the range of roles societies play in policy and advocacy (e.g., including panelists from other societies speaking about their experiences); the unique perspectives and information that the ISE has to offer (e.g., the Code of Ethics; fostering Ethical Space; the bridging of western and Indigenous knowledge and perspectives); the policy issues and processes the ISE might most effectively engage with (e.g., research ethics, climate change, and initiatives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the World Intellectual Property Organization); and an internal process to develop formal positions of the ISE to address pressing advocacy needs. 

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Wednesday, May 12
Late Afternoon Concurrent Sessions
3:30 pm - 5:00 pm

Cultural Transmission of Knowledge II
Wednesday May 12, 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm, Tin Wis Hall
Chair: Rebecca Hurwitz (Clayoquot Biosphere Trust, Canada)

• Ivan Casselman (London School of Pharmacy, UK) "The Cultural Transmission and YouTube - The Novel use of Salvia divinorum"
• Jon Corbett (University of British Columbia, Canada) and Tim Kulkyski (Cowichan Tribes, Canada) "Cedar Stripping: The Role of New Media in Language Revitalization and Biocultural Resurgence"
• Robin Hansteen-Izora, Muki Hansteen-Izora, and Paul Rankin (Living Cultural Storybases, USA) "The Application of Novel Information and Communications Technologies in Addressing the Global Loss of Biocultural Diversity" 
• Jessie Bartlett, Lorraine Napurrula King and Nikki Brannigan (Central Land Council, Alice Springs, Australia) "On the Receiving End: Central Australian Youth Perspectives on Cultural Transmission of Knowledge" 
  
• Sophie Caillon (CNRS (French National Centre for Scientific Research), France), Florent Kohler, Anna Gressing, Stéphanie Nasuti, Ludivine Eloy, François-Michel Le Tourneau, "Uses and transmission of territorial knowledge in traditional communities of the Oiapoque Basin"

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Indigenous Forum: Rituals and Sacred Uses
Wednesday May 12, 3:30 pm - 5:00 pm, Tin Wis Muu-chiink Room
Chair: TBA

• Suzanne Cook (University of Victoria, Canada) "The Forest and the Traditional Religion of the Lacandón, Maya: Examples from a balche’ ceremony"
• Dr. Narendra Patel (Sheth M.N. Science College, Hemchandracharya North Gujurat University, India) "Sacred plant usage in Havan in Sabarkantha District (Northern Gujarat, India)""
• Maria Pia Macchi (Magia Verde Onlus, Italy) and Fiorenza Tisi (Agenzia Provinciale per la Protezione dell’ Ambiente, Italy) "Sacred Nature of Oil: A Link Between Traditional Knowledge, Biodiversity, and Food Democracy" 

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• Monday May 10, 2010
• Tuesday May 11, 2010
• Wednesday May 12, 2010
• Thursday May 13, 2010
• Friday May 14, 2010