Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Mikisew Cree First ... · ACFN & MCFN Initial Knowledge and Use Report for BC Hydro’s Proposed Site C Project 07/11/2013 . . 2. 1.2 Limitations

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation

Initial Report on Peace River Knowledge and Use

for

BC Hydro’s Proposed Site C Project

July 11, 2013

Craig Candler, Ph.D. and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) and Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN)

ACFN & MCFN Initial Knowledge and Use Report for BC Hydro’s Proposed Site C Project 07/11/2013

www.thefirelightgroup.com

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Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Mikisew Cree First Nation Initial Report on Peace River Knowledge and Use for BC Hydro’s Proposed Site C Project

Prepared and authored by:

Craig Candler (Ph.D), and the Firelight Group Research Cooperative with the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) and Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN)

On behalf of:

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN); and Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN)

Submitted to:

Melody Lepine Mikisew Cree First Nation Government and Industry Relations

Doreen Somers Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Industry Relations Corporation

Thanks and acknowledgements go to the ACFN and MCFN elders, knowledge holders, staff, and leadership who contributed. This report could not have been completed without their support and expert knowledge.

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Executive Summary

This initial report is based on information provided by Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) and Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) knowledge holders regarding the Peace River and the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD or delta), including the importance of Peace River flows to ACFN and MCFN knowledge and use within the PAD and along the main stream of the Peace River.

Due to severe funding and time constraints, this initial report is based primarily on review of existing documents and only two days of focus group interviews conducted in early July 2013. One full day focus group was conducted with MCFN knowledge holders on July 2, 2013 and two half-day focus groups conducted with ACFN knowledge holders on July 3, 2013. The focus groups were facilitated and recorded by community staff and researchers from the Firelight Group. They were guided by a series of questions designed to elicit ACFN and MCFN traditional knowledge regarding relationships between Peace River flows and the Peace-Athabasca Delta, experience with past BC Hydro dams, and likely or anticipated effects of the proposed Site C Project based on past ACFN and MCFN experience.

The knowledge of ACFN and MCFN members regarding the PAD and the Peace River is rich, detailed, complex and current. Given budget and time constraints, this report provides only an initial account of Dené sułine (Chipewyan) and Sakaw Nehiyâwewin (Northern or Bush Cree) understandings, including that:

the flow of the Peace River and the PAD are connected, and are central to ACFN and MCFN knowledge and use;

past and ongoing impacts due to BC Hydro dams on the Peace have had, and continue to have, important adverse impacts that make both the PAD, and the PAD dependent way of life of ACFN and MCFN members, especially vulnerable to change in the magnitude, timing, duration and frequency of high water on the Peace River;

ACFN and MCFN members expect that, if built, BC Hydro’s proposed Site C Project will further impact their lands, waters, and way of life including areas inside and outside Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP). These expected effects are based on at least two major pathways anticipated by ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders based on past experience:

o reduced magnitude, duration, and frequency of natural (unmanaged) high spring and summer Peace River flows essential to hydraulic dam conditions on the Peace, and resulting reverse flows and beneficial flooding in the delta. Based on ACFN and MCFN knowledge and experience, the Bennett Dam has reduced the frequency of flooding in the PAD substantially and, if built, Site C would reduce it further.

o potential increased magnitude, duration, and frequency of irregular and unnatural (managed) winter high Peace River flows that kill ice and water dependent wildlife in the delta and along the Peace (especially muskrat and beaver), make ice based transport (by ice road, foot, or sled / snow



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machine) dangerous, difficult, or impossible, and increase unnatural winter flooding and high winter flows under ice leading to weaker, thinner, and more sediment loaded ice, thereby reducing potential for spring ice damming, and beneficial flooding, on the Peace.

One knowledge holder described the now rare years when the Peace River is able, despite ongoing BC Hydro management of the upper watershed, to reach levels adequate to reverse flows in the PAD as ‘glimmers of hope’ for the delta and for the knowledge, culture and use of the ACFN and MCFN in the delta. ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders expect that Site C would make the frequency of these ‘glimmers of hope’ even more rare.

Beyond providing their experience, understanding and analysis within the focus groups, knowledge holders from both ACFN and MCFN also expressed enormous frustration, with BC Hydro’s lack of understanding or consideration of potential effects of Site C on the PAD, despite more than four decades of suffering and loss in the delta, continual effort by ACFN and MCFN to articulate and explain the impacts of BC Hydro’s existing dams on the PAD, including the ACFN’s successful claim before the Indian Claims Commission (ICC 1998), and ample published documentation and research demonstrating the relationship between the Peace River and the PAD.

ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders were incredulous that BC Hydro could propose a third dam on the Peace without dealing with the ongoing effects of the first two, and without meaningfully recognizing or considering the potential effects of the Project on the PAD, or on the ACFN and MCFN. For elders and knowledge holders who remember interactions with BC Hydro from the 1970’s, who have participated and explained to BC Hydro through past meetings and studies, and who have lived most of their lives with the legacy of BC Hydro’s first Peace River dams on their lands, waters, and families, the sense of betrayal, of governmental dishonesty or willful blindness, and of history repeating itself through the Site C process, was clear.

Further work by ACFN and MCFN related to the Site C Project is ongoing and final non-confidential reports for each nation are anticipated to be complete by September 15, 2013. These reports will build on this initial report and focus on, and provide additional detail regarding, ACFN and MCFN knowledge of the Peace River and delta, trends over time, and likely pathways of effect on the PAD and Peace River resulting from the proposed Site C project, including increased BC Hydro capacity to alter seasonal flows and ice dynamics on the lower Peace and in the PAD.



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Table of Contents

Executive Summary ........................................................................................... iii

List of Figures ................................................................................................... vii

List of Tables ..................................................................................................... vii

Section 1 Introduction ...................................................................................... 1

1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1

1.2 Limitations of the Report ......................................................................................... 2

1.3 The Authors ............................................................................................................ 2

Section 2 Methods ............................................................................................ 3

2.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 3

2.2 Review of Existing Data .......................................................................................... 3

2.3 Focus Group Methods ............................................................................................ 4

Section 3 Summary of Findings ...................................................................... 5

3.1 Key Points from ACFN Focus Groups .................................................................... 6

3.2 Key Points from MCFN Focus Group ..................................................................... 7

3.3 History of Impacts from Dams on the Peace River ............................................... 11

3.4 ‘Glimmers of Hope’ and Reversal of Flow because of Hydraulic Damming on the

Peace ....................................................................................................... 12

3.5 Frustration at Lack of Meaningful Consideration of the PAD by BC Hydro ............ 15

3.6 Summary and Analysis ......................................................................................... 16

Section 4 Conclusions ................................................................................... 19

4.1 Summary of Understanding .................................................................................. 19

4.1.1 Closure .............................................................................................................. 22

Section 5 Bibliography ................................................................................... 23



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Appendices:

Appendix 1. Select Quotes

Appendix 2. Curriculum Vitae, Dr. Craig Candler

Appendix 3. Informed Consent Documentation for ACFN

Appendix 4. Informed Consent Documentation for MCFN

Appendix 5. Focus Group Guide



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List of Figures

Figure 1. Reported Ice Jam Locations and Reverse Flows on the Peace River ............. 10

List of Tables

Table 1. Timeline of effects on the Peace River ............................................................ 11

Table 2. ACFN Observations of impacts from the Bennett Dam on the Peace River ..... 13

Table 3. MCFN Observations of impacts from the Bennett Dam on the Peace River..... 14



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Section 1 Introduction

1.1 Introduction

This initial report is based on available data regarding Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN) and Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN) knowledge and use in the area of the Peace River and the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD). It focuses on indigenous knowledge of the Peace River and the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), as well as ongoing impacts of BC Hydro dams on the Peace, and anticipated major pathways of effect on ACFN and MCFN knowledge, use and rights as a result of BC Hydro’s proposed Site C Project. The initial report is organized into four sections:

Section 1: Introduction

Section 2: Methods

Section 3: Summary of Initial Findings

Section 4: Conclusions

Further work by ACFN and MCFN related to the Site C Project is ongoing and final non-confidential reports for each nation are anticipated to be complete by September 15, 2013. These reports will focus on ACFN and MCFN knowledge of the Peace River and delta, trends over time, and likely effects on the PAD and Peace River resulting from the proposed Site C project, including flow and ice dynamics on the Peace.

The final non-confidential reports are anticipated to:

provide a contextual summary of ACFN and MCFN knowledge and use along the Peace River corridor prior to, and since, the construction of the Bennett Dam;

describe changes associated with construction of existing BC Hydro projects on the Peace (W.A.C. Bennett and Peace Canyon dams);

describe changes associated with operation of existing BC Hydro projects on the Peace (W.A.C. Bennett and Peace Canyon dams);

describe ACFN and MCFN knowledge of flow and ice dynamics on the Peace, how these influence the river and delta ACFN and MCFN knowledge and use;

Identify key issues relating to ACFN and MCFN knowledge, use and livelihood on the Peace River that are of relevance to the Site C Project;

identify pathways of effect between the Site C Project and ACFN and MCFN knowledge and use, including likely trajectories of use on the Peace River and PAD with and without the Project; and,

describe methods used in the study.



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1.2 Limitations of the Report

This initial report is based on research conducted by the Firelight Group Research Cooperative (Firelight) and the ACFN and MCFN. It outlines connections between the Peace River and the proposed Site C Project and may contribute to, but should not be taken as a replacement for, other studies that may be required such as socio-economic, cultural impact, diet, health and wellbeing, indigenous or treaty rights, or governance, planning and policy, or cumulative effects based studies or assessments.

Information provided herein is the most current available to the ACFN and MCFN, but only a handful of ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders were able to participate as of the time of writing. This report may be updated or revised by the ACFN and MCFN as additional work is completed and new information arises. It is based on the understandings of the authors, and is not intended as a complete depiction of the dynamic way of life, and living system of use and knowledge maintained by ACFN and MCFN elders and members. Unless verified, all dates and locations should be considered approximate.

Absence of data does not mean absence of knowledge, use, or value. Additional studies are necessary to fill information gaps regarding ACFN and MCFN knowledge and use, and the resources, criteria, thresholds, and indicators necessary to sustain meaningful practice of Treaty 8 rights into the future. ACFN and MCFN members have asserted that a concrete plan is needed to ensure that meaningful ACFN and MCFN practice of treaty rights remains possible for future generations.

This report is specific to the Site C Dam project, and should not be relied upon to inform other projects or initiatives without written consent of the ACFN or MCFN. Nothing in this submission should be construed as to waive, reduce, or otherwise constrain ACFN and MCFN rights within, or outside, regulatory processes. Nor should it be construed as to define, limit, or otherwise constrain the treaty or Aboriginal use or rights of other First Nations or Aboriginal peoples.

1.3 The Authors

Dr. Craig Candler, the lead author of this report, holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and is a specialist in indigenous knowledge and use studies and cultural impact assessment. He has taught senior undergraduate courses at University of Alberta and UBC. Dr. Candler has more than 15 years’ experience working in the fields of community-based research, and traditional use and traditional knowledge studies with First Nations (see Appendix 2 for CV). Much of Dr. Candler’s work—including his graduate work—has been with Dené and Cree peoples in the boreal forest of British Columbia (BC) and Alberta. He has written components for large and small environmental assessments, and has been an invited speaker on cultural impact assessment for the Western and Northern Canada Affiliate of the International Association for Impact Assessment (IAIA).



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Section 2 Methods

2.1 Introduction

Due to severe funding and time constraints, this initial report is based primarily on review of existing documents and two days of focus group interviews conducted in July 2013. One full day focus group was conducted with MCFN knowledge holders on July 2, 2013 and two half-day focus groups conducted with ACFN on July 3, 2013. The focus groups were facilitated and recorded by community staff and the Firelight Group and were guided by a series of questions designed to elicit ACFN and MCFN traditional knowledge regarding relationships between Peace River flows and the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD), and the likely and anticipated effects of the proposed Site C Project on ACFN and MCFN treaty rights and interests.

2.2 Review of Existing Data

The MCFN and ACFN Desktop Knowledge and Use Report BC Hydro’s Proposed ‘Site C’ Dam Project (Candler et al 2012) was provided to BC Hydro earlier in 2013. This document provided a desktop review of existing information on ACFN and MCFN knowledge and use within 5km of the main stream of the Peace River between the western boundary of Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP) and Fort Chipewyan.

Subsequent review has included the findings of the Indian Claims Commission (1998) regarding past damages to the delta by BC Hydro operations, and related scientific documentation of ecological change in the PAD. While there is some debate regarding the status of the delta, and the relative contribution of changes in climate and changes due to river regulation, the literature largely agrees that the PAD has been drying, and that BC Hydro control of upstream tributaries on the Peace is one of the main reasons. The most systematic review of evidence available can be found in the report of the Indian Claims Commission (1998).

Although Canada is not foreclosed from producing further evidence and arguments to rebut the compelling evidence before us, that evidence leads inescapably to the conclusion that significant environmental damage was sustained by the First Nation [ACFN] and IR 201 [in the PAD] by the construction and operation of the Bennett Dam. No other conclusion is possible from the prima facie evidence before us. The initial flooding of the reservoir above the dam resulted in immediate reductions in the water flow. Water levels remained low for three succeeding years after 1967, and Lake Athabasca dropped 4-5 feet below pre-dam levels. Shallow lakes in the delta were reduced to mud flats, and in the winter some lakes froze to the bottom. The vegetation almost immediately began a “transition toward dominant willow communities.” This process occurs normally over many years when water levels are naturally reduced, but because of the dam this process was accelerated. The willows replace former species and



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this change may in turn alter habitat or food sources for animals dependent on them. (ICC 1998: 46-47, underline added)

2.3 Focus Group Methods

A focus group is a form of qualitative social science interview where a set of related issues or subjects is explored by a small group of people working together. The group is usually more than three and fewer than twelve (5 to 10 is often ideal), and is usually structured based on gender (e.g: a women’s focus group, or men’s focus group), age (e.g., an elders circle, or youth focus group), family, or other qualities considered important by the community or the researcher. Focus groups include at least one facilitator, and usually one documenter and are usually used as an adjunct method to complement other forms of interview or survey (Bernard 2011).

A total of 3 focus groups were conducted for this initial report:

one on July 2nd involving a full day session (slightly more than six hours) with seven MCFN knowledge holders and one GIR staff.

two on July 3rd, 2013 including a morning session with ACFN women, and an afternoon session with ACFN men (each between 2 and 3 hours) with a total of nine ACFN members and one IRC staff participating.

In both cases, participants in the focus groups were selected by ACFN and MCFN staff, respectively, to represent knowledge holders familiar with the PAD and the role of the Peace River in sustaining it. Interviews were facilitated by Dr. Craig Candler. Janelle Kuntz was the primary documenter and information manager.

The primary focus of the focus group sessions was to identify the most important mechanisms and pathways of effect between Peace River flow and areas of the delta important to rights-based activities including ACFN and MCFN knowledge and use, and to evidence these mechanisms and pathways of effect based on ACFN and MCFN knowledge and experience.

All focus groups included documentation of prior informed consent (see Appendix 3 and 4) and followed a semi-structured format guided by a series of nine broad questions (Appendix 5). All focus groups were recorded using near verbatim notes, digital audio and digital video. Large format flip-chart paper was used to record key points during the interview so that participants could see and comment on key information being recorded. All interviews were conducted in English.



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Section 3 Summary of Findings

All three focus groups highlighted the importance of the PAD to Mikisew and ACFN livelihood and treaty rights, and the importance of the timing and magnitude of Spring flood waters from the Peace and Athabasca to the flooding of the PAD. Simultaneous high water is critical in both rivers to create hydraulic dam conditions that flood the Delta in the spring, and cause rivers the otherwise drain the delta to reverse flow and replenish it instead. This back flooding provides water for water bodies such as Lake Claire and Lake Mamawi, and for critical hunting and trapping areas and navigation routes relied on by Mikisew and ACFN members. Without back flooding caused by high water and hydraulic damming of the Peace, the PAD dries and becomes blocked with vegetation, muskrats and other migratory fur die off, and migratory birds and fish lose habitat and are less abundant, and ACFN and MCFN harvesting and land use, which depends on the richness of the delta ecosystems, is impaired.

Low water, over a period of time, creates weeds, which makes it difficult to travel around ... Over the years when they have no water, those weeds start creating ground. And that’s where you have the willows coming up. Once you have the willows, your lake is shrinking. High water can keep all that at bay. That’s the Delta. We know the Delta changes all the time, but not to this extent. (ACFN Knowledge Holder A49, July 3, 2013).

The two rivers flow to the Delta, that’s what brings the water levels way up to the right level. When they dammed the Peace River, and there was only the Athabasca River coming down, there was not enough water for it to put in to the Delta and bring it back out, you know to wash out the bottom. There is not enough pressure with just one river. The Peace River is doing nothing [most years]. It’s been like that since they dammed the river … We get no help from the Peace, just the Athabasca. It’s not enough pressure to push everything in and bring it back out. (Mikisew Knowledge Holder M40, July 2, 2013).

When the water is high it [the Peace River] acts like a dam. When the Peace River is high, all the water backs up here, … that’s the natural process. And that’s what contributes to filling in all the perched-basins … [high water], this is normal, this is the way it used to be. (ACFN Knowledge Holder A22, July 3, 2013).

In addition to reducing the magnitude of spring flows on the Peace, and reducing the occurrence of reverse flows, participants indicated that BC Hydro management of the Peace means that high and irregular flows occur regularly in the winter. High flows in winter mean that more sediment is present in Peace River ice, making it weaker and causing it to melt faster, thereby reducing the frequency of ice dams. Irregular winter flows and flooding further damages the river ice and creates dangerous conditions for ACFN and MCFN members travelling on the land in winter.



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Releasing water from the dam, that’s one of the problems right there. If you release that water at the wrong time of the year, just when it’s starting to freeze, you don’t get good ice. When they release the water in November, all that water comes down and wears out the ice, the clear ice. And sure it freezes, but all that sand in it freezes and it doesn’t make good ice. Then in April/May, that muddy water melts like nothing. So you don’t have the ice there to make floods. (Mikisew Knowledge Holder M61, July 2, 2013).

ACFN knowledge holders also noted that ice conditions have changed in the portion of the PAD dominated by the Athabasca River, describing the ice as weak or oily and more subject to ice rot than in the past. The reasons for changes in ice quality on the Athabasca were not connected to changes on the Peace, but to contamination and related industrial processes occurring on the Athabasca:

The ice is not what it used to be. We used to have four feet of ice on Jackfish Lake. Now you got 18 inches. That’s at the thickest. There is different chemicals, different stuff in that ice. It’s never going to freeze the way it used to. (ACFN Knowledge Holder A22, July 3, 2013).

3.1 Key Points from ACFN Focus Groups

The following is a summary of key point recorded in the ACFN Focus Groups. Supporting quotes can be found in Appendix 1.

• When high, the Peace River acts as a dam to the waters of the Athabasca, and all the other waters that feed the PAD and Lake Athabasca.

• The timing and magnitude of both the Peace and Athabasca River are critical for flooding the delta, creating ice jams, and causing reversal of flow on the Quatre Fourche and other rivers in the delta.

• Generally low water levels in spring and summer have been occurring since the construction of the Bennett Dam in the late 1960’s. These have impacted the health of the delta, destroyed wildlife populations (especially muskrat, ducks and other migratory birds) and restricted or eliminated the ability of ACFN members to travel by water or to access traditional hunting places, cabins, burials, and other areas.

• The Peace is supposed to act as a natural dam in the Spring with high water and ice jams. Before B Hydro’s management, high water occurred on the Peace even without ice jams. Now ACFN members need to depend on ice jams for high water, but ice jams are not occurring as regularly because quality and quantity of ice is decreasing.

• High water levels used to occur every 4-5 years, but since the WAC Bennett Dam, have become less and less frequent. High water events occurred in 1996 and 1997 because of snow and rain in the upper watershed, but also because BC Hydro had to drop their reservoir and release more water. With construction of Site C the occurrence of infrequent flooding is expected to lessen further.



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• This year [2013] is the highest the water has been since 1997. Young people are able to access places they have only heard about from elders, and haven’t been able to access before

• Low water levels cause lakes and tributaries in the delta to become dried up and replaced by willows and vegetation. When high levels occur, water is able to enter other parts of the delta and revitalize the wetlands.

All the lakes, the past couple years, the water was only high for so long, maybe a couple weeks. The river would be high and it would reverse flow into the Jackfish Lake. But now that it’s been high all spring, the Lake is full. And it’s still being fed from the Richardson River. It’s not a reverse flow, it’s just flowing towards Lake Athabasca because the Lake is so full. Same thing at Keen Creek. Last year, the water levels were low from reverse flow. But now it’s full, it’s flowing everywhere. (ACFN Knowledge Holder, A08, July 3, 2013).

• Since the WAC Bennett dam, there are fewer muskrats, ducks and other migratory birds than ever before. Entire community has been displaced from the land because access and resources (fish, rats, etc.) aren’t there in the delta.

• Travel in wintertime has become dangerous because of the decline in ice quality and quantity

• Reduced access to lands means fewer young people can get out on the land. Because of low water levels, the resources that are available do not sustain long-term access.

This week I went to Sandbar Lake, off the Derocher to Flett Lake. All that is being fed through the Peace and Slave River. It’s still flowing that way, but from the spring water level being so high we are able to go back there. I haven’t been there for 20 years. Last time I was there I was a kid. You could get there every year by canoe. (ACFN Knowledge Holder, A08, July 3, 2013).

3.2 Key Points from MCFN Focus Group

The following is a summary of key point recorded in the MCFN Focus Group. Supporting quotes can be found in Appendix 1.

• Timing and magnitude of the Peace River and Athabasca River is critical. Both rivers must have high water levels in order for the delta to flood in the springtime.

Both [Peace and Athabasca] rivers influence our Delta. If they both come at the same time, same run-off, it fills our delta up and floods it. It brought our lake up one meter this summer compared to last year. (Mikisew Knowledge Holder, M72, July 2, 2013)

• Low water levels that have been happening since 1968 are causing lakes and other tributaries to dry up. They become replaced with willows, habitat for muskrats and other wildlife has disappeared. MCFN members still try to follow their way of life in the delta, but it is increasingly difficult. The Site C Project is anticipated to worsen the situation



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Another 40 years down the road now, with Site C … you’ll see a lot of areas that are bone dry. More growth, more islands, less access to everything. More willows. (MCFN Knowledge Holder, M62, July 2, 2013)

• The springtime flood is critical for filling critical water bodies, such as Lake Mamawi and Lake Claire, as well as wetalnds adjacent to the Peace River. Without water in lake Mamawi, it is not possible to access Lake Claire and large portions of WBNP.

When Lake Mamawi is low … you hit mud. It’s the main access to the delta here, it’s a major water corridor to access our Mikisew traditional lands. So if this dries out, we can’t get to our traditional hunting and trapping areas. (MCFN Knowledge Holder, M72, July 2, 2013).

• It is harder to get to trap lines and hunting areas with low water levels by boat, end up having to drag boats across sand bars.

• Loss of trapping and hunting opportunities due to inability to access hunting and trapping areas and due to decline in wildlife abundance

When you drop the water levels, you can’t access your geese hunting, your moose hunting your trapping, all that stuff. (MCFN Knowledge Holder, M72, July 2, 2013).

• There is a significant decline in waterfowl and wildlife. Where members used to catch thousands of muskrats, they would now only catch about a dozen with the same effort.

A flood is good. Around my place, we have it right along the edge of the river and when it floods … it clears that water. So there is always muskrats in there, the water never gets old. But now, the water doesn’t go over the banks … that’s why there is not very much muskrats. I saw only ten rats this summer. (MCFN Knowledge Holder, M61, July 2, 2013).

• Overflow in the winter on the Peace and adjacent creeks makes it impossible to use snow mobiles and difficult to travel on ice.

• The high waters from the springtime flood are critical in order to create the ice jams and damming in the winter. Since the Bennett dam, ice quality and quantity has significantly decreased and made access and travel to lands difficult and increasingly dangerous

• The blue, clear ice that used to form on the Peace is not thinner and full of sediment, making the ice weaker and melt faster which prevents the ice jams from forming

Releasing water from the dam [in winter], that’s one of the problems right there. If you release that water at the wrong time of the year, just when it’s starting to freeze, you don’t get good ice. When they release the water in November, all that water comes down and wears out the ice, the clear ice. And sure it freezes, but all that sand in it freezes and it doesn’t make good ice. Then in April/May, that muddy water melts like nothing. So you don’t have the ice there to make floods. In the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, we used to have nice blue ice before the dam. The ice used to be three feet thick, and blue ice. And that doesn’t melt right away. By the time the Peace River flows [at spring break-up], that ice [was] still almost two feet thick. And that’s what floods it down at Rocky Point. All the water backs up and floods the whole Peace



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River. A lot of that water goes into Lake Claire, Lake Mamawi, so you get nice clean water over there. That’s why there were a lot of muskrats and everything else over there. Today, these things don’t happen because we don’t have that kind of ice anymore (Mikisew Knowledge Holder, M64, July 2, 2013)

• Demand for energy in winter months leads to the release of water in winter, an unnatural flood time. This has caused winter roads and ice bridges to melt away, restricting access and travel for community members.

We got a winter road. Everything in Chip seems to be in two’s, we got two rivers to fill our Delta and we have two winter roads. We have one to head south to get our groceries and gas, we have the other heading north running parallel to the Quatre Fourche River. And along the Peace, here it’s called Moose Island. Right here our winter road crosses … up into Fort Smith. I worked on the winter road here for 20-some years building ice bridges … around mid-December, they release water - Bennett Dam starts their big turbines. Everyone needs power, more power for Christmas Lights, more power for the southerners, everyone needs more power. So the turbines spin faster, they release water. Our winter road here, we just finish it off flooding and putting the ice bridge in, and all of a sudden the water comes up. It comes up 8 to 10 feet. We have records where we have had to close the road because the water came up. As Aboriginal people, we never saw water come up in the winter. That’s human cause[d], that’s man cause[d], to get their power, so we have to close our road. It’s just a headache in itself [for] getting groceries and living our lifestyle and getting parts for our snowmobiles and for our traps, it gives us a headache… Not only is it just the Delta, it affects us socially as well. To get our groceries, our gas. They close that road and then they say it’s not affecting us? Not only the land, the people itself. (Mikisew Knowledge Holder, M72, July 2, 2013)

• Fewer people out on the land means less transmission of knowledge.

Figure 1 provides a visual depiction of the location of major ice dam or ice jam locations along the Peace River, with a focus on those locations that result in back flooding of the PAD beyond the Peace River valley. The Figure also shows the four main water courses (in purple) that reverse flow when the Peace is high and hydraulic damming occurs. Yellow arrows indicate the flow of rivers without hydraulic damming (out of the delta and into the Peace). Red arrows indicate the flow of the Peace (into the delta) when it is high and hydraulic damming takes place. Blue arrows indicate the flow of the Athabasca River into the delta. Other tributaries to the delta exist, but all are ultimately controlled by the Peace River and the hydraulic damming that naturally occurs during high spring and summer Peace flows.



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Figure 1. Reported Ice Jam Locations and Reversing Flows on the Peace River based on ACFN and MCFN Indigenous Knowledge



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3.3 History of Impacts from Dams on the Peace River

Impacts to the water levels on the Peace River, and resulting impacts on access, wildlife, and other values, have been ongoing since the construction of the Bennett Dam.

Table 1. Timeline of high and low water events on the Peace River based on ACFN and MCFN Traditional Knowledge

ACFN MCFN

Pre 1950’s Reliable high water with very high flood levels in spring every 4-5 years.

Up and down years, but overall high waters. Delta filled up quickly and annually. Lots of people on the land depending on the water.

1958 Big Ice Jam year at Baril River

Big ice jam event in delta.

Late 1950’s and 60’s Some dry years in the late 1950’s, but delta and wildlife (esp. muskrat) responds quickly when high water returned. Normal high water (every 4-5 years) before dam.

In 1960’s, able to travel from Lake Claire to the Peace along Pine River or Baril River. That was normal all summer. Now impossible. Mamawi was deep enough for large barges to travel.

1968/69 to 1973 Filling of Bennett Dam begins without warning, very low water. Muskrats, trapping and way of like lost because of loss of water.

One elder reported having trapped over 1600 rats in spring prior to start of filling – same area (lake at Mouth of Peace) was turned to mud and has been dry and full of willows over most of past decade.

Approx. 1973/74 Big flood and big ice jam Good water levels in the delta and weir constructed to mitigate Bennett effects.

1975-1995 Generally low water. Weirs maintain some water in delta, but a lot of water is lost. Delta ecosystems decline.

1996 High water because of rains and problems with WAC Bennett dam.

High water meant that young people able to travel to places they never had before like Baril Creek and Pine River. 1997 Flood in May and June

(lots of runoff from Mountains). High water



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was not sustained through spring or summer.

1998 High water in winter comes from Peace because of Bennett Dam – winter road in delta melted out – dangerous travel by ski-do

2003-04 Minor flooding in delta.

2005-11 Generally very low water Very low water. Many people unable to cross Lake Mamawi in 2010.

2013 Good sustained high water reported – reminds Elders of pre-Bennett days. People able to access areas they haven’t been to since flood in 1997

Rivers reverse in the delta for the first time in years. Able to access lands fully because plenty of water.

Participants noted with a great deal of happiness that high water levels, and reversals of flow in the PAD that are occurring this year (2013) are similar to what was considered normal water levels after a spring runoff prior to the Bennett because they are high and sustained. Elders familiar with how the water and flow was before 1968 commented that what was once a normal level of water at this time of year is now seen as an infrequent anomaly by younger people who aren’t used to seeing the delta as it is supposed to be.

3.4 ‘Glimmers of Hope’ and Reversal of Flow because of Hydraulic Damming on the Peace

Both ACFN and MCFN members highlighted the importance of the unusual years, like 2013) where the ability of BC Hydro to impound waters is exceeded by the river itself, and high waters with reversal of flow occur in the delta. One knowledge holder described these rare years as ‘glimmers of hope’ for the delta and for the traditional way of life.

Below is a list of river bodies and tributaries that regularly reversed flow during the spring flood prior to WAC Bennett. See also Map 1. Flow reversals are dependent on high water levels in the Peace River and ACFN and MCFN members understand that flow reversals are more likely to occur when BC Hydro has to spill water because of existing constraints in the BCH ability to contain Peace River flows. Since the construction of the Bennett Dam, the occurrence of the reversal of these water bodies has become increasingly rare. Reversals have occurred only in unusual high water years (1974, 1997 and 2013), whereas they occurred approximately every 4-5 years prior to WAC Bennett. The Peace River water levels have been too low to create the reversal of flow, which is contributing to the declining water levels of the PAD. Based on ACFN and MCFN knowledge and experience, it is anticipated that the construction of the Site C dam would make the reversal of flow increasingly rare.



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As shown on Figure 1, the waterways that ‘reverse’ as a result of high flows and hydraulic damming on the Peace are:

• Maskwisipi (Prairie River) - joins Lake Mamawi and Lake Claire

• Mamocinan (gathering place) or Quatre Fourches Channel – important for transport and subsistence based access to Lake Mamawi and beyond.

• Rocher River (Rivier Des Rocher) – important to subsistence based access

• Revillion Coupe River – shorter route between Fort Chipewyan and Peace Point, but difficult to travel at low flow.

• Pakosipanak (dry slough)- Baril River – important to subsistence based access prior to Bennett, but largely impassible since.

• Minahiksipi (spruce river) - Pine River – important to subsistence based access prior to Bennett, but largely impassible since.

Right here is Rocky Point … that’s the biggest bend that causes ice jams there. And then the Quatre Fourche is right across form it, that backs everything up and runs everything back down here into Lake Mamawi. And then Pine River, Baril Creek, those are little tributaries that run off into the Delta. So when you get that big ice jam, it backs up the Quatre Fourche, backs up all these little creeks and floods its banks all along here. I’ve seen Moose Island flooded. It all runs into the Delta and puts water into our Lake Claire, Barrel Lake. (M72, July 2, 2013)

Table 2 and 3 provide a summary of ACFN and MCFN observations regarding the delta and effects on knowledge and use pre-Bennett, post-Bennett, as well as further effects anticipated as a result of the Site C Project.

Table 2. ACFN Observations Pre and Post Bennett Dam, and Anticipated with Site C

Before Bennett After Bennett Effects on ACFN Knowledge and Use

After Site C?

-the Peace River must be high for the delta to flood. Flooding was regular every 4-5 years. Flooding of the delta and high water on Peace with reverse flows of Quatre Fourche and Roche fill the whole delta and lake, and allow access to all areas, even Old Fort reserve.

Flooding is rare (1974, 1996/1997 and 2013). The Peace doesn’t get high enough for reverse flows in most years. Athabasca water just flows through the delta because the Peace isn’t high enough to hold onto it.

Fewer muskrats, ducks, access to places like Jackfish Lake, Freezie Lake, Graveyard impossible or difficult by boat – entire community has been displaces from the land because access and resources (fish, rats, etc.) aren’t there

Spring high water on peace likely to be more rare – flooding more rare – further declines in wildlife, access, and ability to practice.



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Winter flows are low – no rise in Peace or Athabasca after freeze up

Release of water in winter (before Christmas) damages ice and makes ice dangerous and damages winter road (e.g. 1998)

Difficult or dangerous travel in winter because of ice conditions – discourages people from being on the land, can’t get to cabins.

Unclear, but increased capacity may allow longer duration of winter high water.

Ice in delta is strong, thick, blue and reliable (safe)

Less strong, blue ice, ice seems like it is being eroded from below. Ice is not the same quality

Dangerous or weak ice impedes travel and makes spring ice dams less common.

Unclear, but increased capacity may allow longer duration of winter high water, further reducing frequency of ice dams.

Young people are able to see and know the whole territory, like it should be.

No access to key areas – young people learn about the delta as a ‘dry place’. In odd high water years, people are happy, can get in old places (1974, 1996/97, 2013) and can know what the elders are talking about.

Less access to lands by boat, less young people on the land, more young people going to day trip because they don’t have places to stay (resources don’t sustain long term access).

Hydraulic damming and reverse flows less frequent resulting in even fewer opportunities for young people to know the delta as it should be.

Table 3. MCFN Observations Pre and Post Bennett Dam, and Anticipated with Site C

Pre- Bennett Post- Bennett Effects on MCFN Knowledge and Use

After Site C?

In 1950’s, there were only 2 or 3 big islands in the Peace. Navigation from Lake Claire to the Peace River via Pine and Baril Creeks was possible all summer. Water levels were high and reliable.

Since 1968, water levels have declined and many small islands and sand bars in the Peace make it hard to navigate. Sand bars are in main channel and also where tributaries hit the Peace.

Harder to get to hunting areas and trap lines, have to drag your boat, or go long ways around. This is especially hard on elders

More islands, more willows, less access because of more regular impairment.

Travel from Lake Claire to Peace River via Baril or Pine Creek. Even Lake Mamawi was used for big barges circa 1955

Not possible. Silted up and low water, lose to the Peace River

Can’t access large areas like Baril Lake. Cannot Access even in Spring when used to access all summer

Lake Mamawi (already in danger) will likely be blocked to boat access and dry out more regularly.

Ice jams regularly and clears into lake in spring with regular

Ice jams are rare – reverse flows (1974, 1996/97

Declines in wildlife, muskrats, ducks result in fewer opportunities for

Lower spring freshets, less energy, less ice



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reverse flows rivers connecting the PAD and the Peace.

were only times) – weirs were important to 1974

hunting and trapping. Water table drops making the delta less resilient.

dams, less hydraulic damming

Clear blue ice – strong and long lasting, because of low winter flows

Ice is brown and weaker because of sediment in river – melts fast – no ice jams

Access to spring fur is impaired because of ice melting out faster, dangerous travel in spring – especially because of overflow

Ice increasingly unpredictable for travel – isn’t strong enough to jam

When land is frozen, river does not rise

4-10 foot winter time fluctuation on Peace. Dead muskrats and beavers extending back from river. A few dozen rats in a season where 2000 would have been trapped in same area with same effort before dam.

Loss of trapping economy. Key economic species (muskrat) has disappeared. Overflow on creeks and rivers make it impossible to use snow mobiles (different kind of overflow)

Unclear, but potential for BCH to be able to better sustain unnaturally high flows in winter.

“Feel good” when old delta comes alive – people are on the land interacting, everyone is happy

Loss of security - the water is gone, animals are gone, don’t know if you can get to where you want to go.

Psychological effects, fewer people on the land, less transmission of knowledge

More lakes will turn to prairies – continuity of knowledge and cycle of life more broken – can’t take kids out to trap when no muskrat

3.5 Frustration at Lack of Meaningful Consideration of the PAD by BC Hydro

Beyond providing their experience, information and analysis, knowledge holders from both ACFN and MCFN also used the July 2 and 3 focus groups to express their enormous frustration and disappointment bordering on disgust that after more than four decades of suffering and loss in the delta, and ongoing effort by ACFN and MCFN to articulate and explain the impacts of existing dams to BC Hydro and the Crown, including the ACFN’s successful claim before the Indian Claims Commission (ICC 1998), as well as massive amounts of published documentation and research, BC Hydro has proposed a third dam on the Peace without dealing with the ongoing effects of the first



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two, and without meaningfully recognizing or considering the potential effects of the Project on the PAD, or on the ACFN and MCFN.

For elders and knowledge holders who remember interactions with BC Hydro from the 1970’s, who have participated and explained to BC Hydro through past meetings and studies, and who have lived most of their lives with the legacy of BC Hydro’s first Peace River dams on their lands, waters, and families, the sense of betrayal, of governmental dishonesty or willful blindness, and of history repeating itself through Site C, was intense. As one ACFN knowledge holder put it:

We are not asking for a pot of gold or a million bucks, we are just asking for some water from the Bennett Dam. I just don’t understand it. It’s not logical. And maybe we are not enough people for them to really care about. But we have a history, we are a proud First Nation. We live off the land, we have families that are living all over the countryside, we have stories all over different parts of the delta. And to have all that taken away by BC Government with no consultation, of course we will be upset and hurt. We seem to be defenseless. We are fighting a government, and we are a government ourselves, we are a First Nation. We should be able to meet in a room like this and talk about how we can come to terms so that everyone at the table meets and understanding and get something done at the end of the day. And I don’t think that is a very hard to ask, but it feels like pulling teeth right now. (ACFN Knowledge Holder, July 3, 2013)

3.6 Summary and Analysis

The knowledge of ACFN and MCFN members regarding the PAD and the Peace River is rich, detailed, complex and current. Given budget and time constraints, this report provides only an initial account of Dené sułine (Chipewyan) and Sakaw Nehiyâwewin (Northern or Bush Cree) understandings, including that:

the flow of the Peace River and the PAD are connected, and are central to ACFN and MCFN knowledge and use of lands and waters;

the unique and complex hydrology (sensitive shallow wetlands), ecology (wetland dependent wildlife and plants) and history (wetland dependent cultural practices and ongoing damages from existing dams) of the PAD can magnify the effects of changes in Peace River flow, regardless of how far upstream those changes may occur;

past and ongoing impacts due to BC Hydro dams on the Peace have, and continue to have, important adverse impacts that make both the PAD, and the PAD dependent way of life of ACFN and MCFN members, especially vulnerable to change in the magnitude, timing, duration and frequency of high water on the Peace River;



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ACFN and MCFN members expect that, if built, BC Hydro’s proposed Site C Project will further impact their lands, waters, and way of life including areas inside and outside Wood Buffalo National Park (WBNP). These expected effects are based on at least two major pathways anticipated by ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders based on past experience:

o reduced magnitude, duration, and frequency of natural (unmanaged) high spring and summer Peace River flows that, when adequate, are essential for creating hydraulic dam conditions on the Peace, and cause reverse flows and beneficial flooding in the delta.

ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders consider this adverse effect to be likely or certain because Site C would increase the number of dammed tributaries to the Peace, and reduce the percent of the river’s flow that is determined by natural processes. Site C would also increase the capacity of BC Hydro to successfully impound and manage spring and summer high water on the Peace River, thereby further impairing natural spring and summer high water conditions on the lower Peace and delta.

ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders estimated that the frequency of hydraulic damming on the Peace resulting in reversed flows in the delta prior to the WAC Bennett dam was in the order of one in every four to five years (approximately 20% likelihood). Since WAC Bennett was built, both ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders indicated that Peace River levels have been sufficient to cause reverse flows only three (1974, 1997, and this spring, 2013) in forty-four years (approximately a 7% likelihood). If site C is built, ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders anticipate the frequency, magnitude and duration of hydraulic damming and reverse flows may be reduced further.

The effects of reduced flooding in the PAD are well documented (e.g. ICC 1998) and well known to ACFN, MCFN, and the Crown. They include:

impacts to wildlife, fish and plant habitat in the PAD resulting in reduced quantity of migratory birds, aquatic fur, fish, particular medicinal plants, and other culturally important wetland dependent species in the PAD and along the Peace;

impacts to ACFN and MCFN navigation in the PAD and along the Peace as a result of increased incidence of sandbars and other low water hazards, and reduced access to traditional lands along adjoining tributaries, or along river meanders of the Peace and in the PAD, including First Nation reserve lands;

increases in aquatic weeds, grasses and willows leading to large scale ecological change that further reduces wetland and riparian habitat and productivity, and impacts ACFN and MCFN water and wetland dependent access and use;

impacts to the ability of the delta to ‘flush itself’ through seasonal flooding and release resulting in impacts to channel maintenance, reduced water quality in the PAD, and increased fear and concern regarding increased accumulation of industrial



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contaminants in certain portions of the PAD and in PAD wildlife due to reduced flooding.

o potential increased magnitude, duration, and frequency of irregular and unnatural (managed) increases in winter Peace River flows (when the whole Peace watershed would otherwise be frozen and at very low flow) causing:

impacts, including destruction of habitat and dens, for ice and water dependent wildlife in the delta and along the Peace (including culturally important aquatic fur such as muskrat and beaver);

unstable ice surfaces and water conditions that have, in the past, damaged ice bridges and made winter travel in, and access to, the delta and along the Peace by ACFN and MCFN members (by ice road, foot, or sled / snow machine) dangerous, difficult, or impossible;

damage or weakening of Peace River ice as a result of unnatural flooding and freezing snow cover, or as a result of increased turbulence and sediment in Peace River ice, thereby reducing the potential for spring ice damming on the Peace and beneficial flooding in the PAD.

In the context of existing BC Hydro management of the Peace River, and regional variations in precipitation, ACFN and MCFN members, and the delta itself, depend on the ‘glimmers of hope’ provided by the now rare years when the Peace River is able, despite ongoing BC Hydro management of the upper watershed, to reach water levels adequate to reverse flows in the PAD. With regard to the continuity of traditional knowledge and practice in the PAD, reverse flows were relatively common prior to 1968, but are currently occurring only once or twice in a generation1. As such, the frequency is already at a threshold where transmission of knowledge between generations regarding reverse flows and use and access at high flows is in danger. If the Site C Project is built, ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders expect that the frequency of these ‘glimmers of hope’ will be further reduced.

1 In demographic terms, a generation is approximately 20 to 25 years.



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Section 4 Conclusions

4.1 Summary of Understanding

Existing use and occupancy data demonstrating the importance of the PAD and the Peace River to ACFN and MCFN rights and interests is extensive, as is the scientific literature demonstrating the existing vulnerability of the PAD due to BC Hydro control of the Peace flow regime, especially during the spring freshet. Based on ACFN and MCFN traditional knowledge, and review of existing ACFN and MCFN documents, it is clear that:

1. The PAD is a unique ecology that responds to changes in flow on the Peace in unique ways. The lands and waters of the Peace Athabasca Delta (PAD), including the Peace River itself, and the Athabasca River itself, and the wildlife and plant resources and habitats they sustain, are central to ACFN and MCFN culture and way of life. The importance of the PAD is increasing for both the ACFN and MCFN as a result of industrial impacts and contamination along the Athabasca River, and as a result of recent changes in federal management of Wood Buffalo National Park.

2. based on available evidence, including science and traditional knowledge, prior to regulation, both the Peace River and the Athabasca River exhibited high year to year variation within an overall pattern of very high flow during the Spring freshet, often leading to ice damming, and very low flow in late fall and over winter. Lower flows and low turbidity in winter meant stronger ice, and stronger ice meant that when higher spring freshets occurred on the Peace, ice damming and back flooding was common.

3. The unregulated pattern of the Athabasca and Peace Rivers sustained the delta for thousands of years with the two rivers (the Peace and Athabasca) 'working together' to maintain the seasonal variation in flow that is essential to the health of the PAD.

4. the bulk of evidence, reflected in the majority of the scientific literature, as well as traditional knowledge, indicates that the PAD as a whole is drying, vegetation is shifting, and that drying of the delta has adverse effects on muskrat, waterfowl, productivity of perched basins, availability of water based transport and other resources and parameters critical to ACFN and MCFN use.

5. The WAC Bennett dam and other BC Hydo infrastructure reduced the downstream flow of the Peace River while it was being filled and continues to through its operation. BC Hydro continues to regulate the flow of the Peace River, including the timing and magnitude of the spring freshet, through operation of its Peace River dams. The Indian Claims Commission (1998), supported by decades of research, found that BC Hydro's existing operation of the WAC Bennett and Peace Canyon dams have had, and are having, ongoing detrimental effects on the ecology of the PAD and on the indigenous way of life in the region.



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6. With the PAD already significantly impacted by existing BC Hydro operations, occasional years where the amount of water flowing into the Peace exceeds BC Hydro's ability to capture it, and where high water on the Peace is able to renew the PAD, provide increasingly rare and essential windows for the revival of the delta ecology, and the practice of ACFN and MCFN knowledge and use. The proposed Site C Project is anticipated to increase the ability of BC Hydro to store and regulate the Peace River to the benefit or detriment of the PAD and the way of life and treaty rights of the ACFN and MCFN.

7. While the Athabasca and Peace Rivers need to work together in order for the delta to flood, ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders have understood, for generations, that the Peace River is the okimaw of the delta, meaning that the Peace River is understood to play a primary role in regulating the flow of the PAD as whole. Available evidence, including science and traditional knowledge, indicates that the Peace River can contribute to the water level of the PAD in at least two primary ways:

• Direct contribution to the the PAD as a result of water flowing from the Peace to the PAD when the level of the Peace is higher than the level of the PAD.

• Indirect contribution to the level of the PAD as a result of the Peace River acting as a hydraulic dam and causing the waters of the PAD to rise even when little or no water may flow directly from the Peace into the PAD.

8. Available evidence, including science and traditional knowledge, indicates that the timing and magnitude of peak spring flows on the Peace River is the critical for element for PAD flooding to occur:

• If the Peace River and the Athabasca River are high and reach peak flow simultaneously then an effective hydraulic dam is created. High flow on the Peace acts as a dam to high flows of the Athabasca and other parts of the delta. This results in a rapid back-flooding and reversal of flow (from the Peace into the Athabasca) along a specific series of channels filling of the PAD as a whole. If the hydraulic dam is maintained over multiple days, a large flood is likely to occur. Ice damming may also contribute. Before regulation, the magnitude of freshet on the Peace was much higher. Based on available evidence, a coincidence of high water led to PAD flooding on a regular basis in the decades prior to 1967 (approximately every 5 years based on traditional knowledge, or approximately 20% likelihood), though the interval may have varied.

• If the Peace River flow is high, but the Athabasca River and other tributaries are not high then some of the Peace River will flow directly into the PAD but the PAD is likely to flood only lightly.

• If the flow of the Athabasca River and other tributaries to Lake Athabasca is high, but the flow of the Peace River is not, then the water of the PAD and Lake Athabasca flows out through the Slave River and no hydraulic dam will occur. Little or no Peace River water will enter the PAD, and the majority of the Athabasca and other tributary flow will be able to pass through the PAD and out through the Slave.

9. With BCH regulation, and since 1967, the timing and magnitude of high water on the Peace River has been influenced by BC Hydro. Lower flows on the Peace River



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permit more water to flow out of Lake Athabasca and the PAD much more rapidly than normal during spring and summer.

10. Changes in ice quality, including increasing sediment in Peace River ice, and winter releases of water, have been noted at Peace Point and further downstream, as a result of the WAC Bennett Dam. These impacts reduce the chance of ice damming and create dangerous conditions for travel by ACFN and MCFN members. Site C is anticipated to result in a potential increase in these conditions.

11. The timing and magnitude of flow on the Peace, and as a result, the annual flooding of the PAD, is governed by at least three mechanisms:

• As a result of precipitation and snow or glacier melt within unregulated portions of the Peace River watershed. This is an important annual influence on magnitude and timing but is dominated by large scale climate patterns that are beyond the control of BCH or other single parties. The Site C Project would establish BC Hydro regulation and control over portions of the Peace River watershed that are currently unregulated and would thereby reduce the ability of 'natural' or unregulated freshet on the Peace to benefit or influence the PAD.

• As a result of ice dams on the Peace. These may occur seasonally and in particular places where ice, flow, and shore patterns are favorable. They may cause rapid and intense flooding in portions of the PAD. Formation of ice dams is unpredictable, but may be influenced by timing or magnitude of flow, as well as channel morphology and temperature. Magnitude and timing of flow on the Peace, as well as channel morphology, is strongly influenced by BCH management. The Site C Project would increase the ability of BCH to manage the magnitude and timing of flow on the Peace, especially during high flow events, and is anticipated to result in less frequent ice damming on the Peace.

• As a result of BCH releasing more water into the Peace downstream of its dam facilities. The timing and magnitude of flow on the Peace as a result of this mechanism is entirely under BCH control. The Site C Project would increase the ability of BCH to control, retain or release water into the Peace, and to influence the timing and magnitude of peak flows on the Peace, including the formation of hydraulic dam conditions in the PAD, and to either benefit or damage the PAD and the ability of ACFN and MCFN to practice their rights and way of life.

12. It is also clear that under BCH regulation, to date, the timing and magnitude of spring freshet on the Peace at Peace Point and other areas downstream has been managed by BCH, with the freshet being much lower magnitude. Per point 11 above, this has increased drying of the Athabasca delta. Drying of the delta and reduced or variable seasonal water levels on the Peace is having a myriad of impacts on ACFN and MCFN use in the delta, including adverse effects on wildlife populations (especially aquatic fur and migratory waterfowl), water based navigation (due to low water and increased obstacles), and access to large portions of territory. Without due consideration, and explicit protective measures, ACFN and MCFN anticipate that the proposed Site C Project will allow BC Hydro to further control the spring freshet on the Peace, resulting in further and intensified direct adverse effects throughout the PAD, and on ACFN and MCFN practice of knowledge, use, rights, and way of life.



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If Site C is built, the ability of BC Hydro to impound the Peace would be increased and ACFN and MCFN knowledge holders anticipate further exacerbation of the already significant and adverse effects on the PAD and on ACFN and MCFN from existing BC Hydro dams. Direct Site C effects are anticipated, both on the PAD water levels and the ACFN and MCFN’s ability to navigate, access, hunt and trap in the delta. Reduced magnitude, duration, or frequency of hydraulic damming on the Peace, and reverse flows on the delta is expected to lead to further drying of lakes and tributaries in the PAD, fewer opportunities for hunting, impacts of aquatic fur, fish, and bird populations, difficult and dangerous access and navigation, and interuption of knowledge transmission to younger generations. Winter release of water and resulting impacts on the delta are also a major concern.

4.1.1 Closure

Should there be questions or clarification required regarding this report and assessment, please email requests to [email protected], or contact the ACFN IRC or the MCFN GIR directly to schedule a meeting to discuss the findings of this report, and develop a plan for implementing recommendations.

Signed July 15, 2013.

ORIGINAL SIGNED

Craig Candler, Ph.D. (Cultural Anthropology) Director, Community Studies and First Nations Consultation __________________________ The Firelight Group Suite 201, 500 Johnson, Victoria, BC, V6W 3C6 T: +1 (250) 590-9017 C: +1 (250) 220-2064 E: [email protected] cc/ro/cw/dt/gg/sd

mailto:[email protected]



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Section 5 Bibliography

Bernard, Russell. (2011). Research Methods in Anthropology (5th edition). Altamira Press.

Candler, Craig, Steven Deroy and the Firelight Group. (2012). MCFN and ACFN Desktop Knowledge and Use Report for BC Hydro’s Proposed ‘Site C’ Dam Project. Unpublished report, December 21, 2012.

Indian Claims Commission. (1998). Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation Inquiry Report on: WAC Bennett Dam and Damage to Indian Reserve No. 201 Claim. Ottawa: Indian Claims Commission.



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Appendix 1. Select Quotes

Timing and Magnitude

ID Date Quote

M72 July 2, 2013

There are four [rivers] in our delta that flow both directions. When the Peace is high, it runs right into our Delta. This year, the water was so high from the Peace it drove the ice right out to the Lake [clearing into the lake].

Both rivers influence our Delta… If they both come at the same time, same run-off, it fills our delta up and floods it. It brought our lake up one meter this summer compared to last year… In 1997, they released the water, [because] they had big sink holes in the Bennett dam [but] … We aren’t getting the ice thickness, we aren’t getting the timing where there is a big slug of water coming down, we aren’t having big ice flooding and jamming events since 1974 … at the mouth of the Peace and the 30th Baseline.

M40 July 2, 2013

The two rivers flow to the Delta, that’s what brings the water levels way up to the right level. When they dammed the Peace River, and there was only the Athabasca River coming down, there was not enough water for it to put in to the Delta and bring it back out, you know to wash out the bottom. There is not enough pressure with just one river. [Because of the Bennett dam], the Peace River is doing nothing. It’s been like that since they dammed the river … We get no help from the Peace, just the Athabasca. It’s not enough pressure to push everything in and bring it back out, like fresh water. The [sediment] is building up. I travel [the Peace River] every year, same with the Athabasca River.

M72 July 2, 2013

Both [Peace and Athabasca] rivers influence our Delta. If they both come at the same time, same run-off, it fills our delta up and floods it. It brought our lake up one meter this summer compared to last year.



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Ice Jam Frequency

ID Date Quote

M72 July 2, 2013

Right here is Rocky Point … that’s the biggest bend that causes ice jams there. And then the Quatre Fourche is right across form it, that backs everything up and runs everything back down here into Lake Mamawi. And then Pine River, Beryl Creek, those are little tributaries that run off into the Delta. So when you get that big ice jam, it backs up the Quatre Fourche, backs up all these little creeks and floods its banks all along here. I’ve seen Moose Island flooded. It all runs into the Delta and puts water into our Lake Claire, Baril Lake.

M72 July 2, 2013

When you get the big flood, in the spring time, when you’re normally supposed to get the big floods, its not happening because there’s not enough ice, [it’s] not thick enough to actually jam here at Rocky Point … when it jams, the Quatre Fourche backs up and all these little creeks here flow into the Delta.

M61 July 2, 2013

Releasing water from the dam [in winter], that’s one of the problems right there. If you release that water at the wrong time of the year, just when it’s starting to freeze, you don’t get good ice. When they release the water in November, all that water comes down and wears out the ice, the clear ice. And sure it freezes, but all that sand in it freezes and it doesn’t make good ice. Then in April/May, that muddy water melts like nothing. So you don’t have the ice there to make floods. In the 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, we used to have nice blue ice before the dam. The ice used to be three feet thick, and blue ice. And that doesn’t melt right away. By the time the Peace River flows [at spring break-up], that ice [was] still almost two feet thick. And that’s what floods it down at Rocky Point. All the water backs up and floods the whole Peace River. A lot of that water goes into Lake Claire, Lake Mamawi, so you get nice clean water over there. That’s why there were a lot of muskrats and everything else over there. Today, these things don’t happen because we don’t have that kind of ice anymore.

A22 July 3, 2013

The ice is not what it used to be. We used to have four feet of ice on Jackfish Lake. Now you got 18 inches. That’s at the thickest. There is different chemicals, different stuff in that ice. It’s never going to freeze the way it used to.



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Overflow and Fluctuations

ID Date Quote

M72 July 2, 2013

We got a winter road. Everything in Chip seems to be in two’s, we got two rivers to fill our Delta and we have two winter roads. We have one to head south to get our groceries and gas, we have the other heading north running parallel to the Quatre Fourche River. And along the Peace, here it’s called Moose Island. Right here our winter road crosses … up into Fort Smith. I worked on the winter road here for 20-some years building ice bridges … around mid-December, they release water - Bennett Dam starts their big turbines. Everyone needs power, more power for Christmas Lights, more power for the southerners, everyone needs more power. So the turbines spin faster, they release water. Our winter road here, we just finish it off flooding and putting the ice bridge in, and all of a sudden the water comes up. It comes up 8 to 10 feet. We have records where we have had to close the road because the water came up. As Aboriginal people, we never saw water come up in the winter. That’s human cause[d], that’s man cause[d], to get their power, so we have to close our road. It’s just a headache in itself [for] getting groceries and living our lifestyle and getting parts for our snowmobiles and for our traps, it gives us a headache. Because they released water, now we can’t go to Fort Smith. We have family and friends at Christmas time to go visit, and also events. Not only is it just the Delta, it affects us socially as well. To get our groceries, our gas. They close that road and then they say it’s not affecting us? Not only the land, the people itself.

A22 July 3, 2013

One summer, in 97 when they released all that water, they flooded the delta and everything. Come Fall time, they shut off over there at the dam and all this water starts to run back out. It took out the winter road and opened the lake almost to Big Island, the rush of that water.

A22 July 3, 2013

Right now we know the only time they release water is in the winter time. Come freeze up, everyone starts needing power. Then they release the [dam] and it floods the Peace River. The ice rises instead of dropping.

Impacts and Benefits of water level

ID Date Quote

A49 July 3, 2013

Low water, over a period of time creates weeds, which makes it difficult to travel around when there’s a lot of weeds. Over the years when they have no water, those weeds start creating ground. And that’s where you have the willows coming up. Once you have the willows, your lake is shrinking. High water can



27

keep all that at bay. That’s the Delta. We know the Delta changes all the time, but not to this extent.

A22 July 3, 2013

As long as [The Peace River] is high, [the delta] holds water. The minute that river starts to drain faster than this lake, then everything goes.

A04 July 3, 2013

The last few years, you can’t even get around [in the delta]. You can’t even get in the [Athabasca] river here lots of times. There’s no water.

A50 July 3, 2013

My family, we get to go all over when it’s good high water. You can take all the back channels now. … We love the high water, we go all over. Last year we used to have to take a small boat because there was so much low water, [personal name] had to get out to push the boat. This high water, we just cruise around, go all over.

A22 July 3, 2013

[The Peace River] acts like a dam. When the Peace River is high, all the water backs up here, the Peace River flows here [to the delta], even this spring, because there was an ice jam. And that’s a natural process. And that’s what contributes to filling in all the perched-basins. Talking to the people from the parks, all the rats’ houses are full right now. This is normal, this is the way it used to be. And that’s because of Mother Nature, lots of rain and a big snow fall. (A22, July 3, 2013).

A08 July 3, 2013

All the lakes, the past couple years, the water was only high for so long, maybe a couple weeks. The [Athabasca] river would be high and it would reverse flow into the Jackfish Lake. But now that it’s been high all spring, the Lake is full. And it’s still being fed from the Richardson River. It’s not a reverse flow, it’s just flowing towards Lake Athabasca because the Lake is so full. Same thing at Keane Creek [in the southern part of the Delta]. Last year, the water levels were low from reverse flow. But now it’s full, it’s flowing everywhere.

A08 July 3, 2013

This week I went to Sandbar Lake, off the Derocher to Flett Lake. All that is being fed through the Peace and Slave River. It’s still flowing that way, but from the spring water level being so high we are able to go back there. I haven’t been there for 20 years. Last time I was there I was a kid. You [used to be able to] get there every year by canoe…You can go anywhere you want right now. It’s good, you can go places you’ve never seen before. I have been going to places I haven’t been for the past 20 years, where I used to go as a kid.

M62 July 2, 2013

Another 40 years down the road now, with Site C … you’ll see a lot of areas that are bone dry. More growth, more islands, less access to everything. More willows.



28

M61 July 2, 2013

A flood is good. Around my place, we have it right along the edge of the river and when it floods … it clears that water. So there is always muskrats in there, the water never gets old. But now, the water doesn’t go over the banks … that’s why there is not very much muskrats. I saw only ten rats this summer.

M72 July 2, 2013

When Lake Mamawi is low … you hit mud. It’s the main access to the delta here, it’s a major water corridor to access our Mikisew traditional lands. So if this dries out, we can’t get to our traditional hunting and trapping areas.

M72 July 2, 2013

When you drop the water levels, you can’t access your geese hunting, your moose hunting your trapping, all that stuff.

ID Date Quote

A49 July 3, 2013

We are not asking for a pot of gold or a million bucks, we are just asking for some water from the Bennett Dam. I just don’t understand it. It’s not logical. And maybe we are not enough people for them to really care about. But we have a history, we are a proud First Nation. We live off the land, we have families that are living all over the countryside, we have stories all over different parts of the delta. And to have all that taken away by BC Government with no consultation, of course we will be upset and hurt. We seem to be defenseless. We are fighting a government, and we are a government ourselves, we are a First Nation. We should be able to meet in a room like this and talk about how we can come to terms so that everyone at the table meets and understanding and get something done at the end of the day. And I don’t think that is a very hard to ask, but it feels like pulling teeth right now.



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Appendix 2. Curriculum Vitae, Dr. Craig Candler

Education

Ph.D. Cultural Anthropology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, 2008

M.A. Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, 1999

B.A. (First Class Honors) Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, 1996

Craig Candler, Ph.D. (Anthropology)

Director, Community Studies and First Nation Consultation

Employment History

The Firelight Group Research Cooperative-Victoria, BC

Director/Community Studies and First Nations Consultation Specialist (2009 to present)

Responsible, as a founding member and director, for helping establish The Firelight Group, a group of aboriginal and non-aboriginal research professionals providing respectful and respected environmental and social science research, consulting, and support services in processes where aboriginal and non-aboriginal interests interact, and where good relationships and quality research tools are desired by all sides. Currently serving as the president of the Firelight Group, tasks include business and organizational development, as well as design, development, and delivery of technical services including community-based traditional knowledge research and documentation systems, environmental and socio-cultural impact assessments and monitoring programs, indigenous land use mapping, archival research, community involvement processes, and First Nations consultation support services.

Golder Associates Ltd. – Victoria, BC

Senior Anthropologist/Traditional Studies and Community Consultation Specialist (2005 to 2009)

As Senior Anthropologist, provided technical leadership to the cultural sciences division of Golder in the fields of traditional studies and First Nations consultation, particularly within the context of environmental impact assessment. Responsible for design, development, and oversight of community-based traditional knowledge research and documentation systems, capacity building initiatives, environmental and socio-cultural impact assessment and monitoring, indigenous land use mapping, public involvement processes, archival research, and First Nations consultation support services. Tasks included leading baseline data collection, environmental assessment, and community involvement components related to community-based traditional use studies and First Nations consultation support, including projects with estimated capital costs in excess of one billion dollars. Projects included mines, wind and other energy developments, civil infrastructure, environmental remediation, and linear energy transmission projects.


Key clients and partners included First Nations across BC and western Canada, private industry, and government agencies.

University of British Columbia, Ph.D. Researcher – Vancouver, BC

Lead Researcher, Changing Land Use and Children's Health in Mae Chaem, Northern Thailand (2000 to 2008)

Responsible for designing, grant writing, coordinating, and conducting anthropological research within a multi-method (qualitative and quantitative) and community-based research project on oral histories of land use and child health change in Northern Thailand since the 1950s.

Third Stone Community Research – Edmonton, AB

Anthropological Consultant (1995 to 2005)

Founder and Principal of a private consulting company offering applied anthropological, community-based research and consultation services, specializing in First Nations land use documentation and mapping, and comprehensive socio-cultural and community impact assessment and mitigation. Projects included leading a large multi-year traditional use study for the Treaty 8 Tribal Association of BC, as well as smaller projects for communities and research agencies based in Alberta, BC, Manitoba, and the Northwest Territories.

National Centre for Excellence in Sustainable Forest Management, University of Alberta – Edmonton, AB

Research Coordinator (2000)

Research and funding coordinator for socio-economic, community sustainability, and integrated and cumulative effects related projects supported through the NCE-SFM.

Centre for the Cross-Cultural Study of Health and Healing, University of Alberta – Edmonton, AB

Coordinator and Consultant Liaison (1995 to 1999)

Coordinator of office activities including development of a consulting program for academic and contract research, project proposal development, grant applications, reporting, financial administration, marketing and managing a publishing series, organizing public workshops and lectures, and coordinating volunteer involvement.

Project Experience – Traditional Knowledge (TEK) and Traditional Use Studies (TUS)


Mikisew Cree First Nation and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation

Northwest Alberta

Primary Researcher and Project Manager for a TEK/TUS project involving documentation of community use and knowledge along the Athabasca River to inform decisions regarding water withdrawals and oil sands production. Jointly funded through two First Nations, the project involves documentation of First Nations use and interests through interviews and mapping, and understanding the effects water quality and water level change on the practice of aboriginal and treaty rights along a major river and within an ecologically sensitive delta and lake area.

British Columbia Transmission Corporation

Southwest British Columbia

Component Lead for an overview-level TUS for planning of a linear transmission project involving archival review, field interviews, and coordinated research with more than forty First Nations with traditional territories in the Fraser Valley, Fraser Canyon, and in the area of Nicola Lake. Tasks included methodology development, interview protocols, First Nations liaison, supervising and participating in mapping interviews and archival review, and leading analysis and reporting.

Kwoiek Creek Hydroelectric Project

Southwest British Columbia

Component Lead for community-based TUS conducted for environmental assessment of a run-of-river project, including transmission line, proposed by a First Nation joint venture. The project involved generation of energy and transmission through multiple First Nations territories. Tasks include methodology review, supporting First Nations interviewers to complete baseline, and leading community-based impact assessment and reporting.

Western Canadian Coal

Northeast British Columbia

Project Manager for the completion of Socio-Economic and Aboriginal Interests and Use chapters for an Environmental Assessment (EA) application to the BC Environmental Assessment Office (BC EAO) regarding a proposed coal development in northeast BC. The project involved working with First Nations and Metis groups and included methodology review, First Nations and aboriginal liaison, and reporting.

Peace River Coal


Component Lead for overview-level TUS and TEK work conducted for EA purposes for two coal mines and related developments. The project involved working with six First Nations and Metis groups. Tasks have included methodology development, First Nations liaison, archival review, community-based mapping, focus group interviews, and reporting.

North Coast Wind Energy

Component Lead for overview and operational-level TUS proposed within a harmonized BC Environmental Assessment Act (BCEAA)-Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA) process on the north coast of BC. The project involved a large generation area and


Northwest British Columbia

more than 100 km of linear transmission corridor involving the traditional territories of three First Nations. Tasks included methodology development, archival review, First Nations liaison, and preliminary coordination of overview-level TUS interviews.

Aseniwuche Winewak Nation

Grande Cache, AB

Project Manager and lead researcher for a gap analysis of TUS data used for First Nations consultation purposes, providing specialist support for the optimization of an internal First Nations consultation and referral system, and providing research services in support of oral history interviews and document preparation related to a comprehensive claim.

Treaty 8 Tribal Association


Project Coordinator for all aspects of a large multi-community, multi-year traditional use study (TUS) with a budget in excess of one million dollars, including mapping and TEK interview components, training, project management, site visits, GPS data collection, archival review, GIS and database design, digitization, indigenous toponomy, and oral history. Facilitated negotiation of community consultation and information protection protocols.

Sawridge First Nation and Kapawe’no First Nation Traditional Use Study

Central Alberta

Methodology development, interview protocols, First Nations liaison, and proposal development.

Bigstone Cree Nation TUS Gap Analysis

Northwest Alberta

Assisted with gap analysis, evaluating community goals and needs, and the potential of an existing TUS data set to meet those goals and needs. Review of digital data, methodologies, and community goals.

Beaver First Nation Traditional Use Study

Northwest Alberta

Methodology development, First Nations liaison, training and capacity building workshops on community-based research, mapping strategies, GIS/GPS technology, and proposal writing.

Dene Tha’ Consultation Pilot Project

Northwest Alberta

Methodology development and expert review of TUS data collection and mapping, digital data capture, and database design. Assisted negotiation of final information sharing and consultation protocols.


Halfway River First Nation Traditional Use Study


Designed and delivered TUS methodology, field work, training, and capacity building in mapping and land use research.

Dene Tsaa Tse K’nai (Prophet River) First Nation Traditional Use Study


Designed and delivered TUS methodology, field work, interviews, design of field recording and GPS strategies, coordination of field visits, training, reporting and capacity building.

Canadian Circumpolar Institute

Edmonton, AB

Literature review and critique of emerging GIS and GPS technologies in the context of traditional knowledge research in Canada’s north.

Gwich’in Tribal Council and the Sustainable Forest Management Network

Winnipeg, MN

Archival research in the Hudson’s Bay Archives, archival documentation and report writing on historic environmental change and resource use along the Mackenzie Delta.

Project Experience – Socio-Economic and Cultural Impact Assessment

Western Canadian Coal


Project Manager for the completion of Socio-Economic and TUS chapters for an Environmental Assessment (EA) application to the BC Environmental Assessment Office (BC EAO) regarding a proposed coal development in northeast BC. The project has involved working with First Nations and Metis groups. Tasks have included methodology review, First Nations liaison, and reporting.

Public Works and Government Services

Victoria, BC

Design and implementation of public and First Nations involvement, including social studies, related to a risk assessment of contaminants in a heavily used urban industrial waterway.




Assisted with design and development, including fundraising, criteria and indicators, and determination of community-relevant VECs (Valued Ecosystem Components) for a community-based and First Nations-led centre for cumulative impact assessment, geared particularly towards the oil, gas, and forestry sectors, and utilizing both community- and science-based knowledge.

World Agroforestry Centre

Chiang Mai, Thailand

Design and delivery of a two-year study working within a multidisciplinary team to develop community-based methods for tracing environmental and community health changes over time, particularly with regards to pesticide use and early child health. Methodology development, training, field interviews, analysis, reporting.



As-and-when needed technical support and recommendations to local governments towards the resolution of community concerns involving forestry, oil and gas, highways, and agriculture sectors.

Sustainable Forest Management Network

Edmonton, AB

Worked as part of a multidisciplinary management team to support and manage socio-economic and cumulative effects related to boreal forest industries and communities. Team included industry, academic, and government representatives.

Bigstone Cree First Nation

Northern Alberta

Extended field work and community-based research on the effects of northern industry, particularly pulp and paper development, upon social relations, community factionalism, and the practice of traditional medicine in a Northern Cree community.

Project Experience – First Nation Consultation and Negotiation

BC Hydro Aboriginal Relations and Negotiations

Northwest BC

Assisted in leading a consultation team providing specialist First Nations consultation services in relation to the environmental permitting of a large transmission line project in northwestern BC. The project involved multiple First Nations in the area of Terrace, BC, as well as the Nisga'a Nation. Tasks included procedural consultation support, acting as point of contact for First Nation consultation, coordination and documentation of consultations within the environmental assessment process, supporting negotiations regarding memorandums of understanding and provision of capacity funding, as well as support, where appropriate, for negotiation of long-term impact and benefits agreements (IBAs) or other agreements related to project construction and operation.


Mount Hays Wind Farm LP

Northwest BC

Component Lead for First Nations consultation services in relation to permitting of a proposed development through provincial and federal processes. The project involved three First Nations and traditional territory interests within an existing municipal boundary. Tasks included procedural consultation support, acting as point of contact for First Nation consultation, coordination and documentation of consultations, facilitation of negotiation regarding letters of understanding and development of accommodation packages including non-financial and financial accommodations, and support for negotiation of a long-term impact and benefits agreement (IBA).



Component Lead for First Nations consultation services in relation to a multi-billion dollar project being processed through a harmonized provincial-federal process. The project involved supporting consultation and accommodation discussions involving three First Nations and related traditional territory interests south of Prince Rupert, BC. Tasks included procedural consultation advice, acting as point of contact for First Nation consultation, coordination and documentation of consultations, facilitation of negotiation regarding letters of understanding and development of accommodation packages including non-financial and financial accommodations, and negotiation of long-term impact and benefits agreement (IBA).

Catalyst Paper Corp.

Vancouver Island, BC

Project Manager for provision of Public and First Nations consultation support, including analysis of First Nations consultation requirements

and strategic advice. Tasks included delivery of consultation tools including letters, contact matrices, project website development, and open house coordination.

Public Works and Government Services

Victoria, BC

Project Manager for provision of expert consultation support, including analysis of First Nations consultation requirements under federal policy and recent court decisions. Tasks included project and document review and reporting.

Aseniwuche Winewak Nation

Grande Cache, AB

Project Manager for conducting a gap analysis of TUS data used for consultation purposes, and providing expert support for the optomization of an internal First Nations consultation and referral system.




Assisted with the design and development of a TUS data system designed for referral and consultation purposes. Tasks included design and implementation of GIS and databases, and negotiation of information sharing protocols.

Dene Tha’ Consultation Pilot Project

Northwest Alberta

Methodology development and expert review of TUS data collection and mapping, digital data capture, and database design. Assisted negotiation of final information sharing and consultation protocols.

Project Experience – Training and Capacity Building



Designed and delivered a week-long training workshop to three north coast First Nations on community-based TUS/TEK research, including traditional use mapping, for environmental assessment purposes. Training included classroom and field components and was taught in collaboration with four community Elder instructors.



Design and development (including fundraising) for a community-based and First Nations-led centre for cumulative impact assessment utilizing both traditional and scientific knowledge and criteria for evaluating and monitoring environmental, socio-economic, and health changes.

University of British Columbia

Vancouver, BC

Design and delivery of a senior university-level course on the ethnography of Southeast Asia.

University of Alberta

Edmonton, AB

Design and delivery of senior university-level courses in the School of Comparative and Religious Studies, and Department of Anthropology.

Northern Lights College

Inuvik, NT

Design and delivery of a college-level course on anthropology, community research, and natural resource management for post-secondary Gwich’in and Inuvialuit students.


Professional Affiliations

Canadian Anthropological Society (CASCA) – Member of the CASCA Executive, effective June 2010, representing applied and practicing anthropologists in Canada at the national level.

Canadian Asian Studies Association – Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies (CASA-CCSEAS)

American Anthropological Association (AAA)

Society for Applied Anthropology (SfAA)

Selected Publications

Peer Reviewed Publications, Journal Articles, and Proceedings

Craig, Candler, Rachel Olson, Steven Deroy and Kieran Broderick. Participatory GIS as a Sustained (and Sustainable?) Practice: The Case of Treaty 8 BC. Participatory Learning and Action, 54 (2006), p. 325-356.

Young, David and Craig Candler. 1997. “The Paradoxes of Northern Development in Canada: An Anthropological Perspective,” in The Proceedings of the 11th International Abashiri Symposium on Peoples and Cultures of the North, Abashiri, Japan.

Candler, Craig, David Young, Cliff Pompana and Denise Spitzer. A Hermeneutic Exposition of a Plains Healer’s Concept of “The Grandfathers”. Anthropos, 92 (1996), 115-128.

Books and Theses

Candler, Craig. 2008. Changing Land Use and Children’s Health in Mae Chaem, Northern Thailand. Ph.D. thesis, University of British Columbia.

Candler, Craig. 1999. Healing and Cultural Formation in a Bush Cree Community. M.A. thesis, University of Alberta.

Scholarly Conference Presentations

Invited Roundtable member for: Anthropological Connections: Networking Practising Anthropologists in Canada, Canadian Anthropological Society (CAS-SCA), Montreal, Canada (2010).


The Good, the Bad and the Glossy: Anthropology, Land Use Mapping and ‘Adequate’ First Nations Consultation and Accommodation. Presented at the annual meetings of the Society for Applied Anthropology, Vancouver, Canada (2006).

Incorporating TEK and Aquatic Toxicity Science. Interactive Workshop Presentation for the Aquatic Toxicity Workshop, Jasper, Canada (2006).

Transcendent Life (and) Science: Medicine, Ecology, and Flexible Biotechnical Citizenship in a Northern Thai Valley. Presented at the

32nd Congress of the Canadian Anthropological Society (CAS-SCA), Merida, Mexico (2005).

Globalization in a Pill: Opium, Yaa Baa, and Addictive Modernity in Northern Thailand. Presented at the joint meetings of the Canadian Council for Southeast Asian Studies (CCSEAS) and the Canadian Asian Studies Association East Asian Council (CASA-EAC), Université de Montréal, Canada (2003).

Maps, Dreams, and GIS: Telling Stories with New Technology. Presented at the 27th Congress of the Canadian Anthropological Society (CAS-SCA), University of Calgary, Canada (2000).

The Concept of Significance in Cultural Resource Management: Protecting What Past for Whose Future? Presented at the 1999 Chacmool Conference on Indigenous Peoples and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Canada (1999).

Paper, Pipes and the Pentecost: Healing and Change in a Northern Cree Community. Presented at the 25th Congress of the Canadian Anthropological Society (CAS-SCA), Toronto, Canada (1998).

Reviews and Other

Craig Candler has provided external and/or internal peer review on specialist technical reports, academic articles, and book length works, including peer review of chapters and contributions to Terry Tobias' (2010) landmark work, Living Proof: the Essential Data-Collection Guide for Indigenous Use-and-Occupancy Map Surveys.


Appendix 3. Informed Consent Documentation for ACFN

ACFN Peace River Knowledge and Use Project Declaration of Informed Consent and Permission to use Information

I (name) , on this day (complete date) , give permission for to interview me for the ACFN Peace River Knowledge and Use Project.

I understand that the study is being conducted by the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN). The purpose of this project is to document baseline data and trend information related to ACFN knowledge and use of the Peace River and its interactions with the PAD, and to identify likely pathways of effect between the Site C Project and ACFN knowledge and use.

By signing below, I give permission to have my words and responses regarding my land use and

my past and current traditional ecological knowledge recorded on maps, in notes, and using audio

and video recording equipment. I also understand that:

(a) I am free to not respond to questions that may be asked, and to end the interview at any

time that I wish, without penalty.

(b) The ACFN will maintain intellectual property rights over information and recordings collected

through my participation in this interview and may use the information collected, including

audio, video, or images, in pursuit of its claims, and for defending and communicating the

rights, interests, and titles of its members. This will include, but is not limited to, sharing

information for the purposes of environmental assessment.

(c) The ACFN will contact me, or my descendents, before using my information for purposes

other than those indicated above.

For more information, please contact Amanda Annand @ (780) 762-5534

If needed, I am OK with having my name included in reports: yes no

Signature of participant Witness

_____________________ _________________________


Appendix 4. Informed Consent Documentation for MCFN

MCFN Peace River Knowledge and Use Project Declaration of Informed Consent and Permission to use Information

I (name) , on this day (complete date) , give permission for to interview me for the MCFN Peace River Knowledge and Use Project.

I understand that the study is being conducted by the Mikisew Cree First Nation (MCFN). The purpose of this project is to document baseline data and trend information related to MCFN knowledge and use of the Peace River and its interactions with the PAD, and to identify likely pathways of effect between the Site C Project and MCFN knowledge and use.

By signing below, I give permission to have my words and responses regarding my land use and

my past and current traditional ecological knowledge recorded on maps, in notes, and using audio

and video recording equipment. I also understand that:

(a) I am free to not respond to questions that may be asked, and to end the interview at any time

that I wish, without penalty.

(b) The MCFN will maintain intellectual property rights over information and recordings collected

through my participation in this interview and may use the information collected, including

audio, video, or images, in pursuit of its claims, and for defending and communicating the

rights, interests, and titles of its members. This will include, but is not limited to, sharing

information for the purposes of environmental assessment.

(c) The MCFN will contact me, or my descendents, before using my information for purposes

other than those indicated above.

For more information, please contact Clifford Starr @ (780) 714-6500.

If needed, I also give permission to have my name included in reports:

yes no

Signature of participant Witness

_____________________ _________________________


Appendix 5. Focus Group Guide

The focus of these interviews will be on identifying the most important mechanisms and pathways of effect between Peace River flow and areas of the delta important to rights-based activities including ACFN and MCFN knowledge and use, and to understand these mechanisms and pathways of effect using ACFN and MCFN knowledge and experience.

Key questions for the focus group included:

1. Based on ACFN and MCFN knowledge, what was the delta like before WAC Bennett, and

how have past BC Hydro dams on the Peace (WAC Bennett and Peace Canyon) influenced

the ecology of the delta, including particular animals or resources?

2. In general, how did these past changes influence ACFN and MCFN use on the Peace River?

In the delta? (For ACFN, focus will be on areas away from IR201).

3. Based on ACFN and MCFN knowledge, what are the main influences on the level of the

Peace and Athabasca Delta (Athabasca River, Peace River, wind, etc.). How important is the

flow of the Peace River to the water levels in the delta as a whole? Does the Peace River

only influence water levels in particular parts of the delta, for example Lake Mamawi? Lake

Claire? Quatre Fourche? Jackfish Lake? Embarrass? Other parts of the delta?

4. Are there particular times of year or seasons when the flow of the Peace River is especially

important?

5. In years when there have been high flows of water on the Peace River (like 1996/1997), were

there benefits to ACFN and MCFN use?

6. How do people know the influence of the Peace River on the delta? (e.g: colour of water?

Direction of flow? Other signs / indicators?)

7. Other than level of flow, are there other ways that the Peace River is important for the delta?

What are they?

8. In general, in summer, how does the flow of the Peace River currently influence ACFN /

MCFN use in the delta? along the Peace River itself? adjacent streams? How about in

winter? (eg: navigation hazards or obstructions, sand bars, low water limits).

9. If the Site C dam was constructed, based on ACFN/MCFN knowledge, what do you think the

short and long term effects would be on the delta? On ACFN and MCFN use? What would

you like to see happen in the delta in the future?

Documents

Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation and Mikisew Cree First ... · ACFN & MCFN Initial Knowledge and Use Report for BC Hydro’s Proposed Site C Project 07/11/2013 . . 2. 1.2 Limitations