Sacred Science brings together Indigenous knowledge and western science to create opportunities for new solutions to environmental challenges, including issues that are important to Indigenous People.
For this edition of Shift, I had the chance to sit with Alvin First Rider and talk about the Blood Tribe's Buffalo Restoration Project. We were joined by Emily Herdman from InnoTech Alberta and Brett Purdy from Alberta Innovates.
Alvin is a member of the Káínawa, or Blood Tribe, in southern Alberta. Extending into US territory, these lands form the traditional territory of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Alvin speaks about his nation's use western science alongside Indigenous Knowledge to bring buffalo back to their historical plains.
We discuss the importance of restoring this iconic animal as part of an intertribal effort to restore the great plains ecosystem and to reclaim the traditions of the Indigenous peoples who have occupied these lands since time immemorial.
The Sacred Science video series, developed in collaboration with Indigenous communities in Alberta, Alberta Innovates and InnoTech Alberta, tells the stories of how these communities are leveraging Indigenous knowledge in tandem with western science to tackle complex conservation and land management challenges that impact all of us and to preserve their cultures.
These videos demonstrate successful collaboration between Indigenous communities and natural scientists that create meaningful impact and demonstrate our commitment to reconciliation, particularly in the natural sciences.