Gitxsan and Secwépemc Resilience to Climate Change
by Janna Wale
Figure 1: Gitxsan seasonal cycle, inclusive of seasonal activities (Main-Johnson 1997). Gitxsan Moon by Brett Huson
Indigenous communities in British Columbia (BC) hold deep relationships with their Lands, and are being disproportionately affected by climate change. Community climate resilience is an emergent body of work that examines select indicators to create an overall picture of climate resilience in human communities.
My work focuses on climate resilience in Indigenous communities. Essentially, it explores what we already know as Indigenous peoples – that we are strong and resilient. My approach to better understand our resilience was to study how the seasonal round of activities in two nations – the Gitxsan Nation and the Secwépemc Nation – are being impacted by climate change. A seasonal round is the intersection between cultural practices and what is happening on the Land at any given point in time during the year (Figure 1). For many Indigenous people in BC, life was, and continues to be, founded upon the change of seasons; the seasons influence the areas in which we live, hunt, and harvest. Each new season brings with it different resources, different cultural events, and different processes that define and shape the Indigenous way of life. Since climate change directly affects the Land through shifts in the timing of ecological processes, I expected to see these changes reflected in the seasonal rounds of my study communities.
Traditionally harvested salmon and corn cooking over hot rocks. Photo. J. Wale
The Gitxsan (Gitksan) are a northwest coastal people who live in the drainage of the Skeena River in northwestern BC. The Secwépemc peoples are interior Salish peoples, who occupy a large area in the southern interior of BC. I interviewed and surveyed thirty-six community members from these two Nations about changes they are seeing on the Land, and how these changes are beginning to impact aspects of their culture and their seasonal rounds.
The two case studies revealed three major themes. First, community members are reporting that seasonal patterns are shifting. Secondly, the rate and magnitude of the change is not consistent across territories. Thirdly, communities are demonstrating resilience through the use of traditional management to favour sustainability.
The first theme is the obvious one – because of course, we are all experiencing climatic changes. The massive fires, the flooding, and the unprecedented weather events of the past few years are symptoms of that change. Take the Gitxsan seasonal round for instance. Gitxsan community members have seen a noticeable increase in rainfall and a shift in the timing of the freeze each year. The inconsistency in temperatures is also affecting the growing cycle of the plants, such that the timing of the harvest is now inconsistent year to year. One of my study participants noted that “it is almost like the plants are confused.” The inconsistency in harvestables, in turn, affects moose, who are not found as consistently throughout the territory. These climatic shifts translate into a cultural shift. Having reduced access to moose not only destabilizes the ecosystem, but also is beginning to impact Gitxsan food security. Events like this are becoming more frequent, and are beginning to distort the Gitxsan seasonal round (Figure 2).
Figure 2: The distorted Gitxsan seasonal cycle based on anecdotal evidence (Wale 2022). Gitxsan Moon by Brett Huson
The second theme is that, depending on where you are, the shifts will be different. In my research, Secwépemc people observed more changes, at a faster rate, than the Gitxsan – or at least, it came up more frequently in conversation. There are a number of possible explanations for this.
The first possible explanation is the difference in how colonization has played out across BC. Secwépemc’uuluw is more densely populated, and has been subject to more land-cover and land-use change as a result of colonial settlement and resource extraction. Due to disturbance and fragmentation, ecosystems are thus less resilient, and Secwépemc people have reduced access in more parts of their territory throughout the year, which has sped up the distortion of the seasonal round.
A member of the Gitxsan First Nation cleans a salmon; the parts that are not used feed the river. Photo: J. Wale
Second, it is also important to consider how Indigenous peoples lived on the landscape in the past. Secwépemc people were highly mobile. The restrictions and forced removals under the reserve system affected Secwépemc access to their traditional territories, which affected – and continues to affect – how they are able to practice seasonality. By contrast, Gitxsan people were less seasonally mobile and continue to live close to fishing and harvesting sites; they are able to maintain access to significant areas, which means less distortion of their seasonal round.
Additionally, Gitxsan territory is within the Interior Cedar Hemlock (ICH) Biogeoclimatic ecosystem zone. The ICH zone has remained relatively stable, and according to climate change projections will greater stability. The Gitxsan seasonal round mirrors the slower shift. Secwépemc territory is within the Interior Plateau of BC, dominated by the dry Bunchgrass, Ponderosa Pine, and Interior Douglas Fir Biogeoclimatic ecosystems. Projections indicate that these ecosystems will undergo rapid change.
It is important to understand that a change in relationship does not necessarily translate to a loss in relationship. For instance, while the relationship that Secwépemc people hold with the Land has changed, they are now using their contemporary relationship with the Land as a way to reassert ownership and territorial boundaries. As one community member put it, “[w]e are marking the posts. We claim it as a traditional activity – a life giving force – and anything we can do to serve that purpose gets integrated to how we are now living on the Land.” They are consciously using this relationship strategically, and are revitalizing traditional uses in faraway places throughout Secwépemc’uuluw.
A member of the Gitxsan First Nation harvesting huckleberries amongst the fireweed. Photo: J. Wale
Colonization has worked against our ability to see the interconnections that we have with the living things around us. By reinforcing the connections to traditional seasonal rounds, seasonally-based recommendations can also build Indigenous community climate resilience. Particularly, the revival of traditional resource management can help to mitigate climate impacts. As examples, the Secwépemc are exploring traditional burning in the spring, and the Gitxsan are reviving control over fisheries in the fall. Both of these activities will lead to further sustainable management practices, will increase human-environment interconnections, and strengthen resilience of the Land and people.
Janna Wale (She/Her) is Gitxsan from Gitanmaax First Nation and is also Cree-Métis on her mother’s side. She holds a Bachelors of Natural Resource Science – Honours (B. Nrs – Hons) from Thompson Rivers University, and is currently working on completing her Masters (M.Sc.) in IGS Sustainability at the University of British Columbia-Okanagan. Her thesis research focuses on climate resilience in Indigenous communities.