In 2021, it was estimated that fewer than 230 Southern Mountain Caribou roam traditional Splatsin First Nation (FN) territory. The steady decline in population is directly attributable to the loss of their habitat as well as their only food source, tree lichens.
While the forestry industry shoulders the blame for these losses, the climate crisis has accelerated the impacts and impending extinction of these caribou.
Southern Mountain Caribou provide food security as well as clothing and tools essential to the physical and cultural survival of the Splatsin.
Splatsin are the southernmost tribe of the Secwépemc Nation, the largest Interior Salish speaking FN in Canada. Their territory stretches from the British Columbia/Alberta border near the Yellowhead Pass to the plateau west of the Fraser River, southeast of the Arrow Lakes and to the Upper reaches of the Columbia River.
The well-being of these caribou directly correlates with the health of the surrounding ecosystem and its inhabitants. Think canary in the coalmine.
Wildlife ecologist Mateen Hessami worked with the Splatsin in an effort to revive the endangered caribou population.
Hessami, an enrolled tribal member of the Wyandotte Nation, has a Master’s in Biology from the University of British Columbia. He was instrumental in facilitating co-learning between Western scientists and Indigenous community members ensuring that Indigenous knowledge, perspectives, and value systems were heard and that Splatsin FN continue to take a leadership role in Canada’s conservation efforts.
On November 22 Hessami’s vital work with the Splatsin was celebrated when he was awarded the Mitacs Award for Outstanding Innovation — Indigenous at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa.
In total, eight innovators were honoured at the 12th annual awards ceremony recognizing the ground-breaking achievements of interns, professors and industry partners working together to find inspired solutions to pressing problems while boosting Canada’s lagging innovation record.
The Mitacs Award for Exceptional Leadership – Professor recognizes François Routhier’s work designing innovative technology to enhance life for variously abled folks.
The mechanical engineer, and professor in the Department of Rehabilitation at Laval University, collaborated on the development of an app that brings together those living with disabilities and community volunteers who can help them participate in outdoor activities like paddle boarding,…
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