Profile:
Johnathan Clapperton
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Jonathan
has partnered with the Squaxin Island Tribe on southern Puget Sound
in a study reviewing the aquaculture practiced by Indigenous peoples
in this area in prior to and after contact with settler-colonists and
assessing the benefits the application of Indigenous knowledge may provide
for responsible management of coastal ecosystems management. Major components
of the project
include: assessing the historical Indigenous maritime ecosystem management
and conservation in the region; gaining an understanding of Indigenous
aquaculture from pre-contact to the present time; developing a sense
of the internal and external pressures that caused the Squaxin Island
Tribe’s changing relationships to the marine ecosystem; and, identifying
their response to resource scarcity maintenance of their cultural and
social connections to it while operating in a settler-colonial structure.
Northwest
Coastal people were active managers of their aquatic resources. They
enhanced intertidal shellfish beds thought selective harvests, expanded
shellfish habitat by cleaning areas of shells and other debris, and
aerated the soil. Jonathan
suggests because the studies that have been written focus on pre-European
contact Indigenous environmental management is considered traditional
or pre-modern both state and industry tend to exclude contemporary tribal
authorities from environmental management decision-making. However,
since both industrial fin and shellfish aquaculture is rapidly expanding
in coastal areas situated in Indigenous tribal territories it is imperative
to understand how such activities impact these communities and their
environment.
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This project was
developed in response to local needs. The study should improve the Tribe’s
capacity to address coastal and resource management. Identified historic aquaculture
locations, place names and areas documented in oral histories will be located
on maps as well as added to the community’s archives. Information will
used in developing exhibits in the Squaxin Island Museum and designing interpretive
signage throughout the traditional territory.
Research Finding: Through the research process, I was surprised about the importance
not just of shellfish and smaller finfish (e.g., salmon) which I expected to
be key, but also larger species of marine life – including whales. The
Squaxin Island Tribe’s relationships with whales was, and remains, a key
aspect of aquaculture too.
Current Location
(2020) Lethbridge
Current Activity: A mixture of teaching, including graduate student supervision,
and research. I’m an Associate Faculty member in the College of Interdisciplinary
Studies at Royal Roads University where I teach undergraduate and graduate courses,
and supervise masters students. I’m an adjunct faculty member in history
at the University of Victoria, where I’m also supervising a graduate student.
And I’m an adjunct professor in history at the University of Lethbridge,
where I’m currently living. I also work as an expert and/or research consultant
for Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States.
RRT Value: Collaborating with Indigenous communities is always about building
relationships and trust, patience, and ensuring that everyone’s voices
are heard; my research with the Squaxin Island Tribe served to reinforce these
lessons and, as always, greatly enriched my understanding of their history and
culture far beyond what I could have learned from the written record.
Links:
http://www.environmentandsociety.org/perspectives/2019/5/article/whales-and-whaling-puget-sound-coast-salish-history-and-culture
