Indigenous Perspectives on the Natural World

2014 greenSPEAK Seminar Series

Tuesday, April 1, 2014
Shirley Hardman, Senior Advisor Indigenous Affairs and Chantelle Marlor offered a joint Seminar Indigenous Perspectives and understanding biological or ecological knowledge. More and more work is being done to tie together Resource Management, Environmental Studies, and Aboriginal Ecological Knowledge, so that balanced relationships with their environments facilitate comprehensive understanding of the renewal and resource abundance to prosper amidst cyclic variability and harsh climates.

Chantelle Marlor

has a Ph.D. in Sociology and her interdisciplinary work draws on ecology, anthropology, philosophy and psychology. Her sociological interests are in the creation of biological/ecological knowledge and how culture impacts how knowledge is produced. For her dissertation research, she worked with four different types of clam experts–contaminant ecologists, invertebrate biologists, Kwakiutl commercial clam diggers, and Nuu-chah-nulth clam diggers–as they developed knowledge about clams. Previous to that, she worked with a number of indigenous elders and harvesters from inside and outside of Canada, all of whom have their own form of ecological expertise.

Shirley Hardman

is the Senior Advisor in the Indigenous Affairs Office. The Senior Advisor reports to the Provost and Vice-President Academic. The role of the Senior Advisor is to work on the development of a Department of Indigenous Affairs at UFV. The Senior Advisor works with senior management and faculty on the development of indigenous programs, on the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal faculty and staff, on the recruitment and retention of Aboriginal students, and on the development of strong linkages and relationships with Aboriginal communities.