“Netukulimk, T’iam and Traditional Food Systems of the Mi’kmaq”

This paper, written for an anthropology course at Athabasca University, explored the ethnobiological significance of the moose hunt in the Cape Breton Highlands is an example of Netukulimk, a Mi'kmaq worldview that ties resource management, conservation, stewardship and spirituality for the Mi'kmaq people. Netukulimk expands the nature of relationship to view the Earth, flora and fauna as Sacred persons with whom one can be in relationship (Whitehead, 1998).

While the paper specifically explores Netukulimk and the sacred connection between the People and Tiam, (moose), it also connects the concepts of sustainability and continuous relationship. "We must therefore adjust our conception of sustainability as reciprocal rather than unidirectional. The resource needs to be sustainable to allow multiple communities to survive; human, fauna, flora and by extension, the entire ecological system." (Mirsky Wexler 2017, 7)

Reflection: Netukulimk is an economic theory

We currently think of modern economies as neo-liberal free markets, rejecting interventions or management, with individuals acting to maximize their own benefit within the confines of scarce resources (Bennett et al (2005). There are other ways to think about economics based on the system within which we function. For example, one could talk about a green or sustainable economy, or social or welfare economies that challenge the boundaries of these conceptions. In any of these iterations, an economy balances a tension between management as a process of intervention and a self regulating or self sustaining system like a free market. Consider for a moment a way of viewing resources, distribution, scarcity and management as an Indigenous economic theory. Consider Netukulimk as an economic theory based in taking only enough. In its concept, it is reciprocal. A relationship in which the Environment safeguards and protects the People and the People safeguard and protect the Environment. Netukulimk as a concept is about creating a micro economy that is stable and sustainable both for the human and for the environment from which it is taken.

This economic philosophy is evident in its practice. "Historically, late springs through early winters were busy times for Mi'kmaq hunters and fishers as they prepared for the winter to 'avoid not having enough", a synonym for Netukulimk... the expectations was that respectful resource procurement was to be carried out by taking only enough to satisfy while avoiding waste... Care was taken to assure the hunting territories were not exhausted. Thus, through Netukulimk a human and animal relationship formed that allowed the survival of both in a sustainable manner" (Prosper et. al 2001, p7).

My specialty training as a CPA is in the Charitable sector. Budgeting for a Not-For-Profit is a generally looking for zero. It is the purpose of the organization to raise funds to be able to spend them. In this way, you are budgeting for enough. Too much surplus and it can sometimes be clawed back, but not enough and your charity collapses. "Enough" is sometimes a difficult concept to capture, but it is notable that there is variance in how we might view economic systems.

Reflection: Elder Marshall’s Two Eyed Seeing and Netukulimk.

We live in a time where post modern approaches allow us to hold multiple narratives concurrently, rejecting a metanarrative (Bennett et al, 2005). “Albert Marshall has brought forward the guiding principle of “Two Eyed Seeing” which encourages learning to see from one eye with the best in the indigenous ways of knowing and from the other eye with the best in the mainstream ways of knowing, and most importantly, learning to see with both eyes together- for the benefit of all” (Bartlett, 2012,p. 41). In order to accomplish seeing with both eyes, one must respect both perspectives and find some commonalities between them. Bartlett (2012) is speaking in terms of educational opportunities and scientific learning, but the possible applications can be far more reaching, This quote by Whitehead (1998) stood out for me as an example of this type of connection between Two Eyed Seeing and Netukulimk, linking scientific principles, Indigenous practice and conservation. "Modern science maintains that all matter is energy, shaping itself to particular patterns. The Old Ones of the People took this a step further: they maintained that patterns of Power could be conscious, manifesting within the worlds by acts of will. They thought of such entities as Persons, with whom one could have a relationship" (Whitehead, 1998, p.3).

Functional, sustained relationships require reciprocal care. We seek to protect something when we care about it. When we seek a sustainable future on the Earth, it is so that the next generations will have an environment that is not hostile towards them. The reality is that we all depend on the Earth to breathe, to eat, to drink. We depend on the Earth to live. If we use the Old Ones perspective, even as metaphor, to say this is how the Earth (as a Person) takes care of us, can we show this same care back? Can we have a relationship with the Earth that is deep and meaningful and still also allow people to prosper? Is there more than one way that we can define prosperity, perhaps in ways that are more conducive to Netukulimk?

Reflection: Acknowlegding colonial legacy

This artifact covers, in broad strokes, the colonial history as it pertains to the Mi'kmaq, their resources and Netukulimk.

While the purpose of the e-portfolio is not to delve into Colonial impacts on the Indigenous peoples of Canada, we can not discuss Netukulimk without also acknowledging how it has been historically undermined. "Through the Treaty of Paris in 1763, the Mi'kmaq had been subjected to over 150 years of French Catholic mission colonization and assimilation. This period witnessed the first assault on Mi'kmaq culture and way of being, particularly on Netukulimk as the basis and framework for their co-dependent relationship with their ecosystem" (Prosper et. al, 2011, p.8). The cultural genocide described here speaks to an intentional breaking of the relationship between the Earth and the People.

The introduction of Europeans introduced an unfamiliar market economy. Harvest of natural resources to be sent back to European countries reduced the abundance available to traditional harvests and hunts. The facilitation of sedentary lifestyles over nomadic traditional practices by missionaries led to a loss of the ethnobiological knowledge of the hunt, medicines and harvests and an erasure of traditional cultural practice and agency (Paul, 2006).

The 1999 Marshall Decision allowed the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet peoples the right to a commercial fishery to maintain a moderate livelihood (Krause & Ramos, 2015). This allowed for Indigenous participation in the European market economy but didn't foster their own traditional system. The Moose Management Initiative (MMI) is an example of a project designed to restore traditional relationships with the land and teach young Mi'kmaq hunters about Netukulimk. (Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources, UNIR, 2009)

MMI is an example of Two Eyed Seeing, where there is respect for a hybrid model that is conducive to both worlds. Are there opportunities for economic prosperity in a way that holds the reciprocal relationship of Netukulimk? Can this concept be adapted for conflict resolution?