A new report has identified eight strategies for implementing the jurisdiction, laws, rights, and title of Indigenous Nations to marine territories. These include:

1. Court Action: The courts provide an important venue for Indigenous Nations to pursue recognition of their rights and title in relation to marine territories.
2. Negotiation: Negotiations between Indigenous Nations and state governments are a means for achieving reconciliation by agreement.
3. Marine Protected Areas: MPAs provide an important tool for achieving the conservation of marine territories and their ecosystem and provide an opportunity for cooperative management between Indigenous Nations and state governments.
4. UNDRIP: The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and other international law documents, provide novel tools for pursuing recognition of Indigenous rights and title to marine territories.
5. Indigenous Law: Indigenous Nations are involved in the process of revitalizing their legal orders, which include laws relating to marine territories. State governments play a role in creating space for, and supporting, the resurgence of Indigenous laws.
6. Keystone Theory: This conceptual framework articulates the importance of beings, places, and stories comprising a cultural ecosystem.
7. Respect for All Relations: This model emphasizes the legal rights held by non-human beings, which assists Indigenous Nations in articulating the responsibilities under Indigenous law to non-human beings and the marine territories they inhabit.
8. Haida Model: The Haida Nation’s approach to asserting their jurisdiction, rights, and title to marine territories provide a practical template for other Indigenous Nations and state governments to draw upon.

Corporate strategies

While many of these strategies are employed by Indigenous Nations and state governments, everyone has a role to play in reconciliation. Corporations can take the following measures to support Indigenous Nations’ marine title and rights:

1. Obtaining the free, prior, and informed consent of Indigenous Nations before proceeding with projects that impact their title and rights.
2. Accommodating Indigenous interests to mitigate impacts of a proposed project on Indigenous title and rights to marine territories.
3. Investing in projects and/or companies which and are environmentally sustainable and have a mandate of respecting Indigenous rights and title.
4. Engaging in dialogue and establishing respectful working relationships with Indigenous Nations.
5. Obtaining training and education regarding cultural competency and Indigenous rights and title.
6. Adopting business practices that ensure the highest possible level of environmental sustainability.
   

Non-governmental organizations

In the face of these limitations and challenges, boards of non-profit organizations, membership societies, and focused issue groups have an essential leadership role to play. Through research, advocacy, affirming standards, and setting policy, non-governmental entities influence government and businesses alike. In addition to the practical steps available to corporations, NGOs can raise the bar in unique ways:

1. Require a course on Indigenous history, rights, and contemporary issues for members of the organization.
2. Ensure Indigenous representation on the board and particularly in leadership positions.
3. Host professional development opportunities and events that feature Indigenous knowledge and speakers.
4. Highlight the organizational and membership responsibilities to Indigenous communities through ethical codes of conduct.
5. Support research and the development of policy that prioritizes the rights of Indigenous Peoples as articulated in UNDRIP, UNDRIPA, and DRIPA.
6. Engage in public debate through events and publication to encourage support of Indigenous Rights and Crown obligations to Indigenous communities.

Personal strategies

Individuals can take the following practical steps:

1. Educate oneself regarding the Indigenous Nations whose territory you work and live in, including their relationship to marine territory.
2. Support businesses that practice environmental sustainability and recognize Indigenous rights and title to marine territories, including Indigenous-owned businesses.
3. Engage in your political system in a manner that supports sustainable use of resources, and recognition of Indigenous rights and title, in marine territories.

Note: This blog is an excerpt from a report by Terri-Lynn Williams-Davidson, K.C., Richard M. Hutchings, Nigel Baker-Grenier, Marina La Salle, and Veronica Stanford.