Interspecies Methods in Natural Resource Management: Relational Practices in Vulnerable Communities

Keywords: Natural resource management, multispecies methods, Indigenous ways of knowing, animal agency, interspecies participatory methods, cognitive justice, intuition
Session Type: Virtual Guided Poster
Day: Thursday
Session Start / End Time: 4/8/2021 04:40 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada)) - 4/8/2021 05:55 PM (Pacific Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 53

Abstract

Indigenous peoples and their allies are demanding diversification of voices and ways of knowing in natural resource management (NRM) and related fields. Despite expanding and improving methodologies, a fully inclusive multispecies approach is fraught with challenges, such as Western science’s tendency to favour anthropocentrism and ignore Indigenous values like relationality, animal agency, and land-based participatory action research. These tendencies mean that the voices of animals are seldom sought, or even considered, in conventional NRM.

One potential response lies in attending to cross-cultural engagements with the practice of Intuitive Interspecies Communication (IIC), wherein human intuitive capacities enable two-way communication between humans and more-than-humans, independent of physical proximity. Taking as literal this ability to communicate directly with Land – a practice embedded in traditional Indigenous worldviews and growing in presence and visibility among non-Indigenous peoples – marks a significant shift towards LAND-INFORMED practices. We propose that attending to interculturally inclusive interspecies communication can reignite traditional practices of IIC, dismantle human-nature hierarchies, ensure inclusion of animal voices in NRM, and create space for deeper relationships with the land based on mutual understanding. Thus, IIC offers a unique opportunity to address demands for diverse voices and ways of knowing in NRM.

This poster compares and contrasts worldviews and ethics of Métis and Cree peoples with those of professionals in IIC (animal communicators). Attending to commonalities can lead to co-production of processes for engaging Land in NRM, prompting land-informed participatory action research that recognizes the agency and includes the voices of those who are more-than-human.