Indigenous-led conservation key to protecting Mother Earth: Senator Audette – SenCA
February 2, 2023
I come from the boreal forest, land of the Atiku (caribou), a sacred animal for the Innuat. My people used to travel the land following the herds of Atiku.
Growing up in Schefferville, Quebec, I would regularly see herds of caribou. Now, once a year, while we are on our traditional territory at the Mushuau-nipi, we wonder whether the caribou-master papakasis will do us the honour of allowing us to see one or two caribou. We have gone from an abundance to an uncertainty as to whether this herd will go extinct.
The herd from George River has a migration spanning from northern Labrador through large parts of Quebec. This herd gives us a particularly jarring look into the caribou population levels over time.
In the 1990s, it had a strong and vibrant population of approximately 800,000. That number now stands at 7,200, a population decline of about 90%.
Read More: https://sencanada.ca/en/sencaplus/opinion/indigenous-led-conservation-key-to-protecting-mother-earth-senator-audette/
