The rapid decline of the boreal caribou herds in Quebec and Canada over the last decades has resulted in many negative impacts in Indigenous communities. These range  from food insecurity, language loss, loss of material culture and practices, but the invisibility of these issues in a non-indigenous society and the ignorance of the general public with regards to the intricate web of relations in which caribou and Indigenous peoples coexist, can be lost in the greater conversation. Many human rights protected by the UNDRIP are interdependent with the well-being and the thriving of the caribou populations around the world.

 

Caribou plays an important role in the biocultural heritage of many Indigenous Peoples in the circumpolar region. Indigenous communities have taken action in reaction to a great loss of biodiversity, in particular caribou and also  to a domino effect this loss has on other species as well, through work on their own community, with allies from surrounding communities and also NGO’s. They also find partnership in governments from municipal, provincial and Federal levels. State actors sometimes act in the interest of caribou protection but sometimes hinder efforts to do so. 

 

This side-event will bring together various Indigenous voices and showcase inspiring initiatives to safeguard caribou herds, associated Indigenous knowledge and rights, and will contribute to inform the global discussions about the vital interrelations of people and nature.