During the decade from 2010 to 2019, Indigenous Peoples throughout the Mackenzie River Basin reported a prolonged period of decreased water levels and flows, accompanied by slower currents and eroding riverbanks. Water levels, among other indicators, are integral to Indigenous monitoring systems, which focus on watching, listening, learning and understanding change. First Nations, Inuit and Métis, who live and spend time on the Land throughout the basin, possess immense knowledge and experiences vital for understanding changes in the region. Indigenous approaches to monitoring yield unique observations and insights, arising from a profound relationship with the environment. People with a strong connection to the Land can often distinguish between natural ecological variability and changes that fall outside natural norms. The initiative, “Tracking change: The role of local and traditional knowledge in watershed governance,” a network of 30 Indigenous-led projects in the Mackenzie River Basin, is addressing this issue.
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