In October 2021, Only One partnered with the Coastal Guardian Watchmen to help sustainably manage traditional natural and cultural resources in the Great Bear Sea off the lush shoreline of British Columbia in Canada.
The Coastal Guardian Watchmen is a regional initiative supported by Coastal First Nations, a unique alliance of First Nations on the north and central coasts of British Columbia and Haida Gwaii. Covering 63,000 square miles, the traditional waters of the member communities of the Coastal First Nations Great Bear Initiative are among the most biologically diverse cold-water ocean environments on the planet.
Working to uphold and enforce Indigenous laws passed down by countless generations, the Coastal Guardian Watchmen monitor, protect, and restore First Nations’ ocean resources. They have a strong presence throughout their territories and are indispensable first responders to major marine spills or accidents. Although the Coastal Guardian Watchmen initiative provides a regional focus, each Nation also carries out its own distinctive stewardship traditions.
Dive into what the Coastal Guardian Watchmen have planned for the coming months to explore your impact:
New uniforms and flags will make the Coastal Guardian Watchmen more recognizable to the public while they are out on the water
Indigenous gathering in 2022 will provide a vital opportunity for all the member Nations to decide upon marine stewardship priorities
Regional monitoring system will be enhanced to improve data analysis of Great Bear Sea ecosystems, species, and sport and commercial fishing
New computers and coasttracker tablets will boost natural and cultural resource management with methods including the creation of illustrative ocean maps
Why traditional stewardship of the Great Bear Sea matters
For as long as settlements have existed along the Pacific coast, First Nations peoples have cared for the remarkable ecosystems and species found in the Great Bear Sea. The ocean is their grocery store—a lifeline of salmon, sablefish, geoduck clams, Dungeness crabs, herring roe, red sea urchins, and many more traditional foods. Sustainable livelihoods, such as sport fishing, tourism, and scallop aquaculture, are supported by their coastal waters.
Yet, for decades, colonialist mindsets and practices disrupted or outlawed First Nations governance of their own terrestrial and marine territories.
The Coastal First Nations Great Bear Initiative was founded in 2005, and its member communities are now taking back their role as guardians of the land and sea, an effort buoyed by Canadian courts ruling in their favor. Despite the recent impositions, the traditions of the Indigenous peoples of coastal British Columbia remain the living law of the environment.
The Coastal Guardian Watchmen are at the leading edge of a worldwide movement toward Indigenous-led stewardship, combining the latest in scientific understanding with generations of place-based knowledge and wisdom to safeguard natural and cultural landscapes and seascapes for the future.