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Eel-Ground First Nation
Eel Ground at a GlanceEel Ground's traditional territory represents roughly 7,000 acres. Using a global positioning system (GPS), Eel Ground is able to test and confirm the GIS information previously collected, and ensure the accuracy of their maps. Eel Ground is one of six members of the North Shore Mic Mac Tribal Council, and is working to bring the benefits of geographical information systems (GIS) to the other bands in the Tribal Council. |
The Eel Ground First Nation of New Brunswick recently acquired a global positioning system (GPS) to enhance the information that they have been collecting for the last two years using geographical information system technology (GIS).
With the assistance of Sustainable Communities Initiative (SCI), a component of GeoConnections, the GPS will help Eel Ground bolster their digital maps. "The GPS lets us test our paper notes and the digitized information to make sure that what we're producing in our maps is 99.9% accurate," says Stephen Ginnish, Forestry Development Officer with the Eel Ground First Nation. "It 'groundproofs' our information and makes it stronger."
The traditional territory of Eel Ground is surrounded by a very active forestry industry. Over 50 pulp and paper, veneer and saw mills can be found in and around Eel Ground. With so much activity, Eel Ground uses GIS and the new GPS to make long term decisions when it comes to their community-based forestry initiatives. "GIS gives us the ability to project what will happen to our forest lands, 10, 15 and 20 years down the road," says Mr. Ginnish. Eel Ground has been running a community-based forestry operation since 1990. Although their forestry operation started with a typical industrial forest management plan, structured to produce timber only, the members of the Eel Ground First Nation have always known that there is more to the forest than commercial wealth. The GIS information they have collected feeds an ongoing forest management plan.
"The forest has cultural and spiritual significance, historical and educational value. All those things had to fit into our plan."Eel Ground is one of six members of the North Shore MicMac District Tribal Council, and is very open to sharing the GIS information with the other First Nations. "We see it as a way for other First Nations to organize their resources, but also to help us become stronger as MicMac people."
The Tribal Council is one of many partnerships Eel Ground has forged over the years: from government partnerships with the Canadian Forest Service and the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs, to universities and community colleges. "We're quite involved," Mr. Ginnish understates, "But we feel strongly that the only way things will move ahead is within partnerships." For example, Eel Ground partnered with a masters student from the University of New Brunswick, and a former member of the Eel Ground First Nation, Donna May Pearly, to create a herbarium. Ms. Pearly wanted to conduct research involving medicinal plants, and the information gathered by Eel Ground will be shared with the Canadian Forest Service's Model Forest Program. Although the project identified several hundred medicinal plants, the Eel Ground elders allowed only a portion of them to be included in the catalogue system. "Partnerships must evolve over time...you take it to one level of trust before moving on."
Careful consideration of partnerships and information sharing, Mr. Ginnish believes, will ultimately help many other First Nations gain control over more than just their reserve lands. "If we don't have the mechanisms to properly manage our resources, we're in trouble. First Nations must gain and utilize technology so that we can use it for the benefit of our people, and GIS is giving us that ability to gain knowledge in forest management." To meet their needs, the SCI gave Eel Ground the opportunity to provide additional training for their computer specialist, Gail Sark. "Gail participated in some advanced training that was offered through ESRI (a GIS training and service company in Halifax that produces most of the GIS software and hardware)," Mr. Ginnish explains. "GPS was definitely a new item for her, but she is very knowledgeable about anything you put in her hand with respect to computer technology."