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From the Thunder Bay Chroncile Journal

Bear researchers head to France

By Karen McKinley

Local knowledge is key to preserving Ontario's polar bear population, says the chief of a remote First Nation community.

So, Washaho Cree Nation Chief Matthew Kakekaspan is heading to Paris, France to present the findings of an ongoing study into the polar bear population of the province's remote North.

"We (remote communities) live with the polar bear every day," he said in an interview on Wednesday. "There are many that don't know that Ontario has polar bears in Hudson's Bay and we have some ideas as to how we can manage them successfully."

Kakekaspan and Harvey Lamelin of the Centre for Northern Studies at Lakehead University have been invited to present their ongoing study at the Mondes polaires/Polar Worlds conference at the end of the month.

The three-day conference will feature presentations from some of the leading polar researchers in environmental and social sciences.

The bear study is led by Fort Severn Cree First Nation, in collaboration with LU and the KO Research Institute.

The study, Co-Management of Wabusk (polar bear) in Northern Ontario: A Perspective of the Washaho Cree Nation at Fort Severn, includes ideas on how Northern communities can help educate the public. Kakekaspan said it includes information from residents, hunters and youth living on the land about their experiences with polar bears, and how the Fort Severn Cree First Nation can protect the bears and help educate people at the same time.

"one thing we would like to see is more tourism to show others what polar bears are really like, so they have first-hand knowledge of the bears," Kakekaspan said. "Most people think polar bears are only in the Arctic with the Inuit, but we've lived with them for centuries."

Some of the findings are in contrast with what government agencies are saying. Kakekaspan said his findings show polar bear populations have been rising around Fort Severn and Hudson's Bay for the last 20 years, while Ministry of Natural Resources surveys, for example, say they are decreasing.

The conference is an opportunity for Fort Severn to have a voice on the international stage, he said, claiming that for decades the government has dictated how First Nations use their land and resources.

For Lamelin, the presentation is the culmination of a research project that began nearly five years ago.

"Working on this project with Fort Severn is what every applied researcher strives for -- an open and collaborative approach to research, which is driven for and by the community," he said in a news release.