First Nation members from across the province gathered Thursday at the Fort Garry Hotel in Winnipeg to provide feedback on how the federal government can incorporate traditional knowledge into its flood mapping policies and processes.
Flood hazard maps and guidelines are key to assessing a community’s flood risk, but the federal government says many of them aren’t always available or up to date.
A new pan-Canada project, the Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping Program, is being piloted in Manitoba to change that. Ottawa is investing approximately $64 million in the project over five years to help communities plan and prepare for future floods more effectively.
“It’s very scary dealing with flooding for the first time,” Dakotah Traverse, a councilor for the Kinonjeoshtegon First Nation, told CBC.
His First Nation experienced flooding last year that has never been documented in the entire history of the community, he said. The First Nation predicted the flood, according to Traverse, while the province said otherwise.
Acosys, an Indigenous consulting firm, was hired by Natural Resources Canada to host Wednesday’s engagement workshop, where First Nation members said more needs to be done to protect vegetation and natural habitats.
Guidelines should include knowledge elders have gained from living on the land, such as observing animal movements, which are good predictors of upcoming weather disasters, Traverse said.
“Usually when [otters] swim upstream, that is, wherever you swim, swim away from danger.”
David Carrière-Acco, president of Acosys, said the event is a way to incorporate the realities of First Nation communities into flood policy, which is often dictated by insurance companies and the government.
“The people who have the knowledge — those are the people in the community,” he told CBC.
Under current guidelines, the Peguis First Nation was considered at low risk of flooding over the past year, he said. The community is still struggling to rebuild after severe flooding forced more than 2,000 people to leave the First Nation last spring.
According to a press release from Acosys, First Nation communities are often hardest hit by flooding due to poor infrastructure, inadequate emergency management plans, and general scarcity of resources.
Carrière-Acco said it can also affect local gardens and residents’ ability to grow food on their land, impacting the community’s overall food security.
“As a whole, the flood mapping guidelines don’t take that into account.”
Carriere-Acco hopes governments will work with First Nations as equal partners on flood plans.
“It pains me to see communities being impacted by decisions made 20 to 30 years ago and using the same policies that have stagnated.”
