This research explores how Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) can be meaningfully
integrated into BC Parks’ planning and operations management to enhance socially and
environmentally responsible management plans. The objectives of this study were to identify
historical and current socio-political barriers to the inclusion of TEK in park planning and
operations management and to develop recommendations for park planners and managers to
integrate TEK that prioritize reconciliation and self-determination. There is a paucity of research
examining the inclusion of TEK and the roles of reconciliation and self-determination in park
planning and management at the provincial level in Canada. Qualitative semi-structured
interviews with Gitxsan First Nation Chiefs and Elders and BC Parks North Coast Skeena
regional staff were analyzed to develop practical recommendations for the inclusion of
Indigenous Peoples and their Knowledges in BC Parks planning and operations management.
These recommendations address relations of power and policies, and they prioritize
reconciliation and self-determination as a strategy for social change. I argue that the inclusion of
TEK is necessary to improve park planning and management and to address the larger social and
environmental issues in society. The findings of this study contribute empirical evidence to
ongoing academic discussions regarding Indigenous inclusion, TEK, reconciliation, and selfdetermination in park planning and management. This work responds to the federal
government’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action and British Columbia’s
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, and it is my hope that this project
contributes to advancing reconciliation and self-determination in park planning and management.
