Despite the many social and economic struggles these Nations have faced due to colonial policies of past and present, manyFirst Nations people continue to practice their language, arts, and sustainable forms of resource management while also finding new ways of keeping their communities thriving in the modern day.Students will learn directly from teachers, students, and leaders within these Indigenous communities, come to understand the limitations of Western perspectives on ‘resources,’ and witness shining examples of hope for the future that originate with Indigenous ways of knowing and being.

By focusing on the logging industry in and around Victoria, BC, students come to understand the tensions and formidable challenges facing the Kwakwaka’wakw, Nuu-chah-nulth, and Coast Salish bands of First Nations. Can land be shared? Can someone’s land that was stolen be sold? Who owns the trees and the rights of what to do with those trees on stolen land?What is the process of reconciliation ongoing on Victoria and elsewhere in British Columbia? Is it enough, especially compared with our own practices in the United States?

In today’s globalized economy, we are detached from the people, plants, animals, and time-tested processes we rely on every day. Learning from the indigenous ways of knowing and being, we reflect on this privilege Where does your toilet paper comes from? What about the precious metals in your phone? Have you ever seen or touched the land and sea creature we rely on for dairy, eggs, wool, and protein? These are just a few of the questions we will answer as we come face to face with some of the primary sector industries that make our modern life possible. Balancing concern for the environment with the realism of humanity’s need for natural resources, our class will engage with professional foresters, urban farmers, and aquaculture experts to learn more about how the global economies impacted by local lives today, yesterday, and in the future.