Connecting Past and Present
June 18, 2026 By: Kayla Wassen
Parks
Article: UBC researchers find Indigenous lands can outperform protected areas on conservation
https://news.ubc.ca/2026/05/indigenous-lands-outperform-protected-areas-on-conservation/
This article made me think about what we learned regarding the creation of national parks in North America. In Unit 3, we examined how parks such as Banff were often created by excluding Indigenous peoples because conservationists believed wilderness should be separate from human activity. The article challenges that idea by showing that Indigenous-managed lands can be just as effective, or even more effective, at protecting biodiversity than government-run protected areas. This connects to Cronon’s argument that wilderness is a cultural construct rather than a truly untouched landscape. It also suggests that conservation and human stewardship do not have to be opposing goals.
Urbanization
Article: “How ‘Re-Wilding’ Can Make Canada’s Cityscapes More Climate Resilient and Bee Friendly”
This article discusses efforts to increase native plants and wildlife habitat in Canadian cities through urban rewilding projects. It connects strongly to Unit 3 because Melosi argues that cities should be understood as environmental systems rather than places separate from nature. Rewilding projects challenge the idea that urban areas are entirely artificial by showing how biodiversity and ecological processes can exist within city spaces. The article also reflects Cronon’s argument that nature is not limited to remote wilderness areas but can be found in the places where people live every day. It made me think differently about the relationship between cities and the natural environment.
References
Binnema, Theodore, and Melanie Niemi. “‘Let the Line Be Drawn Now’: Wilderness, Conservation, and the Exclusion of Aboriginal People from Banff National Park in Canada.” Environmental History 11, no. 4 (2006): 724–750.
Cronon, William. “The Trouble with Wilderness; or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature.” In Uncommon Ground: Rethinking the Human Place in Nature, 69–90. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1995.
Melosi, Martin V. “The Place of the City in Environmental History.” Environmental History Review 17, no. 1 (1993): 1–23.
University of British Columbia. “Indigenous Lands Can Outperform Protected Areas on Conservation, Study Finds.” UBC News. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://news.ubc.ca/2026/05/indigenous-lands-outperform-protected-areas-on-conservation/
Omstead, Jordan. “How ‘Re-Wilding’ Can Make Canada’s Cityscapes More Climate Resilient and Bee Friendly.” The Canadian Press, April 22, 2026. Accessed June 18, 2026. https://halifax.citynews.ca/2026/04/22/how-re-wilding-can-make-canadas-cityscapes-more-climate-resilient-and-bee-friendly/
Hi Kayla,
Wonderful read – thank you for your insightful post.
I love the concept of allowing a portion of our national parks/wilderness to be managed by the Indigenous people of Canada. They have a lengthy track record of conservation from their vast cultural ties to nature and ecology.
A concern I have is the logistics of the proposed land management costs. Would the costs be borne by the Indigenous groups or by the Government of Canada? Should the costs be borne by the Canadian government, do you foresee any conflicts of interest, and would the Indigenous people be truly free to manage wilderness lands at their own discretion? Alternatively, if the Indigenous people were to bear the costs, do you believe the Indigenous people will look to profit from their newly-gained lands, and would that impact the ecological state of the provided lands? Readings from this course have also shown that certain Indigenous groups in the modern era have actively supported large-scale projects that harm the local ecology.
While it is a great idea, I think this concept requires further investigation to find the best way to maintain the lands while holding both Canada and Indigenous people to the highest level of integrity.
Thanks again for your post.
David