Working together

Mi’gmaq Guardian Program (Gelotigetjig)

In 2023, Kouchibouguac National Park welcomed a new Mi’gmaq Guardians Program. Programs like the Mi’gmaq-led Guardians Programs in Kouchibouguac National Park help maintain and revitalize Indigenous connection to the lands, waters, and ice that sustain the systems of knowledge, laws, and governance that inform Indigenous stewardship practices.

The Mi’gmaq Guardians Program for Kouchibouguac National Park is a place-based expression of the Mi’gmaq understanding of their traditional territory, treaty rights and ancestral homeland.

The newly created group of Gelotigetjig (Mi’kmaq for “Protectors”) is now working hand in hand with the team at Kouchibouguac National Park to help extend the scope of the park’s conservation and recovery efforts, both within park boundaries and out in the Greater Kouchibouguac Ecosystem.

Although the Gelotigetjig work on a wide variety of projects, their primary focus presently includes monitoring and protection of an old Mi’gmaq burial site, as well as other culturally significant sites.

Shoring Sacred Ground: Gelotigetjig and Shoreline Protection at a Mi’gmaq Burial Site

Kouchibouguac National Park is home to numerous sites of spiritual and cultural importance to neighbouring Mi’gmaq communities. An Indigenous burial ground exists in the park and in recent years the site has been significantly impacted by coastal erosion, and to a lesser extent, human disturbance. This has led to a collaboration between the Mi’gmaq in New Brunswick and Parks Canada to identify and implement solutions.

Nature-Based Solutions

Wave energy during storm events erodes the base of the bank at the site, creating an undercut and causing eventual collapse of overhangs. These unstable bank conditions are evident over an area 150 m wide.

In Fall of 2023, a nature-based solution was retained, and work began to stabilize the bank and protect it from wave action by installing coir logs and encouraging the establishment of site-appropriate vegetation. The logs are natural and biodegradable and thus safe for the surrounding environment. Installation involved stacking and staggering the logs, anchoring them with a combination of stakes, rebar and rope, and backfilling any open space between the logs and bank with beach sand and eelgrass wrack.

These erosion-mitigation structures were successfully installed over a 30 m long section of the bank. In the long term, native vegetation will help stabilize the bank and form a barrier that will significantly reduce wave energy during storm events. The work involved 18 participants from three organizations. The strength of this project lies in the collaboration between the partners and the combination of Indigenous knowledge with Western science, known as Two-Eyed Seeing.