My Name is Les Campbell, and I am Anishinaabe, whose treaty and homeland lands encompass Manitoba, but have called home many places having been born and raised on the west coast of Vancouver Island. I work within Parks Canada where I have enjoyed a career that is both involved in operations and policy in national parks and park reserves. My experiences and education have always included exploring my relationship with the lands and waters, and now as it seems, is about holding on to that and encourage others to consider how they can do the same. I completed my Master of Arts, Environment and Management here in 2017 which built upon my education in Wilderness Leadership, Outdoor Recreation and Tourism Management.<\/p>\n
The proposed research problem I will explore is notion of protection and conservation areas, while holding great value and opportunity, is not widely accessible to all First Nations and their band members. To help explore the research problem, it will be helpful to collaborate with a spectrum of Indigenous Nations to better understand their perspectives on all facets of what an indigenous protected and conservation area is or should be to them., but also to co-create solutions.<\/p>\n
I think the potential impact of this research to my home community will spark more conversation and mobilization towards reconnecting youth and elders on the land but also to support or be included within a broader discussion. I also feel that advancing my interests into a scholarly career, while keeping my self-planted firmly on the lands and waters, will help create awareness of already existing, but unacknowledged, indigenous paradigms and theories and practices, have a place in academia. Learning is powerful, and to look at social theories with Indigenous eyes, does sounds interesting to me.<\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text disabled_on=”off|off|off” admin_label=”Video” _builder_version=”4.21.2″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”20px|40px|20px|40px|false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]\n\n\n