Boots on the Ground (BOTG) is a caribou monitoring program based upon the Traditional Knowledge (TK) of  Tłı̨chǫ and Inuit indigenous elders and harvesters. The program is a collaboration between the Tłı̨chǫ Government, Government of Northwest Territories-Environment and Natural Resources (GNWT-ENR), the Wek’èezhìi Renewable Resource Board (WRRB) and Dominion Diamond Mines ULC (DD). Funding was provided by Tłı̨chǫ Government, DD and the GNWT-Cumulative Impact Monitoring Program1 (CIMP).

 The program commenced in the summer of 2016 and is expected to extend to 2021 or longer. The objectives are to monitor the conditions of Bathurst caribou on the post-calving range herd, focusing on four key indicators: (1) habitat; (2) caribou; (3) predators, and (4) industrial development. 

This document is a yearly report presenting the results from the second field season of summer 2017.

This report provides the context and background of We Watch Everything: a Methodology for the Boots on the Ground caribou monitoring program. The document describes the TK framework of We Watch Everything a holistic monitoring approach combining the biological and the cultural; the field-based methodology named Do as Hunters Do based on a Participatory Action Research (PAR) approach; and, the details involved in recording knowledge in the field, including details of the participatory approach. The objectives of the pilot year for the Boots on the Ground program included setting up a long term traditional knowledge monitoring program for the Bathurst caribou and monitor the conditions of Bathurst herd's summer range by focusing on indicators: (1) caribou habitat and environment, (2) caribou, (3) predators, and (4) industrial disturbance.

This traditional knowledge study is part of the Tłı̨chǫ Government’s strategy to gather information about the potential benefits and concerns that might arise from a proposed all-season road from Highway 3 to the Tłı̨chǫ community of Whatì. The purpose of the study is to inform decision-makers and developers about the areas of importance for the practice of cultural activities on the land surrounding the proposed road route, and to identify what impacts the proposed road will have on harvesters, and on the land and animals. 

October, 2014

Cumulative Impacts Study on the Bathurst Caribou

This study is based on the traditional knowledge (TK) of the people in Wekweètì, Northwest Territories. It investigates the connection between Tłı̨chǫ and the Bathurst caribou from three perspectives: 1) the importance of caribou in the hunting economy, and thus as a foundation for maintaining the Tłıc̨hǫ culture, language and way of life; 2) cumulative impacts on the herd and 3) the connection between ecosystem and culture, and the co-dependent erosion of biological and cultural diversity. Lastly, the report outlines several steps to resolve these issues.

Researchers: Georgina Chocolate and Rita Wetrade

GIS Technician: Michael Birlea

Principal Investigator and Author: Petter Jacobsen

ISBN Number: 978-1-896790-53-4