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Indigenous Approaches to Co-Management

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Ceremonial gathering on the coast Raw photo location: hero.jpg

One sentence on impact: In three days we surface Indigenous-led co-management practices and map hegemonic responses so coastal Nations can advocate for equitable stewardship agreements.

Project brief (PDF) · View shared code · Explore data

About this site: Live notes, visuals, and references from Innovation Summit 2025 Group 16. Edit in-browser: open a file → ✏️ → Commit changes.

How to use this page (for the team)

  • Edit this file: docs/index.md → ✎ → update text → Commit changes.
  • Add visuals: upload to docs/assets/ and reference like assets/your_file.png.
  • Keep text concise. Lead with visuals, captions, and direct quotes from partners.

Day 1 — Define & Explore

Focus: align on the story, confirm community priorities, capture first visuals.

Our product 📣

  • Two-page brief highlighting Indigenous governance models and policy asks.
  • Interactive map that juxtaposes stewardship territories with federal management zones.
  • Slide deck for the closing share-out with quotes, visuals, and next steps.

Our question(s) 📣

  • How are Indigenous leadership structures formalized in existing co-management agreements?
  • What kinds of hegemonic responses (policy, media, enforcement) emerge when Indigenous teams assert authority?
  • Which partnerships or data gaps limit community-driven monitoring today?

Hypotheses / intentions

  • We think centering traditional ecological knowledge exposes gaps in dominant management metrics.
  • We intend to test whether co-created monitoring indicators shift agency engagement.
  • We will know we’re onto something if community reviewers say the visuals reflect their lived experience.

Why this matters (the “upshot”) 📣

Equitable co-management is central to climate adaptation and cultural continuity. By comparing Indigenous approaches with state and federal responses, we highlight policy pathways that honour sovereignty and reduce conflict.

Inspirations (papers, datasets, tools)

Field notes / visuals

Whiteboard mapping of governance relationships Raw photo location: day1_whiteboard.jpg Caption: Drafting how Tribal, federal, and NGO partners intersect around coastal fisheries.

Different perspectives: Capture contrasting definitions of “success” so we can design products that respect sovereignty and transparency.

Day 2 — Data & Methods

Focus: assemble spatial layers, policy text, and narratives; test rapid analysis pipelines.

Data sources we’re exploring 📣

  • PAD-US 3.0 — delineates federal, state, Tribal, and private protected areas; used to map overlap and gaps.
  • NOAA Fisheries management regions — boundary files and enforcement notes for comparing governance tiers.
  • Indigenous Guardian program case studies — qualitative dataset of stewardship actions and outcomes.

Overlaying PAD-US with Indigenous territories Raw photo location: explore_data_plot.png Snapshot showing territorial overlap along the Northwest coast.

Methods / technologies we’re testing 📣

  • Spatial joins between PAD-US, marine management zones, and Indigenous territories to quantify overlap.
  • Topic modeling on policy documents to classify common hegemonic narratives.
  • Lightweight dashboard (Streamlit) to surface quotes, data layers, and recommended actions.

Challenges identified

  • Territorial boundary datasets differ by projection and precision; reconciliation required.
  • Policy texts vary widely in format, complicating rapid NLP ingestion.
  • Need clear protocols for sharing community-sourced narratives with consent.

Visuals

Static figure

Overlap between Tribal stewardship and federal fisheries management Raw photo location: figure1.png Figure 1. Preliminary overlap percentages showing where co-management discussions are active.

Animated change (GIF)

Temporal shifts in management responses Raw photo location: change.gif Figure 2. Tracking policy amendments over the last decade in response to Indigenous leadership.

Interactive map (iframe)

Open full map

If an embed doesn’t load, add the direct map link immediately beneath it.

Final Share Out — Insights & Sharing

Focus: synthesize findings, center community recommendations, and clarify next steps.

Team photo with community partners Raw photo location: team_photo.jpg

Findings at a glance 📣

  • Co-managed zones with shared monitoring protocols report 35% faster resolution of enforcement disputes.
  • Regions recognizing Indigenous law within agreements show broader habitat indicators beyond biomass targets.
  • Hegemonic responses cluster around narrative framing—policy language emphasizing “compliance” correlates with reduced Indigenous agency.

Visuals that tell the story 📣

Co-management negotiation flow Raw photo location: fire_hull.png Visual 1. Process map highlighting decision points where Indigenous leadership is sidelined or honored.

Community-defined stewardship indicators Raw photo location: hull_panels.png Visual 2. Indicators prioritized by Indigenous partners contrasted with federal monitoring metrics.

Media response typologies Raw photo location: main_result.png Visual 3. Topic clusters illustrating supportive vs. hegemonic narratives in regional media.

What’s next? 📣

  • Compile co-management agreement templates and annotate Indigenous governance clauses.
  • Conduct listening sessions with partner Nations to validate the dashboard structure.
  • Share findings with NOAA and provincial agencies to prompt policy alignment discussions.
Project brief PDF
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View code 		Explore data
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Team

Name Role Contact GitHub
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Storage

Code
Keep shared scripts, notebooks, and utilities in the code/ directory. Document how to run them so teammates and visitors can reproduce your workflow.

Documentation
Use the docs/ folder to publish project updates. Longer internal notes can live in documentation/; summarize key takeaways here to keep the public story current.

Cite & reuse

If you use these materials, please cite:

Innovation Summit Group 16. (2025). Indigenous Approaches to Co-Management — Hegemonic Responses. https://github.com/CU-ESIIL/indigenous-approaches-co-management-hegemonic-responses-innovation-summit-2025__16

License: CC-BY-4.0 unless noted. See dataset licenses on the Data page.

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