On this Wild For Change podcast, we speak with Judy Wilson, who formerly served as Kukpi Chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band about the Wolf Treaty; A Treaty of Cultural and Environmental Survival.
Judy has knowledge, experience and an extensive background in First Nations land rights/specific claims, human rights, children & family jurisdiction, emergency management and supports a wide range of issues including climate action, justice reform, environmental & animal rights.
Currently she continues to work with several Assembly of First Nations Chiefs Committees at the national level and current boards include Global Indigenous Council and Rural British Columbia. Internationally she was the lead on many national and provincial delegations to COP 27, and United Nations Forums in Geneva and New York.
We are speaking about the wolf today because its continued survival is dependent on us. Two million wolves cohabited North America with the native people before European colonization. Now it is estimated fewer than 6,000 wolves exist in the contiguous United States and only occupy 10% of its historic range. Wolves are a keystone species and are a vital and necessary part of an ecosystem. But they are under attack and are in need of federal protection.
In this podcast we learn:
Why the Wolf Treaty was created by Indigenous Nations.
The teachings and knowledge the wolf has given to the Indigenous culture.
The biggest misconceptions of the wolf and why we need to change the narrative of the wolf.
Why the conservation of wolves should be led by Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge.
The wolf’s role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem and how this in turn supports us.
How the gray wolf population in the lower 48 states affects the wolf population on the U.S. Canada border and U.S. Mexico border.
How the displacement of wolves mirrors the displacement of the Indigenous peoples.
When we fight for the wolves, we fight for everyone’s existence. As what is happening to the wolves will affect us.
We need to restore protections for the wolf and place them back on the Endangered Species List.
The short film called Almost Ancestors was released to raise awareness about the Mexican gray wolf.
What people can do to help indigenous nations ensure the survival of the wolf.
