Sure. That's why I wanted to leave that to you.
Hishuk ish tsawalk. Very well done. And I'm appreciative of the effort to reach in and pull out a phrase that means so much to my people. We can find it in other indigenous languages, the sense of interconnectedness and the notion I referenced earlier: take only what you need.
There are wonderful stories about the use of fish weirs in Nuu-chah-nulth territories and old stories that would be taught to children about a bear that came lumbering into the fish weir, tore it apart, and then there's an argument between the people and the bear about the use of the fish and then a travel up to the bear's territories, where the bear took off the outer fur and there was a human, and they had to negotiate and come to an understanding about how the resources were going to be used.
Those old notions and traditional ways of viewing the relationships between animals and the environment, how they're used in a sustainable fashion in a place like Nuu-chah-nulth.... I'm glad you're touching base with my home territories, because for your purposes there are a number of elements there. There's a UNESCO world heritage site. There's a treaty that had been forged in a modern treaty negotiation framework where the issue of aboriginal title and rights and a vision for the future of territories merges in a negotiated fashion.
Most parts of Canada have yet to follow and conclude arrangements or implement treaties. So the convergence of rights in a territory like mine, where clear-cutting was happening, and with 21 out of 27 rivers the clear-cut went right to the river's edge.... One of those rivers is Atleo River, and that's my family's home territory. You see these important stocks of fish choked off due to the lack of connection, a lack of hishuk ish tsawalk, a lack of linking among various resource management regimes that would occur in a place like Clayoquot Sound.
So first nations.... At that time there were blockades. This is the science panel that I mentioned, a really critical example, I think. Dr. Lunney, you mentioned the issue of observation, the foundation of science. The need to connect that with the traditional knowledge of first nations is what I'm emphasizing here. That gave rise to a joint management regime in Nuu-chah-nulth that was arrived at with governments. It led to more formal agreements being forged.
This all links to our intervention about the need for rights recognition, coupled with first nations' traditional views, of which Dr. Lunney has brought one phrase that describes, in one of the 52 languages, what this means to our people. So it is about rebuilding fish stocks in a place like Clayoquot Sound. It means having a say over what's happening in the territories. And I think your work can play a central and important role to build on the effort of the crown gathering that says this whole country, on the anniversary of the War of 1812, was forged in a relationship between first nations and those who have come to call Canada home.
This was founded on the making of treaties with mutual respect and recognition, where we would with great ease have an exchange of world views, as Dr. Lunney and I are having, about hishuk ish tsawalk and the notion of interconnectedness. But to bring it to a practical, on-the-ground way of having the real partnership give effect in the local territory is something that's going to be absolutely necessary going forward.
So we see good examples of it. I can bring them from my home territory. They do exist. And in the presentation we provided to committee there are other such good examples we should be drawing from. I would encourage you to consider making this element central in your work going forward. As I've said, otherwise I think we're going to continue to be caught up in this cycle of conflict and deep division.
It's time that we brought the relationship much closer together and had a conversation about the living environment around us: where we get our food, how we're connected, what we're doing about the quality of water, our relationship to the birds and the animals. I think this is an excellent entry point for us to be connecting. So I thank you for that.