On September 10th and 11th, 2024, the Best Western Barclay Convention Centre hosted the first conference of its kind: The First Annual Indigenous Forestry Conference.

This conference brought together Indigenous and settler leaders in forestry to address current challenges and potential solutions, share knowledge, build opportunities for collaboration, and cultivate a unified vision for the future. It provided an unprecedented space for Indigenous leaders to share ancestral knowledge and to discuss how wisdom from both groups can support a better, more sustainable future for forestry.

Approximately 200 attendees joined the conference for two full days of networking and panel discussions. Some of the many notable attendees included conference lead and Huu-ay-aht citizen Trevor Cootes, Lyackson Chief Laxel’wuts’aat (Shana Thomas), Namgis First Nation Hereditary Chief Don Svanvik, Chair of Iskum Investments Emchayiik (Robert Dennis Sr.), Elder Wickaninnish (Clifford Atleo Sr.) of Ahousaht, Tseshaht Chief Councillor Wahmeesh (Ken Watts), ‘Na̱mg̱is First Nation forestry manager Mike Green, Western Forest Products’ Chief Forester Stuart Glen, Kalesnikoff Lumber Co. Forest Development Manager Gerald Cordeiro, and Indigenous forestry consultant Marina Rayner.

Panel topics ranged from the practicalities of forestry – such as best practices and economics – to the multigenerational nature of forestry practice and how Indigenous and non-Indigenous forestry professionals can create a shared vision.

Day one of the conference began with a panel entitled Economic Empowerment through Strategic Partnerships – Closing the Economic Gap, during which panelists discussed how to leverage strategic partnerships for economic growth in Indigenous communities. Panels later in the day included:

Ancestral Wisdom: Hereditary Roles in Resource Stewardship;

Training & Employment: Creating a Work Environment for Recruitment and Retention; and

Cultivating Success: Creating an Economic Environment for Indigenous Business Success.
Day two began with a keynote, blessing, and song, followed by four panels focusing on Indigenous perspectives in forestry:

Capital Solutions: Empowering Indigenous Economic Growth;

Uu-a-thluk – Taking Care of: Resource Stewardship from an Indigenous Perspective;

Innovation and Technology: The Future of Forestry, and Government; and

Industry & First Nations: Current Policies and the Path Forward.

The launch of this conference is a timely response to recent challenges faced by the forestry industry, including reduced demand for paper products, unsustainable practices, pine beetle infestation, wildfires, and more.

It is also timely given the recent increase in land returned from settlers to Indigenous communities, including to Lyackson First Nation. Because land back initiatives are returning land to Indigenous communities for the first time in generations, and because the returned land is often in a state of disrepair due to farming or industrialization by settlers, collaborative efforts to change the current, unsustainable approach to forestry are essential. Wisdom learned during the conference will aid Lyackson, for example, in developing forestry management standards that properly steward the land while generating economic opportunities.

With so much knowledge shared and learned in 2024, the Indigenous Forestry Conference is already planning for 2025. The Second Annual Forestry Conference is scheduled to take place on September 15th and 16th, 2025 at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, and Lyackson looks forward to another year of active participation.
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