Resumen de Informality within Indigenous land management: A land-use study at Curve Lake First Nation, Canada
Robert A. Fligg, Brian Ballantyne, Derek T. Robinson
Curve Lake First Nation (CLFN) in Ontario has a mainland Reserve area of 649 ha and a Reserve population of 1368; 768 of whom are CLFN members and 600 of whom are seasonal or permanent non-members. Land management is an amalgam - there is much formal land tenure through Certificates of Possession (CPs) and leases but little formal land use planning. A desire by CLFN (Chief and Council, Lands Committee, Lands Manager) for more formal land use planning drove this research. In 2019, 160 CLFN members participated in a land-use study. The results were aggregated into four categories: those that hold land (CP holders), those that do not hold land (non-CP holders), members living on-Reserve, and members living off-Reserve. CP holders and non-CP holders agreed that all parcels should be managed/used according to community values. There was similar agreement between on-Reserve members and off-Reserve members. However, there was little understanding of existing land tenure and land management regimes, and much uncertainty about the distinction between formal and informal land-use. Further analysis revealed, on the one hand, that there was a significant difference in knowledge about how Reserve land may be used between CP holders and non-CP holders, and between on-Reserve and off-Reserve members. We refer to this difference as a disconnect and found a correlation between informality and disconnect. On the other hand, there was no disconnect about the need for formal land-use policies and bylaws, which finding supports the CLFN community as it debates a land-use plan.
