Our Journey

The Indigenous Grasslands Stewardship and Knowledge Exchange Network was launched by the kihci-okāwīmāw askiy Knowledge Centre together with the Indigenous Kinship Circle (IKC). The IKC is a cross-boundary community of practice for Indigenous people and allies working to advance the well-being of communities across the Central Grasslands of Turtle Island.

Stretching across Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, Canada’s prairie grasslands support hundreds of species, including migratory birds, pollinators and people, while also sustaining soil health, water systems, livestock production and Indigenous stewardship.

Yet of the roughly 141 million acres of historical grasslands in Canada, only 26 million acres remain intact today. What remains of prairie grasslands represents a rare and urgent opportunity to protect biodiversity at scale.

The role of the Indigenous Grasslands Stewardship and Knowledge Exchange Network is to create avenues for engaging with Indigenous communities to understand what grasslands remain on their community lands, how they interact with native grasslands and what their concerns are for the future.

This work requires bringing in knowledge from the community, including from people knowledgeable in cultural revitalization and language revitalization. It also requires creating an ally circle of organizations that support awareness of Indigenous perspectives.

We want this work to have a lasting impact seven generations into the future. We always keep these thoughts in mind: how do we create long-term support and how do we bring youth into these conversations?

We are thankful for the funding we received from the Weston Family Prairie Grasslands Initiative funded by the Weston Family Foundation to support this project over five years until 2030.