About the IPCA Knowledge Basket
The IPCA Knowledge Basket is a digital space created to honour, celebrate, and catalyze Indigenous-led conservation pathways in Canada, including Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs). The IPCA Knowledge Basket holds stories, videos, songs, government reports and policies, academic articles, resources, and artwork.
The IPCA Knowledge Basket is available to anyone who wishes to support Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) and Indigenous-led conservation. While the IPCA Knowledge Basket is primarily for Indigenous Nations, communities, and organizations, non-Indigenous partners, and the general public are also encouraged to learn with open hearts and open minds, in the spirit of peace and friendship.
Basket weaving is a significant cultural practice for many Indigenous Peoples.
The IPCA Knowledge Basket represents the strength and beauty we can create by weaving multiple knowledge systems together to support Indigenous-led conservation. The website provides pathways for visitors to harvest, collect, and contribute resources to enhance our collective knowledge. It is a space for reciprocal sharing and collaborative learning in the spirit of ‘we rise together’.
The IPCA Knowledge Basket traces its origins to the Indigenous Circle of Experts, also known as ICE, and the Pathway to Canada Target 1 initiative. From 2017-2018, ICE members led a national effort to consider how Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas, or IPCAs, could be realized in Canada. This process revealed that a digital platform could provide Indigenous Nations and governments, as well as their partners, with information to help fulfill their IPCA visions.
The IPCA Knowledge Basket was created through the collective vision and efforts of many, including the IISAAK OLAM Foundation and members of the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership (CRP). The web design was created by Design de Plume, a women-led and Indigenously-owned web design firm based in Sudbury, Ontario. The website project team included Monica Shore, Allison Bishop, Stephanie Siddon, Soudeh Jamshidian, Jena-Lee Ashley, and Kristy Tomkinson. The CRP Leadership Circle, which includes Marilyn Baptiste, Eli Enns, Faisal Moola, Steven Nitah, Robin Roth, and Lisa Young, provided the strategic oversight for the project.
We are grateful for the leadership of Elders Albert Marshall, Larry McDermott, Marilyn Capreol, and Paulette Fox. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and guiding our Two-Eyed Seeing process.
We are also grateful for Beverly Jeddore (Eskasoni First Nation) who contributed songs from the eastern gate and Gordon Planes (T’Souke Nation) who contributed a song from the Western gate. These songs help greet IPCA Knowledge Basket users and help send website users on their journey in a good way.
Many thanks to all of the Indigenous language speakers who contributed the initial greeting and thank you messages to the website: Dolorés André (Innu), Nikki Auten (Kanien’kéha/Mohawk), Lucassie Arragutainaq (Inuktitut), Susie Lulua (Tsilhqot’in), Joe Martin (Nuu-chah-nulth), Dorothy Stewart (Cree), Anne Taylor (Anishinaabemowin), Stephanie Thorassie (Dene). We hope that IPCA Knowledge Basket users will contribute welcome and thank you messages in other languages to help reflect the diversity of Indigenous languages spoken on what is now known as Canada.
Learn more about the origin story for the IPCA Knowledge Basket.
The IPCA Knowledge Basket is maintained and cared for by the IPCA Innovation Program at MakeWay. This seeks to establish Indigenous protected and conserved areas across Canada to build capacity, mobilize knowledge and facilitate Indigenous-led conversation and stewardship initiatives. Strategic direction for the IPCA Knowledge Basket is provided by the Conservation through Reconciliation Partnership, including the two host organizations, the IISAAK OLAM Foundation and the Indigenous Leadership Initiative.
Once you have created an IPCA Knowledge Basket account there are several different ways to start your learning journey:
- Are you interested in audio-visual stories about Indigenous-led conservation? Consider starting with the Stories Page.
- Do you have a specific topic in mind? Check out the “Search Resources” page with how-to guides to help with your search experience.
- Are you new to the subject of Indigenous-led conservation and are interested in resources organized by audience? Check out our curated resources lists.
In the spirit of ‘we rise together’, website users are encouraged to contribute resources to enhance our collective knowledge. Access the community contributions form for more information.
Creating an Account
You can access resources and information after creating an account, which includes agreeing to commitments and responsibilities for engaging with the IPCA Knowledge Basket.
The IPCA Knowledge Basket is more than just a website. It is a digital space that was created through the collective efforts and vision of many. We ask all visitors to reflect upon and agree to a set of commitments and responsibilities as they enter the website.. These guidelines were created with guidance from Elders drawing on their cultural traditions as an important part of the ‘Two-Eyed Seeing approach’ for the website. Elder Albert Marshall, who helped popularize the Mi’kmaw concept of ‘Two-Eyed Seeing’, was a key contributor to this work.
Creating an account also provides users with the ability to harvest, collect and assemble their own “digital baskets” where resources can be saved and revisited.
The information collected when you create an account is not shared with or sold to any external third-parties. We only use the information collected to better understand who is visiting the IPCA Knowledge Basket and how we can improve the website.