Cloudberry Connections is supporting the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) to include Aboriginal Traditional Knowledge (ATK) in species assessments for Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar), Atlantic Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus), and American Eel (Anguilla rostrata).

For COSEWIC, gathering and reviewing ATK is an essential step toward making more inclusive and informed recommendations on species status under Canada’s Species at Risk Act (SARA). However, accessing and organizing ATK can be complex. Knowledge is often held in a range of formats—from published reports to community-held knowledge not widely shared—and each community has their own priorities and protocols around how information is communicated.

Cloudberry is identifying, reviewing, and summarizing ATK in a clear and respectful way that supports the species assessment process. As a team with experience in both participatory research and knowledge mobilization, Cloudberry brings particular strengths in bridging Indigenous knowledge systems and Western science through careful relationship-building, clear communication, and thoughtful documentation.

The project’s core deliverables include:

• Coordinated outreach with communities, organizations, and wildlife management boards to identify available ATK and establish respectful information-sharing protocols.

• Reviewing and summarizing both publicly available and community-identified ATK related to Atlantic Salmon, Atlantic Sturgeon, and American Eel.

• Delivering structured reports that help COSEWIC integrate ATK into its species status reports and identify next steps where additional knowledge gathering may be needed.

In this project, Cloudberry supports efforts to reflect Indigenous perspectives and knowledge in national species assessment processes in a way that is organized, accessible, and aligned with established protocols. This work reflects Cloudberry’s broader commitment to supporting Indigenous-led conservation and co-management by helping bring together diverse knowledge systems in a way that respects both community expertise and national policy frameworks.