What skills and training do Indigenous Guardians need?

Indigenous Guardians spend most of their time outdoors and often in remote locations. It is critical that your Indigenous Guardians are properly equipped and trained to ensure they stay safe. 

Identify which standard certificates and training courses are critical for your crew, both to ensure their safety and to meet any requirements set by your organization or your insurance provider. Use the Training and Certification Log Form to keep track of what each guardian has and when updates need to happen.

Often certifications related to safety and outdoor skills need to be renewed each year. Some communities set an annual schedule for when certain trainings will be available for their guardians. This way they know that everyone’s certificates are up-to-date.

Examples include, but are not limited to:

• Vehicle/Vessel Operations - Driver’s license, Small Vessel Operator Proficiency (SVOP), ATV Operator Certificate, Restricted Operator’s Certificate, Snowmobile Maintenance,
• First Aid Training - Wilderness First Aid, Basic First Aid, Basic First Aid with Transport Endorsement.
• Safety Training – Marine Safety Training, Swiftwater Rescue, Cold Water Safety, Firearms Safety/Possession and Acquisition License, Marine Emergency Duties (MEDA3), Wildlife Deterrence, Bear Aware, WHMIS.
• Outdoor Skills – Wilderness Survival, Map Use and Wayfinding, GPS, Small Engine Repairs, Emergency Shelters and Survival, Land and Water Travel, Use and Maintenance of Camp Gear and Equipment

It’s important to identify what technical or “hard” skills your Guardians need to conduct the monitoring and field work you have prioritized for your program.

These skills vary from program to program depending on your priorities and activities.

Some monitoring and technical field skills include:

• Environmental Monitoring – water quality, construction/development sites, contaminated sites. 
  • Fisheries – electrofishing, fish identification, fish habitat, stream restoration, water monitoring. 
  • Wildlife – wildlife ecology, wildlife monitoring techniques, habitat survey, population survey. 
  • Forestry – forest inventory, vegetation, soil sampling, riparian inventory, habitat restoration. 
  • Restoration – stream restoration, habitat restoration
• Compliance Monitoring – relevant Indigenous laws, relevant Canadian laws and regulations, observe-record-report procedures, note-taking, evidence gathering
• Archeology and Cultural Heritage – archaeological inventory, culturally modified tree inventory, cultural site protection
• Natural Resource Management – land use planning, marine use planning, wildlife management, fisheries management, forest management, protected area management

Indigenous Guardians need cultural skills and knowledge. It is important to create opportunities for guardians to work with and learn from elders and knowledge holders. This way guardians are grounded in the unique cultural context of their territory and understand the protocols and laws that apply to their work, and other important aspects of their language and culture. Some examples include:

• Indigenous Knowledge – cultural sites, harvesting sites, species information
• Language – local language, place names
• Cultural Protocols –protocols for harvesting, protocols for visiting areas in territory, protocols for sacred sites, protocols for interacting with neighbouring communities, etc.
• Indigenous Laws - local Indigenous stewardship laws and policies
• Indigenous Stewardship Plans and Agreements – existing plans/agreements/protocols signed by Indigenous community (land use plan, marine use plan, wildlife plans, chapters of settlement agreements etc.)

Being an Indigenous Guardian requires strong communication skills. Indigenous Guardians interact with their community, the general public and resource users, and other resource management practitioners.  

Your Indigenous Guardians are often a visible presence in your territory and therefore act as ambassadors for your community. This means they need to be comfortable and skilled at communicating with a diverse group of people in various situations. Some communication skills include: 

• Interpersonal Communications – communication styles and approaches
• Conflict Resolution – dealing with conflict in the field, “verbal judo”
• Public Speaking – speaking with resource users in the field, presenting at community events, outreach with youth and community members
• Writing and Reporting – taking good field notes, daily/weekly activity logs, report writing
• Leadership – team-building, leadership styles, group dynamics

The information and data your Indigenous Guardians collects is one of your program’s greatest assets.

Be sure your crew has the skills they need to adequately collect, document, input, store, and report on this information.

Examples include:

• Microsoft Office – excel, word and powerpoint
• Filing and Information/Data Management – file systems, downloading data, saving data, transferring data, inputting data
• Monitoring protocols – recording observations, data collection and input