Mapping and documenting the First Nations traditional activities in Grand Lake Meadows

This project maps and documents the locations and types of traditional activities undertaken by First Nations groups in the Grand Lake Meadows study area. These traditional activities include: hunting, fishing, gathering of plants for food, medicinal or ceremonial purposes and trapping. Sites of ceremonial, ecological or archaeological importance such as burial grounds and those relating to Aboriginal legends and animal breeding grounds are also of interest and are included as part of this research. Grand Lake Meadows is the largest wetland in New Brunswick and is of ecological significance to the region.;This research created a prototype web mapping application, using the Google Maps Application Programming Interface (API) to display the recorded traditional activities, archaeological and ecological sites, internet links to additional information on these activities and relevant multimedia data sources such as digital photographs. The concept of this project is based on the principles of a Traditional Use Study, which is a research process designed to record the experiences of a people and their connection with the land. In this case, an online mapping service is chosen as the medium for representing the mapped traditional activities and related knowledge.;The potential research benefits include: increased awareness of the traditional activities undertaken by First Nations groups (or members) in living memory in the study area and preservation of some First Nations oral history of the region, which if undocumented, progressively decreases over time with the passing of knowledgeable group members. Primary sources of data were sought through collaboration with representatives from the Union of New Brunswick Indians (UNBI) and additional information obtained from previous research initiatives undertaken in Grand Lake Meadows. At the time of completing this report, research participants were not available to provide primary data on traditional knowledge, due to ongoing improvements by First Nations bodies to the ethics protocol governing research involving their community. The basis therefore of the information used in this research is from secondary sources. The available information will still prove useful for illustration purposes.