The Cree Nation Government’s GIS (Geographic Information System) team proudly presented its regional geospatial strategy at the Esri Canada User Conference in Toronto November 4.
Selected from over 600 applicants to present at the country’s largest GIS event, the five team members shared the Cree Nation’s journey toward integrating traditional Cree knowledge with modern spatial technology. Building technical capacity and data sovereignty, GIS tools are supporting an ever-expanding range of applications across the Cree territory.
“GIS technology allows you to create maps to visualize areas of interest but also transform spatial data into meaningful statistics to communicate complex information clearly,” said GIS program manager Jonathan Elkhoury. “The room was very full with a lot of good feedback. Other First Nations were interested in why we did this geospatial strategy and how we got our leadership involved.”
Connecting data to interactive digital maps, GIS technology is vital for land-use planning, environmental monitoring and cultural preservation. The CNG began employing it about 20 years ago to visualize forestry plans on the territory. As the number of projects and stakeholders have intensified, it’s become an important way to make sense of an immense amount of data.
“I saw GIS in the early stages when they redrew the trapline boundaries for the Paix des Braves,” recalled former GIS analyst Maxine Mark-Stewart. “In 2006, we started doing data collection with the tallymen for the five-year forestry management plans. We used GIS in that way.”
The CNG recognized early on the importance of developing internal GIS capabilities, rather than relying on consultants whose findings sometimes left when they did. One of the last decade’s major projects has been to consolidate various studies while working with Elders and land users to assemble a standardized interactive map of Eeyou Istchee.
“We’re in the process now of shifting towards dissemination,” noted toponymist John Bishop. “We’re working on an electronic basemap that will have the Cree names, for people used to using online basemaps such as Google Maps.”
The conference’s presentation outlined the preparation and implementation of the CNG’s three-year geospatial strategy and road map, a process that began in 2021 in partnership with Esri Canada consultants. The journey began with listening and engagement sessions to imagine how GIS could be optimized by aligning strategic priorities between departments.
The past few years have seen the GIS program rapidly grow, now supporting critical projects spanning environment, mining and policing. The team works with communities who use GIS in daily applications such as Ouje-Bougoumou’s digital community map and the capital works department’s infrastructure map.
“Now there are many users contributing to this big system,” said Elkhoury. “Non-GIS users are more and more visualizing information on dashboards and going out there to collect data on their phone. All of that is powered by GIS technology on the back end, but it’s made more accessible to the end user.”
GIS supports the Cree Nation’s commitment to sustainable development through work with numerous entities, using innovative tools like Eeyou Marine Region story maps, the Abandoned Mining Exploration Sites dashboard, and the Cree Trappers’ Association’s wildlife harvest monitoring application.
Field monitors certified last summer with Remotely Piloted Aircraft System licences now use the forestry department’s recently purchased drones to follow up on logging operations or complaints. Next summer’s goal is to expand training for planning missions and collecting data.
“We’re just starting to scratch the surface with imagery collection but it’s where the technology is going, being able to capture and process this yourself to get information useful to Crees,” said Drew Hannen, the forestry department’s GIS analyst.
“GIS is not sitting behind a computer and tapping away,” Hannen elaborated. “It’s going out in the field and collecting information on a tablet or phone and seeing that populate in the map of your community’s traplines.”
The technology accurately records trapline features like cabins, portages and burial sites and relays the data to forestry planners and other stakeholders. By mapping trapline occupancy and industrial activity, communities are better equipped to express their concerns when conflicts arise.
“If there are any investigations, the pertinent authorities can rely on sound accurate data collection to help them,” Hannen explained. “The Cree Nations have a good grasp on what’s going on in the territory. That’s our specialty, making sure the Cree perspective in forestry operations can be met.”
Not all communities have the same GIS capacity, and it remains a challenge to share data and collaborate on projects across all of Eeyou Istchee. Mapping such a vast territory in detail requires significant time and resources. While spotty internet connectivity can be a problem, basemaps can be downloaded to work offline with field data then uploaded later.
In Toronto, the CNG GIS team demonstrated how ArcGIS Field Maps support fieldwork in remote locations, enabling real-time updates and streamlining data collection across multiple devices. They also highlighted their vision for unifying geospatial resources and maturing capabilities across departments.
Much potential exists in projects ranging from communicating road or ice safety to trip planning for Cree tourism and educational story maps for the Cree School Board. As the GIS team maps their next moves, they encourage organizations to inquire how they might work together.
“There’s a lot interesting and exciting things we’re looking forward to,” said Elkhoury. “We’re proposing a central hub to access GIS data. We’d also like to start a GIS community of practice, where Cree communities and entities can share knowledge and collaborate around shared interests.”