Our Mandate

In 2014, the Metlakatla First Nation and the Metlakatla Stewardship Society brought together a team of staff, university researchers, community members and experts to begin what is now the Metlakatla CEM Program. At the time, Metlakatla was facing a barrage of major project proposals in their territory. Metlakatla leadership started asking questions about the full extent of benefits and impacts from these activities to its lands, waters, and people. The Metlakatla CEM Program was created to not only understand cumulative effects in the region but to figure out ways to respond to and manage those effects.

Three guiding principles inform the work of the Metlakatla CEM Program. First, the program and everything we do in support of the program must be culturally relevant. Second, internal and external collaboration is necessary to manage and protect priority Metlakatla values. Third, CEM is a program not a project. We are invested in the long-term management and stewardship of Metlakatla Territory and the values of the Metlakatla people.

Our program is part of the Metlakatla Stewardship Society but is designed to support collaboration across all Metlakatla departments. Our team includes Jean Nelson (CEM Program Manager), Katerina Kwon (CEM Advisor), and a future CEM Community Coordinator. The Metlakatla CEM Program is supported by an ongoing research partnership between the Metlakatla First Nation and the School of Resource and Environmental Management at Simon Fraser University.

When we started the Metlakatla CEM Program, the very first questions we asked were, “How will CEM information be used?” and “How can the CEM Program be designed to best support Metlakatla decision-making and management?”. CEM is a success as long as it helps Metlakatla make decisions about the things that matter to Metlakatla people.