Strategic approaches to Indigenous engagement in natural resource management: Use of collaboration and conflict to expand negotiating space by three Indigenous nations in Quebec, Canada

Indigenous peoplesâ roles in Canadian forestry have expanded enormously during recent decades, encouraged by a variety of policies and programs from governments, industry and indigenous organisations. Many Indigenous communities have chosen to engage with non-indigenous actors in multiple ways, both collaborative and conflictual, and this study investigates the extent to which these represent strategic choices. Through a study with the Atikamekw Nehirowisiwok, Huron-Wendat and Miâ gmaq nations in QuĂŠbecQuebec, Canada, we examined processes used to present and promote their visions and objectives for their traditional forestlands, over more than thirty years. This analysis highlights the number and diversity of processes in which Indigenous peoples engage. Examining the series of processes and the roles of indigenous participants in them, allowed us to characterize the strategies adopted by each nation. This analysis helps understand factors such as the roles of transformative and incremental change, the interactions between processes, and the importance of governing organisations. We conclude that, rather than being stakeholders in State-sponsored initiatives, these Indigenous nations are constantly and actively using such processes as an institutional and procedural space where they are able to negotiate, promote, implement, and articulate multiple strategies that contribute to enhancing their role in forest and resource management.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author