The Canadian Mountain Assessment is a ground-breaking work of knowledge co-creation that showcases the diversity and significance of mountain areas in Canada, clarifies challenges and opportunities facing mountain systems, and will inform and inspire future mountain-focused research, relationships, and action.
The Canadian Mountain Assessment provides a first-of-its-kind look at what we know, do not know, and need to know about mountain systems in Canada. The assessment is based on insights from Indigenous knowledges of mountains, as well as findings from an extensive assessment of pertinent academic literature. Its inclusive knowledge co-creation approach brings these multiple forms of evidence together in ways that enhance our collective understanding of mountains in Canada, while also respecting and maintaining the integrity of different knowledge systems.
The Canadian Mountain Assessment is a text-based document, but also includes a variety of visual materials as well as access to video recordings of oral knowledges shared by First Nations, Métis, and Inuit individuals from mountain areas in Canada. The assessment is the result of over three years of work, during which time the initiative played an important role in connecting and cultivating relationships between mountain knowledge holders from across Canada. It is the outcome of contributions from more than 70 Indigenous and non-Indigenous authors and contains six chapters:
- Introduction
- Mountain Environments
- Mountains as Homelands
- Gifts of the Mountains
- Mountains Under Pressure
- Desirable Mountain Futures
By way of these chapters, The Canadian Mountain Assessment aims to enhance appreciation for the diversity and significance of mountains in Canada, to clarify challenges and opportunities for mountain systems in the country, and to motivate and inform new research, relationships, and actions that support the realization of desirable mountain futures. More broadly, The Canadian Mountain Assessment provides insights into applied reconciliation efforts in a knowledge assessment context and seeks to inspire similar knowledge co-creation efforts in and beyond Canada.
The book is published by the University of Calgary Press and can be downloaded for free here. A physical book can be purchased here. Watch the launch event, part of the 2023 Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival, here (includes a variety of quotable content). See illustrative media coverage here. Hashtag for social media: #CdnMntAssessment