I live and work in Nova Scotia, which is a part of Mi'kma'ki, the ancestral and unceded land of the Mi'kmaq. Nova Scotia, and much of Atlantic Canada, is covered by the Peace and Friendship Treaties signed between the British crown and various Mi'kmaw, Wolastoqiyik, and Peskotomuhkati nations between 1725 and 1761. These treaties predate Confederation by a century or more, and notably none of them involved the transfer of land from the Indigenous nations to the British crown.
My research is primarily focussed on the physics and circulation of the Bay of Fundy and the port of Saint John. Saint John sits at the mouth of Wolastoq, "the beautiful river", commonly called the Saint John River. The Bay of Fundy is surrounded by lands covered by Peace and Friendship treaties, which make explicit mention of the right to fish. These "moderate livelihood" fishing rights have been upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in the Marshall decision of 1999, but it took over two decades for a moderate livelihood fishery to be recognized by the federal government.
It is my responsibility as a settler and a federal employee to uphold the treaties. Even though my work is not closely related to fisheries, Indigenous rights and relationships should inform how I approach my work. The Mi'kmaw term etuaptmumk, or "two-eyed seeing," describes using both traditional and settler knowledges when approaching a scientific question: multiple perspectives give a more complete understanding. I have much to learn, but I am a scientist: I am committed to always learning and expanding my understanding.