Canadian Aboriginal cultural landscapes in praxis

The concept of Aboriginal cultural landscapes, Canada’s recognition of places important to the country’s Indigenous ¹ peoples, has laid the basis for acknowledging alternative worldviews in a values-based approach to cultural heritage. Rooted in what matters to people closely associated with the land, it challenges established frameworks for recognizing and managing places of heritage value. It opens a way for Aboriginal people to engage concepts and places of value in addressing impacts of historic experience in their traditional lands and in protecting them from development pressures. In using the word ‘praxis,’ we refer to the process of putting theoretical knowledge into practice. We are interested in how the intellectual concept of cultural landscapes has been applied in Canada, particularly in places important to Aboriginal peoples. ²