First Nations, Oceans Governance and Indigenous Knowledge Systems

I met Elisabeth Mann Borgese only once, early in my career. It was during the Pacem in Maribus International Conference hosted in Halifax in 1998.1 I was an employee of the Canadian federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (dfo) and was invited by a colleague to attend the oceans sector papers. I was unaware of the profile of the international event and felt out of place amongst the world elites of the ocean sector at the week-long meeting. The respect that Professor Mann Borgese was given became apparent and I learned about the impact she had made towards oceans governance and its role on humanity. The other person whom I met was Charlie Labrador, a Mi’kmaq Elder from a small community in Nova Scotia. Once we were introduced, I was able to spend the majority of my three days at the conference as his companion. He was very soft-spoken and humble, similar to many Elders I have met over my lifetime. Being Maliseet from a native community called Tobique in New Brunswick (wolastoqkew neqotkuk), he immediately felt comfortable with me; we were able to openly share our thoughts and feelings on this major event filled with scientists, business leaders, diplomats, and others with great responsibilities and influence over how international ocean laws, policies, and regulations were developed and enacted. The conference chair had approached Charlie the morning of the last day and asked if he would be able to speak at the closing. Charlie was a man who understood the importance of responsibility and given that the conference was being conducted on unceded Mi’kmaq traditional lands, he obliged. I remember him coming to the microphone in front of several hundred delegates. He held an eagle feather as he spoke. Because he was so soft spoken, the crowd had quieted to allow his words to be carried by the microphone. I watched him physically shaking with the feather in hand and heard a slight tremble in his