Knowledge Centre receives $2.6 million from Weston Family Prairie Grasslands Initiative

Stretching across Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba, Canada’s prairie grasslands support hundreds of species, including migratory birds, pollinators and people, while also sustaining soil health, water systems, livestock production, and Indigenous stewardship. Yet of the roughly 141 million acres of historical grasslands in Canada, only 26 million acres remain intact today. What remains of prairie grasslands represents a rare and urgent opportunity to protect biodiversity at scale.

“Indigenous lifeways, languages, and food systems evolved with the environment, and these reciprocal relationships shaped the ecological processes that can restore the health of grasslands,” said Candice Pete-Cardoso, director of the kihci-okāwīmāw askiy Knowledge Centre at USask.

The new Indigenous Grasslands Stewardship and Knowledge Exchange Network has been launched by the kihci-okāwīmāw askiy Knowledge Centre together with the Indigenous Kinship Circle (IKC). The IKC is a cross-boundary community of practice for Indigenous people and allies working to advance the well-being of communities across the Central Grasslands of Turtle Island.

“This project strengthens Indigenous-led conservation across the Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba grasslands though cultural knowledge exchange, peer mentorship, hands-on workshops, and digital hub development,” said Pete-Cardoso. “The project supports First Nations land stewards, harvesters, Elders, youth, and students, while advancing Indigenous Science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge in grassland conservation.”

The Indigenous Grasslands Stewardship and Knowledge Exchange Network has received $2.6 million in funding from the Weston Family Prairie Grasslands Initiative funded by the Weston Family Foundation to support the project over five years until 2030.

“Canada’s prairie grasslands are some of the most ecologically valuable and threatened ecosystems in the world, and we have a responsibility to protect them for future generations,” said Christian Bauta, chair of the Weston Family Foundation. “There’s no singular solution. These are working landscapes and protecting them means supporting a range of long-term solutions that reflect the realities of the people connected to the land; their knowledge, their livelihoods, and their long history of stewardship.”