"In 1993, an Ontario Court decision recognized native rights to harvest fish in the waters around the Saugeen-Bruce Peninsula, sparking sometimes violent confrontations between native and non-native fishers about how these rights would be translated into equitable resource access for all." "In Cultures and Ecologies, Edwin C. Koenig applies ethnohistorical and ethnographic approaches to the conflict, exploring both historical and recent fisheries activity in the region. In an effort to clarify particularly contentious issues, he provides insights into how the conflict was entangled with cultural perspectives on the definition of 'conservation' and how each side had various interpretations of the conservation mandate." "Based on substantial ethnographic fieldwork and featuring extensive interviews with First Nations members, the book links native perspectives on fishing rights conflicts to revitalization efforts in local communities that have a strong interest in maintaining traditional knowledge and practice. Cultures and Ecologies encourages open dialogue on such conflicts and sheds new light on debates about native rights, resource management, and conservation."--Jacket.