Turtle Island Land Trust
We restore degraded places, learn with place and people, and work toward enduring stewardship that reflects both ecological recovery and the relationships connected to land.
Ways of knowing
Our approach is informed by Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing), a Mi’kmaw guiding principle articulated by Elder Albert Marshall: learning from the strengths of Indigenous ways of knowing and the strengths of Western ways of knowing, and using those strengths together where appropriate.
We do not treat Indigenous knowledge as another data source to be absorbed into Western science. Distinct knowledge systems can remain distinct while informing better relationships, decisions and stewardship.
Knowledge can carry relationships, responsibilities, histories, languages, observations and understandings of place developed across generations. What may be shared, used or published is determined through the relevant Nation’s and knowledge holders’ protocols.
Field surveys, monitoring, modelling, experimental work and other scientific methods can help describe ecological condition, test interventions and measure change through restoration.
Etuaptmumk is Mi’kmaw. TILT may work across the territories of many distinct Indigenous Nations, each with its own knowledge systems, laws, protocols and governance. We use the principle as guidance for respectful coexistence between knowledge systems, not as a substitute for the Nation-specific approach required in each project.
Indigenous knowledge, cultural information and community data shared in a project do not become TILT property simply because they inform the work. Project agreements should establish permissions for collection, storage, access, interpretation, use and publication.
Turtle Island is a term used by a number of Indigenous peoples for the lands now commonly called North America, with meanings and traditions that differ among Nations. TILT does not treat the term as a single pan-Indigenous identity and does not claim Indigenous authority by using the name.
In project work, the names, laws, protocols, territorial relationships and preferred language of the Nation or Nations involved take precedence over TILT's organizational name.
Where a project concerns an Indigenous Nation's territory, knowledge, governance or participation, TILT's working approach is to begin the relationship before treating major project decisions as settled. We are developing a formal engagement and knowledge-governance policy informed by consent, Nation-specific protocols and respect for Indigenous data and knowledge governance.
Our approach to Nation relationshipsOur approach
The Trust’s work begins with ecological repair. Learning shapes how we understand a place and adapt. Stewardship carries responsibility forward through long-term care, governance and relationships.
Rehabilitate degraded, contaminated, vacant or abandoned places and recover ecological function, biodiversity, resilience and water quality where possible.
Care for the place through restoration, monitoring and relationships that recognize ecological responsibilities and the people connected to the land.
Learn with the place and the people connected to it, and share appropriate knowledge through research, monitoring, field learning and public education.
Turtle Island Land Trust restores, protects and stewards natural and urban places for public benefit while advancing ecological restoration, biodiversity conservation, research and environmental education.
For land-restoration projects, the Trust does not treat institutional ownership as the final goal. Where a participating Indigenous Nation wishes it, and where legal and project conditions permit, we seek a pathway from ecological repair toward long-term Indigenous stewardship or transfer.
The Trust is Canadian in corporate scope, but projects are understood first through place and territory. Provincial boundaries remain operationally useful; they do not replace the histories, relationships, Indigenous territories and ecological systems that make each place distinct.
A place may be a rural property, wetland, shoreline, urban lot, heritage site or building. We look beyond the parcel itself to the watershed, habitat, community relationships, history and responsibilities that surround it.
Project pathway
A long-term stewardship or transfer arrangement is considered as part of a project’s future where appropriate, agreed and legally possible.
Understand the ecology, history, territory and condition of the place.
Identify the Indigenous Nation or Nations connected to the territory and build the relationships required for the work.
Determine what scientific and Indigenous knowledge can appropriately guide decisions, and under what permissions.
Design, undertake and monitor ecological repair using the knowledge and governance appropriate to the project.
Build long-term care, governance and any agreed future transfer pathway into the project itself.
Governance
Turtle Island Land Trust is a federal not-for-profit corporation governed under the Canada Not-for-profit Corporations Act. The Board of Directors provides oversight of the Trust’s purposes, finances, stewardship responsibilities and long-term direction.
Board of Directors
Detailed director profiles on this website are published only with the individual director’s consent. The Trust continues to make all corporate filings and disclosures required by law.
This limits unnecessary republication of personal information while preserving formal corporate accountability.
The complete current Board of Directors is reported to Corporations Canada and can be viewed through the Trust’s federal corporate record.
View federal record →Indigenous governance
Where the Trust undertakes a restoration project within the traditional territory of an Indigenous Nation, our goal is to seek meaningful governance participation identified with or supported by that Nation, where the Nation wishes to participate.
TILT does not presume to decide who speaks for a Nation. The appropriate relationship, representative or governance mechanism must be developed with the Nation itself.
Where appropriate, agreed with the Nation, and legally permissible, a project may include a pathway toward long-term Indigenous stewardship or the transfer of restored land or stewardship interests.
For each active project territory, the Trust seeks meaningful Board or project-governance participation connected to the Indigenous Nation whose traditional territory includes the project. Nation-supported nominations and introductions are welcome.
Names, photographs, biographies, Nation affiliations and personal contact information are not published on this website without explicit consent. Where legally available, a service address can be used for corporate filings instead of a residential address. Statutory public disclosure requirements still apply.
The Trust intends to cover reasonable travel, accommodation and necessary meeting costs so participation does not create a financial barrier. We are also committed to not relying on unpaid Indigenous expertise.
Where funding and applicable charity law permit, compensation may be provided for eligible project, cultural, advisory, professional or other services that are separate from a director’s statutory Board duties.
Board recruitment
We welcome confidential conversations with Indigenous people and Nations connected to territories where the Trust is developing or undertaking restoration work. An initial conversation does not require a public profile or commitment to serve.
Contact us confidentiallyTransparency
Corporate information for Turtle Island Land Trust is publicly available through Corporations Canada. Additional governance and reporting documents will be published here as they are approved for public release.
View federal corporate recordOur Work
Explore the Trust’s restoration, learning, stewardship and project framework.
Explore Our Work