Cultural keystone species and their role in biocultural conservation

Biocultural diversity is declining globally. Cultural keystone species (CKS) are one promising pathway by which biocultural approaches to conservation, which seek to protect both biological and cultural diversity, might be implemented in practice. We traced the evolution of the CKS concept in relation to Indigenous Peoples in the Canadian context through a scoping review of the literature from 2000 to 2021 and nine in-depth interviews with Indigenous Guardians and knowledge holders. Emergent themes in this scoping review indicate that CKS, rather than being viewed as objects for conservation, can be understood as ongoing relationship(s) between the cultural and ecological, which are intimately tied to language, knowledge, practices, and places in ways that are deeply interconnected. One cannot protect CKS, therefore, without also protecting the relationships that people (or groups of people) have to that species. We conclude by recommending further investment in policies and programs that support enabling mechanisms for Indigenous Peoples to maintain, manage, and restore relationships with CKS.