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Abstract Conservation regimes and governmental relations with Indigenous peoples both vary widely. Successfully resolving conflicts arising from human-wildlife interactions (HWI) is complicated by the existence of multiple ontologies not only among various publics but within historically-marginalized and fragmented Indigenous communities. Current models of HWI are being reevaluated in order to better understand how humans and animals, including large carnivores, have learned to coexist. This article uses field interviews and Indigenous songs texts to describe the uniquely moral character of human-bear interactions among the elder generation of Siberian Khanty of Siberia. We outline the potential of such an ethos for developing more inclusive and just management policies and practices focused on tolerance and coexistence, while also identifying some limitations on developing such policies that emerge from acculturative stresses. 

This article draws on a large archive of original video documentation to complement ethnographic literature to provide the first description of modern Eastern Khanty bear ceremonialism and locate it in relation to the traditions of other Ob-Ugrian groups. The comparative analysis of Ob-Ugrian bear ceremonial traditions underscores fundamental differences in the function of such ceremonies, highlights foundational elements of local group identity, and suggests ways in which Ob-Ugrian groups interacted with adjacent populations. 

Grizzly bears and polar bears often serve as ecological “flagship species” in conservation efforts, but although consumptively used in some areas and cultures they can also be important cultural keystone species even where not hunted. We extend the application of established criteria for defining cultural keystone species to also encompass species with which cultures have a primarily nonconsumptive relationship but that are nonetheless disproportionately important to well-being and identity. Grizzly bears in coastal British Columbia are closely linked to many Indigenous Peoples (including the Haíɫzaqv (Heiltsuk), Kitasoo/Xai’xais, and Nuxalk First Nations), where they are central to the identity, culture, and livelihoods of individuals, families, Chiefs, and Nations. Polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, provide another example as a cultural keystone species for a mixed Indigenous and non-Indigenous community in which many of the livelihood benefits from the species are mediated by economic transactions in a globalized tourism market. We discuss context specificity and questions of equity in sharing of benefits from cultural keystone species. Our expanded definition of cultural keystone species gives broader recognition of the beyond-ecological importance of these species to Indigenous Peoples, which highlights the societal and ecological importance of Indigenous sovereignty and could facilitate the increased cross-cultural understanding critical to reconciliation.