"WE ARE FIGHTING FOR OURSELVES" — FIRST NATIONS' EVALUATION OF BRITISH COLUMBIA AND CANADIAN ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT PROCESSES

2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (03) ◽  
pp. 367-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
ANNIE BOOTH ◽  
NORM W. SKELTON
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
First Nation ◽  
Government Officials ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Aboriginal Rights ◽  
Collaborative Project ◽  
Indigenous Worldviews

This article presents results from research into the perspectives on environmental assessments of Canadian indigenous peoples, in particular British Columbia's West Moberly First Nations, the Halfway River First Nation, and the Treaty 8 Tribal Association. This collaborative project interviewed First Nation government officials and staff as well as community members to determine their analyses of what worked and, more significantly, what did not work in engaging and consulting indigenous people. This research identified significant failings in Canadian and British Columbia environmental assessment processes, including substantive procedural failures, relational failures between First Nation, provincial and federal governments, and fundamental philosophical differences between assessment processes and indigenous worldviews. Based upon their review of environmental assessment failings, the collaborating First Nations recommend a fundamental revision of environmental assessment processes so as to protect into the future their Treaty and Aboriginal rights and to ensure their survival as distinct and viable cultures upon the land.

scholarly journals Bringing Ethics Review Home to Cowichan: Indigenizing Ethics Review in British Columbia, Canada

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cowichan Tribes
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Research Ethics ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Preterm Births ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Ethics Review ◽  
Research Ethics Review ◽  
United Nations Declaration

Cowichan Tribes’ territory, located in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, is experiencing an alarmingly high rate of preterm births compared to the national average of Indigenous Peoples in Canada. In response, and in partnership with the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), Cowichan Tribes is in the first year of a 3-year study to investigate causes. Cowichan Tribes’ Elders and community members are guiding the study to ensure it follows Cowichan Tribes’ research processes and to support self- determination in research. Furthermore, as a way to enhance reconciliation, Elders and community members guided an on-site ethics review on Cowichan Tribes territory. This article outlines the collaborative, in-person research ethics review process that Cowichan Tribes, Island Health, and FNHA completed on August 21, 2019. The purpose of this article is to provide suggestions other First Nations could use when conducting a research ethics review, and to explain how this process aligns with the principles of ownership, control, access, and possession (OCAP®), the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and above all, the Cowichan snuw’uy’ulh (teachings from Elders).

Student Technology Projects in a Remote First Nations Village

2007 ◽  
pp. 137-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tish Scott
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
Multimedia Technology ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Children's Education ◽  
Children’S Education

This qualitative case study focuses on community members’ observations and perceptions of student multimedia technology projects produced in a grade 6/7 class, particularly in relation to what they affirm is important for their children’s education. The projects are community-based and rooted in the First Nations culture of a remote village in northern British Columbia (Canada).

Achieving Efficiency in Environmental Assessment Through Focused Selection of Valued Components

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ward Prystay ◽  
Andrea Pomeroy ◽  
Sandra Webster
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Environmental Assessment ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Environmental Assessments ◽  
Baseline Information ◽  
The Government ◽  
Selection Of

Some of the largest oil and gas projects in Canada are currently being proposed in British Columbia. Establishing a fulsome and scientifically and socially defensible scope for environmental assessments in the oil and gas sector is a serious challenge for government and proponents. The approach taken by the federal National Energy Board to scope effects assessments on pipelines is quite different than the approach taken by the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office on other types of oil and gas projects. The NEB has published guidelines for scoping and conducting environmental and socio-economic assessments within its Filing Manual (National Energy Board [NEB] 2014). This manual sets out the expectations for scoping, baseline information, and effects assessments to be submitted as part of approval applications. Proponents are expected to provide all information necessary to meet the guidelines. In British Columbia, the environmental assessment process is dictated by the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Act and includes a negotiated terms of reference for the assessment, called the Application Information Requirements (AIR). The approach to selection of valued components is guided by provincial guidelines (EAO, 2013). The first draft of the AIR is prepared by the proponent and is then amended to address matters raised by federal and provincial agencies, local governments, and representatives of potentially affected First Nations. Through two to three revisions, the scope of assessment is jointly established and then formally issued by the government. While there are valid reasons for the differing federal and provincial approaches to scoping environmental assessments, each of these processes create risks for proponents in terms of project timelines and costs for preparing the environmental assessment. More specifically, the use of generic and negotiated guidelines can result in a number of issues including: • A scope of assessment that is broader than necessary to understand the potential for significant adverse effects • Inclusion of issues that are “near and dear” to a specific regulator or community but has no direct relationship to the effects of the project itself • Selection of valued components that do not allow for defensible quantification of effects or use of directly relevant significance thresholds • Selection of valued components that are only of indirect concern as opposed to focusing the assessment on the true concern. • Double counting of environmental effects • Risks in assessing cumulative effects This paper discusses where and how these risks occur, and provides examples from recent and current environmental assessments for pipelines and facilities in British Columbia. Opportunities to manage the scope of assessment while providing a fulsome, efficient, effective and scientifically/socially defensible assessment are discussed.

“This Is Going to Affect Our Lives”: Exploring Huu-ay-aht First Nations, the Government of Canada and British Columbia’s New Relationship Through the Implementation of the Maa-nulth Treaty

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa Sloan Morgan ◽  
Heather Castleden ◽  
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
150Th Anniversary ◽  
Canadian Provinces ◽  
The Government ◽  
Government Of Canada

AbstractCanada celebrated its 150th anniversary since Confederation in 2017. At the same time, Canada is also entering an era of reconciliation that emphasizes mutually respectful and just relationships between Indigenous Peoples and the Crown. British Columbia (BC) is uniquely situated socially, politically, and economically as compared to other Canadian provinces, with few historic treaties signed. As a result, provincial, federal, and Indigenous governments are attempting to define ‘new relationships’ through modern treaties. What new relationships look like under treaties remains unclear though. Drawing from a comprehensive case study, we explore Huu-ay-aht First Nations—a signatory of the Maa-nulth Treaty, implemented in 2011—BC and Canada’s new relationship by analysing 26 interviews with treaty negotiators and Indigenous leaders. A disconnect between obligations outlined in the treaty and how Indigenous signatories experience changing relations is revealed, pointing to an asymmetrical dynamic remaining in the first years of implementation despite new relationships of modern treaty.

Assimilation and Partition: How Settler Colonialism and Racial Capitalism Co-produce the Borders of Indigenous Economies

2020 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-324
Author(s):  
Shiri Pasternak
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Supreme Court Of Canada ◽  
Critical Material ◽  
Aboriginal Rights ◽  
Economic Rights ◽  
Racial Capitalism ◽  
The Status ◽  
History Of ◽  
Settler Colonization

The history of colonialism in Canada has meant both the partition of Indigenous peoples from participating (physically, politically, legally) in the economy and a relentless demand to become assimilated as liberal capitalist citizens. Assimilation and segregation are both tendencies of colonization that protect the interests of white capital. But their respective prevalence seems to depend on the regime of racial capitalism at play. This paper examines the intersection of settler colonization and racial capitalism to shed light on the status of Indigenous economic rights in Canada. I ask, to what extent are Indigenous peoples understood to have economic rights—defined here as the governing authority to manage their lands and resources—and, how we can we analyze these rights to better understand the conjoined meanings of colonialism and capitalism as systems of power today? In this paper, I look at two sites to address this problem: first, I examine how the Supreme Court of Canada has defined the “Aboriginal right” to commercial economies since the patriation of Aboriginal rights into the Constitution in 1982; and, second, I examine how these rights are configured through state resource revenue-sharing schemes with First Nations, in particular from extractive projects, over the past few years. Each case study provides critical material for analyzing the economic opportunities available to First Nations through democratic channels of state “recognition,” as well as when and why tensions between state policies of segregation and assimilation emerge.

scholarly journals Developing an e-Community Approach to Community Services in Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gilbert Whiteduck ◽  
Anita Tenasco ◽  
Susan O'Donnell ◽  
Tim Whiteduck ◽  
Emily Lockhart
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Health Centre ◽  
Police Department ◽  
Community Services ◽  
First Nation ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Broadband Internet

Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg First Nation is a leader in community and social services. This rural First Nation – the largest Algonquin community in Canada - has since 1980 successfully supported community members to take ownership of service development and delivery. They have made many services and programs available to community members, including: an elementary and secondary school, a day-care, a community hall, a community radio, a health centre, a police department, a youth centre, and others. Their community services are led and staffed by fully trained and qualified community members. As computers, broadband internet and cellular services have become available in Kitigan Zibi, the service sectors have been integrating these technologies with a goal of improving services for and communications with community members. However they face many challenges in their efforts to remain innovative and plan for future delivery of services using technologies. Our study, based on qualitative analysis from interviews with 14 community services staff in Kitigan Zibi, will explore their current successes, challenges, and future potential for integrating information and communication technologies (ICT) into services that promote community and social development. The analysis discusses the eCommunity approach advocated by the Assembly of First Nations.

scholarly journals Editorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Isaac-Mann ◽  
Evan Adams ◽  
Ted Mala
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Health Authority ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Health And Wellness ◽  
Respectful Care

Welcome to this two-part guest edition of the International Journal of Indigenous Health (IJIH), produced by the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. As guest co-editors, we are pleased to present to you this collection of research, promising and wise practices, innovations, and Indigenous Knowledge on health and wellness. These papers constitute a substantive contribution to, as our call for submissions framed it, “Health Systems Innovation: Privileging Indigenous Knowledge, Ensuring Respectful Care, and Ending Racism toward Indigenous Peoples in Service Delivery.”

scholarly journals Editorial

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Isaac-Mann ◽  
Evan Adams ◽  
Ted Mala
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Health Systems ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Health Authority ◽  
Indigenous Health ◽  
Health And Wellness ◽  
Respectful Care

Welcome to this two-part guest edition of the International Journal of Indigenous Health (IJIH), produced by the First Nations Health Authority (FNHA) in the province of British Columbia (BC), Canada. As guest co-editors, we are pleased to present to you this collection of research, promising and wise practices, innovations, and Indigenous Knowledge on health and wellness. These papers constitute a substantive contribution to, as our call for submissions framed it, “Health Systems Innovation: Privileging Indigenous Knowledge, Ensuring Respectful Care, and Ending Racism toward Indigenous Peoples in Service Delivery.”

scholarly journals Redd Alert! (De)Coding the Media's Production of Aboriginal Gang Violence on a Western Canadian First Nation

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Koch ◽  
Jay Scherer
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Moral Panic ◽  
First Nation ◽  
Western Canada ◽  
Gang Violence ◽  
Public Concern ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Commercial Media ◽  
Production Processes ◽  
The Media

This article examines the articulation of a racialized moral panic surrounding Aboriginal gang violence and the community of Maskwacis, a collection of four First Nations in central Alberta, Canada formerly known as Hobbema. Our analysis is situated within the distinctive settler-colonial context through which Aboriginal gangs were mediated (Ginsburg 1991) by the mainstream commercial media as an issue of public concern in this particular Cree community and, indeed, throughout Western Canada. Drawing upon interviews with journalists, First Nation residents, and other community members in the region, our analysis focuses on two interrelated issues: 1) the “behind-the-scenes” production processes through which non-Aboriginal journalists condensed themes of race, crime, and youth to reproduce and amplify a powerful and punitive discourse that articulated Aboriginal gang violence with the broader community itself; and 2) the ways in which First Nations residents and community members—themselves the subjects of the media gaze—interpreted, internalized, and, at times actively manipulated this racialized discourse of crisis. 

scholarly journals Policy Forum: First Nation Property Taxation and Governance in British Columbia

2021 ◽  
Vol 69 (3) ◽  
pp. 873-887
Author(s):  
Ross Hickey
Keyword(s):  
British Columbia ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Property Tax ◽  
Property Values ◽  
First Nation ◽  
Electoral Rules ◽  
Property Taxation ◽  
Indian Act ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Policy Forum

In this article, I ask, "What is the relationship between rules governing band council elections and property taxation across First Nations in British Columbia?" I outline the three major categories of First Nation electoral rules: default Indian Act elections, First Nations Elections Act rules, and custom election codes. I contend that First Nations who use custom election codes are more likely to exhibit stable governance than those who do not. This mechanism can be helpful in introducing property taxation. It can also reduce property tax uncertainty—a feature known to depress on-reserve property values. I also present some suggestions for First Nations wishing to improve perceptions of taxation in their communities.

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