Research as Reciprocity: Northern Cree Community-Based and Community-Engaged Research on Wild Food Contamination in Alberta’s Oil Sands Region

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-124
Author(s):  
Janelle Baker
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Food Contamination ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Treaty Rights ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Community Engaged Research ◽  
The People ◽  
Traditional Land Use

  In this paper I suggest that it is possible to participate in research as an act of reciprocity; when a community asks a researcher for help on a specific topic, the application of that researcher’s skills can be one of the ways they show appreciation for being welcomed into a place. I also argue that a researcher needs to be sensitive to, and participate in, systems of respect and reciprocity belonging to the people, ancestors, and sentient landscape of the place they are doing research. I critique the extraction of traditional knowledge in the traditional land use consultation industry in Alberta, Canada that is used in place of the Federal Government’s duty to consult First Nations regarding their Treaty rights. As an alternative to traditional land use assessments I provide a description of the methods used in projects that test Fort McKay First Nation and Bigstone Cree First Nation’s wild foods for contaminants resulting from oil sands activities in northern Alberta’s Treaty No. 8 region.

scholarly journals Thin or Thick Inclusiveness? The Constitutional Duty to Consult and Accommodate First Nations in Canada

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 149-175
Author(s):  
Ian James Urquhart
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Oil Sands ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Resource Exploitation ◽  
Judicial Interpretation ◽  
Treaty Rights ◽  
Aboriginal Rights ◽  
The Status ◽  
Natural Resource Exploitation ◽  
General Thrust

What has the addition of aboriginal rights to the Canadian constitution in 1982 meant for the place of First Nations’ interests in the Canadian constitutional order? This article considers this question in the context of natural resource exploitation – specifically, the exploitation of the oil or tar sands in Alberta. It details some of the leading jurisprudence surrounding Section 35 of the Constitution Act 1982, the section of the Constitution recognizing existing aboriginal and treaty rights. Arguably, Section 35 represented an important effort to improve the status of aboriginal peoples in Canada, to enhance the extent to which Canada included and respected the values and interests of First Nations. The article specifically considers how the judicial interpretation of the Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate aboriginal peoples is related to the theme of inclusivity. It argues that the general thrust of judicial interpretation has promoted a thin, or procedural, version of inclusiveness rather than a substantive, or thicker, one. Such a thicker version of inclusiveness would be one in which the pace of oil sands exploitation is moderated or halted in order to allow First Nations to engage in traditional activities connected intimately with aboriginal and treaty rights.

Reconciliation and Indigenous resurgence in the Ontario Far North and Mushkegowuk Cree land use planning processes

2020 ◽  
pp. 239965442095765
Author(s):  
Ryan Bowie
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Treaty Rights ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Far North ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
Regional Process

The introduction of Ontario’s Far North Initiative in 2008 and resulting Far North Act (2010) set in motion efforts to create land use plans in the northern regions of the Canadian province. Ontario’s approach to reconciling Aboriginal and treaty rights with provincial planning was through a community-based land use planning process, to which Mushkegowuk Council responded with a regional process based on the Omushkegowuk nation. The paper argues that the goals and approach of Mushkegowuk Council were reflective of indigenous resurgence principles, to which Ontario’s community-based planning objectives were a significant obstacle. The paper will closely examine the challenges Mushkegowuk Council faced in their attempt to assert an alternative to Ontario’s Far North planning, and the implications for Mushkegowuk Council and other indigenous communities and organizations involved in land use planning. The paper will conclude with a discussion of how the case study exemplifies the broader difficulties of achieving indigenous driven planning as resurgence necessarily confronts the institutions and ambitions of Settler governments.

scholarly journals What I Should Have Learned In School : Making The Connection Between Land Use Planning & The Duty To Consult

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara M. Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
Treaty Rights ◽  
Major Research ◽  
Planning Education

This major research paper examines whether land use planning in Canada incorporates Aboriginal and treaty rights into its processes, by way of integrating the duty to consult, as well as to examine whether planning education teaches students about these issues. By examining literature and policy, and conducting interviews with planners, planning faculty, archaeologists and legal practitioners, this research sheds light on where the duty to consult First Nations intersects with land use planning in Ontario. The paper concludes with two recommendations: first, changes must be made to municipal land use planning in Ontario, and by extension the rest of Canada; second, foundational planning curriculum must provide planning students with knowledge of Aboriginal and treaty rights and land use planning.

Revisiting traditional land use and occupancy studies: Relevance and implications for resource management in Alberta

2001 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 479-489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura MacKinnon ◽  
Ceasar Apentiik ◽  
Michael P. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Resource Management ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Traditional Knowledge ◽  
First Nation ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Management Policies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Traditional Land Use ◽  
Policies And Practices

This paper outlines the results of a study undertaken to assess the impact of Traditional Land Use and Occupancy Studies (TLUOS) on resource management policies and practices in the province of Alberta. The focus of this paper is policy-making bodies in industry and government; subsequent research is planned to explore the perceptions of First Nations' communities regarding the impact of TLUOS. Specifically, this study focussed on two TLUOS undertaken by two First Nations communities (Fort McKay First Nation and Dene Tha' First Nation) in partnership with the Arctic Institute of North America, and co-sponsored by industry and government. The paper situates the results of this particular study in a larger framework of current theory, understandings and discussions of First Nations' views of sustainable land use, traditional knowledge and collaboration. In analyzing the results from thirty interviews with academics and personnel from government agencies and industry, the researchers found that the application of the data from TLUOS was constrained by a number of interactive factors, both internal and external to the studies. Briefly, these include methodological and technical issues, accessibility of the data, the larger political context, the need for government leadership, differing expectations and agendas, and the need for a coordinated system for the conduct of TLUOS. In concluding, the authors note that in order for TLUOS to be effective in documenting traditional knowledge and influencing resource management policies and practices the following issues must be addressed: 1) the Alberta government should address the larger, unresolved issues between First Nations and the province; 2) appropriate mechanisms to blend traditional knowledge and scientific knowledge in resource management should be developed; and 3) a collaborative problem-solving process between First Nations, government and industry should be initiated by the Alberta government to address issues and create a coordinated system for the organization and implementation of TLUOS and their application to resource management policy and practice. Key words: traditional land use and occupancy studies, resource management, traditional knowledge, collaboration, sustainability, co-management, cooperative management, oil and gas industry, forest industry

scholarly journals What I Should Have Learned In School : Making The Connection Between Land Use Planning & The Duty To Consult

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara M. Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Land Use Planning ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
Treaty Rights ◽  
Major Research ◽  
Planning Education

This major research paper examines whether land use planning in Canada incorporates Aboriginal and treaty rights into its processes, by way of integrating the duty to consult, as well as to examine whether planning education teaches students about these issues. By examining literature and policy, and conducting interviews with planners, planning faculty, archaeologists and legal practitioners, this research sheds light on where the duty to consult First Nations intersects with land use planning in Ontario. The paper concludes with two recommendations: first, changes must be made to municipal land use planning in Ontario, and by extension the rest of Canada; second, foundational planning curriculum must provide planning students with knowledge of Aboriginal and treaty rights and land use planning.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document