New northern lights: graduate research on circumpolar studies from the University of Alberta
In: Occasional publication 57
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In: Occasional publication 57
Media plays an integral role in (re)producing our social construction of reality. When viewed in light of Canada's colonial legacy, media's power has undoubtedly been implicated in circumscribing Indigenous peoples and Indigenous–settler relations. Employing a discourse analysis of mainstream media covering the recent (2011) implementation of a comprehensive land claims agreement in British Columbia, this study investigates how media has framed contemporary Indigenous–settler relations within the Canadian state. Findings indicate that mainstream media predominantly relies on stereotypes of Indigenous peoples and tends to neglect historical and current political complexities, thereby perpetuating stagnant Indigenous–settler relations. Concluding with empirically derived recommendations, this article points to education reform to create more robust mainstream media able to address stagnated (re)constructions of Indigenous–settler relations.
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OBJECTIVE: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently issued a statement that the fate of human society and human health is at serious risk of catastrophic impacts unless we take bold action to keep global warming under 1.5 °C. In 2015, the Canadian Public Health Association noted emerging efforts to embrace intersectoral approaches to global change in public health research and practice. In this study, we question the extent to which Canadian Graduate Public Health Sciences Programs have kept pace with these efforts to see climate change surface as a new frontier for training the next generation of researchers and practitioners. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews (19) were conducted with Department Heads (or equivalents) of graduate-level Public Health Sciences Programs at 15 Canadian universities concerning the place of climate change in their respective curricula. Interviews were designed to elicit participants' institutional perspectives on the importance of climate change in the Public Health Sciences and identify perceived challenges and opportunities. RESULTS: Despite wide recognition among participants that climate change is a public health "crisis", very few reported having substantive curricular engagement on the topic. Key challenges identified were lack of resources, organizational issues, and political barriers. Key opportunities to adapt curricula to address this new frontier in Public Health were faculty interest and expertise, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and pressure from the institution. CONCLUSION: Our findings provide evidence for post-secondary Public Health Sciences Programs to understand the need to address their own sluggishness when what is needed are bold, even radical, shifts to existing curricula.
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The Experimental Lakes Area in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, is a globally prominent freshwater research facility, conducting impactful whole-of-lake experiments on so-called 'pristine' lakes and watersheds. These lakes are located in traditional Anishinaabe (Indigenous) territory and the home of 28 Treaty #3 Nations, something rarely acknowledged until now. Indeed, Indigenous peoples in the area have historically been excluded from the research facility's governance and research. Shortly after it changed hands in 2014—from the federal government to the not-for-profit International Institute of Sustainable Development (IISD)—the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada released its Calls to Action to all Canadians. The newly named International Institute of Sustainable Development-Experimental Lakes Area (IISD-ELA) began to respond with a number of initiatives aimed to develop relationships with local Indigenous peoples and communities. In this paper, from the perspectives of IISD-ELA staff members, we share findings from an exploratory study into the relationships beginning to develop between IISD-ELA and Treaty #3 Nations. We used semi-structured interviews (n = 10) to identify how staff perceived their initial efforts and contextualize those with the current literature on meaningfully engagement in reconciliation. Our analysis highlights perceived barriers, including time, resources, and funding constraints, as well as an acknowledged lack of cultural awareness and sensitivity training. Participants also recognized the need to engage Indigenous knowledge holders and embrace their ways of knowing at the research station. While the study is small in scale, as an international leader in freshwater science, transparency in the IISD-ELA's journey in reconciliation has the potential to inform, influence, and 'unsettle' settler-colonial scientists, field stations, and institutions across the country and beyond.
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The 2010 edition of the Tri-Council Policy Statement on Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans introduced a new chapter, titled "Research Involving the First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples of Canada." The goal of our study was to explore how this chapter is being implemented in research involving Mi'kmaw communities in Nova Scotia. Qualitative data from four groups—health researchers, research ethics board representatives, financial services administrators, and Mi'kmaw community health directors—revealed that while the chapter is useful in navigating this ethical space, there is room for improvement. The challenges they encountered were not insurmountable; with political will from the academy and with guidance from Indigenous community health and research leaders solutions to these barriers can be achieved.
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A global movement is underway to harness the power of coordinated state policy to address the significant and interrelated challenges of environmental degradation, climate change, poverty, and energy insecurity. In May 2019 a grassroots coalition comprising a range of civil society groups—scientists, labour unions, Indigenous peoples, and youth—launched the Pact for a Green New Deal (PGND) in Canada, with more than 150 town hall meetings across the country. Participants called for 100% renewable energy, phase out of the oil sands, a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030, and the creation of 1 million new green jobs and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples [1]. A significant reorientation to the scale and direction of government expenditure, as happened in the American New Deal of the 1930s, can spur technical innovation but can also exacerbate inequalities. A Canadian green transition is significant globally given its high energy production, exports, and internal use. In this perspective piece we examine the transformative potential of a Canadian PGND by focusing on the social and political characteristics of energy infrastructure: the potential for 100% renewable energy, transitions for oil sands, energy democracy, Indigenous energy leadership, gender equity, and energy poverty. The actor coalitions emerging from these then forge specific energy transition pathways, whether just and inclusive, or not. The Canadian case highlights the complexities and opportunities that accompany countries with large geographies, fraught geo-political histories, strong federalism, inequalities of access to clean affordable energy, and an abundance of renewable energy. ; ISSN:2214-6296
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From 1967 until 2020, [Community] has had 85 million litres of pulp and paper mill effluent dumped every day into an estuary that borders the community. Despite long-term concerns about cancer in the community, a federal government appointed Joint Environmental Health Monitoring Committee, mandated to oversee the health of the community, has never addressed [Community] concerns. In this study we accessed the 2013 Canadian Cancer Registry microfile data, and using the standard geographical classification code, accessed the cancer data for [Community], and provided comparable data for all Nova Scotia First Nations, as well as the county, provincial, and national population level data. We determined that digestive organ cancers, respiratory organ cancers, male genital organ cancers, and urinary tract cancers are higher in [Community] than at all comparable levels. Female breast and genital organ cancers are lowest in [Community] than at all other comparable levels. We note the limitation of this study as not being able to capture cancer data for off-reserve members at the time of diagnosis and the lapse in availability of up-to-date CCR data. This study demonstrates that cancer data can be compiled for First Nation communities using the standard geographic code, and although not a comprehensive count of all diagnoses for the registered members of [Community], it is the first study to provide data for those who lived in [Community] at the time of diagnosis. Moreover, it highlights the lack of capacity (or will) by Joint Environmental Health Monitoring Committee to uphold their fiduciary duty.
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Numerous tools for addressing gender inequality in governmental policies, programs, and research have emerged across the globe. Unfortunately, such tools have largely failed to account for the impacts of colonialism on Indigenous Peoples' lives and lands. In Canada, Indigenous organizations have advanced gender-based analysis frameworks that are culturally-grounded and situate the understanding of gender identities, roles, and responsibilities within and across diverse Indigenous contexts. However, there is limited guidance on how to integrate Indigenous gender-based frameworks in the context of research. The authors of this paper are participants of a multi-site research program investigating intersectoral spaces of Indigenous-led renewable energy development within Canada. Through introspective methods, we reflected on the implementation of gender considerations into our research team's governance and research activities. We found three critical lessons: (1) embracing Two-Eyed Seeing or Etuaptmumk while making space for Indigenous leadership; (2) trusting the expertise that stems from the lived experiences and relationships of researchers and team members; and (3) shifting the emphasis from 'gender-based analysis' to 'gender-based relationality' in the implementation of gender-related research considerations. Our research findings provide a novel empirical example of the day-to-day principles and practices that may arise when implementing Indigenous gender-based analysis frameworks in the context of research.
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Numerous tools for addressing gender inequality in governmental policies, programs, and research have emerged across the globe. Unfortunately, such tools have largely failed to account for the impacts of colonialism on Indigenous Peoples' lives and lands. In Canada, Indigenous organizations have advanced gender-based analysis frameworks that are culturally-grounded and situate the understanding of gender identities, roles, and responsibilities within and across diverse Indigenous contexts. However, there is limited guidance on how to integrate Indigenous gender-based frameworks in the context of research. The authors of this paper are participants of a multi-site research program investigating intersectoral spaces of Indigenous-led renewable energy development within Canada. Through introspective methods, we reflected on the implementation of gender considerations into our research team's governance and research activities. We found three critical lessons: (1) embracing Two-Eyed Seeing or Etuaptmumk while making space for Indigenous leadership; (2) trusting the expertise that stems from the lived experiences and relationships of researchers and team members; and (3) shifting the emphasis from 'gender-based analysis' to 'gender-based relationality' in the implementation of gender-related research considerations. Our research findings provide a novel empirical example of the day-to-day principles and practices that may arise when implementing Indigenous gender-based analysis frameworks in the context of research.
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