Proposal
editExtractivist policies and procedures are happening all over the world but also in Canada. The article on Wikipedia fails to address the Canadian examples which are just as important to highlight. The article briefly mentions the impacts these practices have on indigenous communities and the resistance that has come from these practices but does not provide any details. Many indigenous people have been dispossessed because of extractivism which is like a new form of colonialism. The impacts of the destruction to their land doesn't only affect their livelihood but also their connection to the land. These ideas are important to highlight to show the destruction these policies cause and why they are so problematic.
Extractivism
editThese are my suggested edits to the Extractivism page
Social Impacts
editIndigenous peoples rely on their environment to sustain their live styles as well as connect with the land in spiritual ways [1]. Extractivist policies and practices heavily destroy the land as referred to above. This changes game populations, migration patterns for animals, pollutes rivers and much more. Doing so, does not allow Indigenous populations to practice their culture and ways of life because the environment they depend on is drastically changed.[1] In addition, this destruction hinders the spread of Indigenous culture and knowledge making it more difficult for Indigenous individuals to pass their knowledge to future generations.[1]
Political Implications
editExtractivism near or on Indigenous land without the permission of Indigenous peoples begins to threaten the land based self-determination of Indigenous groups.[2] Conflicts between Indigenous peoples, corporations and governments are occurring around the world. Because many of the extractivist practices take place where Indigenous communities are located, the conflicts are making these landscapes politicized and contested. The conflicts are driven because Indigenous lives are put in jeopardy when they are dispossessed, they lose their livelihoods, their water and land is polluted and environment commodified.[3]
Case Study - Grassy Narrows First Nations blockade
editExtractivism policies and procedures are present in Canada as well. Canada has many natural resources because of it’s large land mass and biodiversity. The forest sector in Canada contributed to 19.8 billion or 1.25 per cent of Canada’s GDP in 2013.[4] The Boreal forest covers 28 per cent of Canada’s land and within that 70 per cent of Indigenous communities live in theses area.[5] Logging efforts in the Boreal forest are encouraged to be economically efficient by clear-cutting. Clear-cutting means to remove all trees from an area at one time. This has led to loss of biodiversity, habitat fragmentation and reduction, soil erosion and carbon release contributing to climate change[6].
Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation, also known as Grassy Narrows First Nation individuals grew tired of seeing their environment being destroyed. In 1873, the Anishinaabe people participated and negotiated in Treaty Three with the Canadian government. The terms on this treaty are extremely contested by the Anishinaabe people and the Canadian government. The two groups had very different intentions and assumptions. The government wanted to expand farther into the West so this treaty was seen as a way to secure a route that went through northwestern Ontario while Anishinaabe leaders saw the treaty as a peace-and-friendship agreement. This is based on oral history and the unofficial versions of Treaty Three. The Anishinaabe people wanted to share the land to ensure its survival, not surrender it contrary to what the Government had perceived. However, these demands from the Anishinaabe have been ignored causing people to react.
In December of 2002, they began Canada’s longest road blockade as a way to protest the clearcutting that was proposed near their community[7]. Grassy Narrows First Nations is located in southwestern Ontario near the town of Kenora. In the past, the community has been affected by the flooding ancestral burial grounds because of hydroelectric dams and most notably mercury contaminated water from a pulp and paper mill[8]. Since the 1990s logging rates near the community had accelerated which caused community members to act.[8] Working with non-Indigenous environmentalists and human rights advocates, they began media campaigns to draw attention to their protest.[6] The site of resistance was on the Ontario Provincial Highway 671 near Slant Lake. The blockade went against what the Grassy Narrow’s chief and council wanted. They wanted to stop the logging efforts by working within the federal system and use the Indian act. However, anti-clearcutting activists and community members supported the road blockade for years. Many think it is a clear violation of treaty rights and the sovereignty of the Anishinaabe nation. In 2008, the Ontario government began negotiating a resolution to the conflict, which ended the license for logging companies[8]. In 2014, the provincial government stated they would monitor logging companies to make sure they adhered to the new proposed rules. However, many in the community remain skeptical[7].
- ^ a b c Willow, Anne J. (Fall 2017). "Indigenous ExtrACTIVISM in Boreal Canada: Colonial Legacies, Contemporary Struggles and Sovereign Futures". Humanities. 5 – via MDPI.
- ^ Willow, Anne J. (Summer 2016). "Indigenous ExtrACTIVISM in Boreal Canada: Colonial Legacies, Contemporary Struggles and Sovereign Futures". Humanities. 5: 1 – via MDPI.
- ^ Veltmeyer, Henry; Petras, James (2014). The New Extractivism: A Post-Neoliberal Development Model or Imperialism of the Twenty-First Century. London: Zen books. pp. 9–10. ISBN 9781780329925.
- ^ "Overview of Canada's forest industry". www.nrcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
- ^ "Boreal forest". www.nrcan.gc.ca. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
- ^ a b Willow, Anne J. (Summer 2016). "Indigenous ExtrACTIVISM in Boreal Canada: Colonial Legacies, Contemporary Struggles and Sovereign Futures". Humanities. 5: 7–8 – via MDPI.
- ^ a b "Resistance recognized: Grassy Narrows' blockade wins award". CBC News. Retrieved 2017-11-26.
- ^ a b c Willow, Anne J. (2011). "Conceiving Kakipitatapitmok: The Political Landscape of Anishinaabe Anticlearcutting Activism". American Anthropologist. 113 – via AnthroSource.