Intercultural Conflict Over the Atlantic Salmon of the Restigouche Watershed
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Uncommon Waters: Intercultural Conflict over the Atlantic Salmon of the Restigouche Watershed by Stephen P. Booth A Thesis presented to The University of Guelph In partial fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Rural Studies Guelph, Ontario, Canada Stephen P. Booth and Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government, Natural Resource Development, February, 2019 ABSTRACT UNCOMMON WATERS: INTERCULTURAL CONFLICT OVER THE ATLANTIC SALMON OF THE RESTIGOUCHE WATERSHED Stephen P. Booth Advisor: University of Guelph, 2018 Dr. John Fitzgibbon In a 10-year participatory case study of conflicted communities, the author describes the historical, social, economic, rural and legal contexts of their conflict in relation to the survival of their Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures and of the Atlantic salmon, each of which is in jeopardy of extinction. A thick description of the communities in relation to one another and to their place, Listuguj First Nation, Gespe’gewaq, Mi’gmaqi; the Restigouche watershed of northern New Brunswick and the Gaspé, and to the Atlantic salmon on which they depend, was constructed through semi- structured interviews with representative members of each community, together with long-term attendance at salmon-centred community events, ranging from scientific to ceremonial and trust-and-relationship-building informal conversations, supported an iterative methodology designed to honour Indigenous knowledge and methods. Theories of social learning, social capital, bridging, and bonding have been applied to the thick description, revealing a combination of socio-economic-political and epistemological- ontological differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous rights and stakeholders to be central to continuing conflict and failure to resolve what is understood by non- Indigenous groups as “natural-resource management” for “conservation” and to continuing Indigenous resistance to scientific management. In the current context of unresolved issues of territory, consent, reconciliation, cooperation, and collaboration between Canada’s First Nations and its federal and provincial governments, this case study provides insights into necessary pre-conditions for their resolution. Keywords: Case study. Participatory. Intercultural conflict. Cultural and species survival. Indigenous. Non-indigenous. Settler. Non-resident riparian-rights owners and leasees. Rights. Colonial. Conservation. Atlantic salmon. Reconciliation. Epistemology and ontology. iv DEDICATION This thesis is dedicated to Plamu, the Atlantic salmon of Listuguj, Gespe’gewaq, Mi’gmaqi, the Restigouche Watershed, who, far from being saved by human agency, has the power to save us. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to acknowledge all those who have taken an interest in the larger project of addressing human conflict over the Atlantic salmon of the Restigouche watershed. These include all who agreed to be interviewed from the three communities studied; all who have given of their time to inform him and to discuss past, present and future experiences and perspectives and especially those who made these contacts possible for all three communities. He is especially indebted to members of the Restigouche River Camp owners Association, Edgar Cullman, Jr. Chairman, Arnie Boer, Executive and Tom Callaghan and Danny Bird, staff; the Restigouche River Watershed Management Council, David LeBlanc, Executive Director and the Chief, Council and Government of the Listuguj Mi’gmaq First Nation. Without the interest, counsel, mentorship and friendship of Dr. Fred Metallic the journeyings of this “messenger” would not have been possible. The decision to further the project of reconciliation through an academic collaboration, was made possible by the interest and encouragement shown by Professor John FitzGibbon of Rural Studies, SEDRD, OAC. Without his willingness to act as my advisor this dissertation would never have been attempted. I am grateful to Professor Al Lauzon for his instruction and especially for re-privileging epistemological plurality in the author’s mind. Thanks are due also to Jack Imhof, a colleague of half a century in cold water conservation, and a reader of this dissertation. The generous provision of the Ontario Government, providing free tuition for students over the age of sixty-five, made my lengthy enrollment possible. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................. ii DEDICATION ........................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................ vi LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................x LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................ xi LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................ xii LIST OF APPENDICES ....................................................................................... xiii 1 INTRODUCTION ..............................................................................................1 1.1 Preface ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Research Goal .................................................................................................... 3 1.3 Research Tasks ................................................................................................... 3 1.4 Chapters .............................................................................................................. 5 2 HISTORICAL AND PRESENT CONTEXTS OF THE CONFLICT ...............9 2.1 The Fish .............................................................................................................. 9 2.2 The First People ............................................................................................... 11 2.3 Settlers .............................................................................................................. 12 2.4 Sport Fishers ..................................................................................................... 13 2.5 Biological and Cultural Diversity. ................................................................... 14 2.6 The Atlantic Salmon and Species Extinction ................................................... 15 2.7 The Ethnosphere and Cultural Extinction ........................................................ 16 2.8 Listuguj First Nation ........................................................................................ 17 2.9 Non-Indigenous Residents and Sport Fishers .................................................. 18 2.10 Cultural Survival: Tolerance, Equity, and Appreciation .................................. 18 2.11 Global Responses to Environmental Conflicts and Indigenous Peoples .......... 18 vii 2.12 Colonization, Exploitation, Management, and Conservation in the Contexts of Evolving Interpretations of First Nations’ Rights and Self- Understanding .................................................................................................. 20 3 LITERATURE REVIEW .................................................................................31 3.1 Preface – How to Frame a Wicked Problem? .................................................. 31 3.2 Social Learning ................................................................................................ 33 3.2.1 Bourdieu’s Habitus Theory of Behaviour and Learning ....................................33 3.2.2 Wenger – Situated Learning in the Context of Communities of Practice and Social Learning Systems ....................................................................................36 3.2.3 Managing Systemic Change – A Synthesis ........................................................42 3.3 Social Capital ................................................................................................... 48 3.4 Social Learning and Social Capital in Natural-Resources Management ......... 56 3.5 Governance ....................................................................................................... 59 3.5.1 Governing the Restigouche ................................................................................59 3.5.2 Adaptive Governance for Complexity and Resilience .......................................61 3.5.3 Evaluating Watershed Partnerships in California and Washington ...................63 3.5.4 Partnership and Place in Networked Governance ..............................................64 3.5.5 Limitations of Management and of Collaboration: ............................................68 3.6 Place ................................................................................................................. 77 3.7 Symbolism – Symbolic Interactionism and Identity ........................................ 82 3.8 Intimate Epistemologies ................................................................................... 84 3.8.1 Indigenous Environmental Values as Human Values ........................................86 3.8.2 Bridging Epistemologies for Coexistence and Collaboration – The Mi’kmaq Case in Nova Scotia ...........................................................................88