Durham E-Theses Resistance: Traditional Knowledge and Environmental Assessment among the Esketemc Canadian First Nation Community. BEDARD, BETH How to cite: BEDARD, BETH (2013) Resistance: Traditional Knowledge and Environmental Assessment among the Esketemc Canadian First Nation Community., Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/10588/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk 2 Resistance: Traditional Knowledge and Environmental Assessment among the Esketemc Canadian First Nation Community. Ph. D. Thesis Beth Bedard A Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Department of Anthropology, University of Durham, Durham, U.K. 2013 i Resistance: Traditional Knowledge and Environmental Assessment among the Esketemc Canadian First Nation Community. Abstract A recurring theme in Canadian social and political history concerns the fight for the recognition of Aboriginal rights including cultural rights within a context of development. It has been stated that there is a lack of dialogue between these two discourses. There are few specific and engaged studies about these conflicts. This thesis provides an engaged examination of a Canadian First Nation from British Columbia, the Esketemc, and its struggle against a proposed mega development, the Prosperity gold and copper mine. The study focusses on the use of power, control and the discourse of development through the lens of the environmental assessment process. It examines whether the Esketemc voice is heard through the dominant discourse, or whether the environmental assessment process obstructs it through the manipulation of people, space and resources. The analysis of the environmental assessment process identified and described opportunities and obstacles for dialogue between the Esketemc, the federal and provincial governments, the federal government selected Panel, and the mine developer. The community hearings that formed a part of the environmental assessment process provided an opportunity for many community members to tell about their deep relationships with the land, their family connections to the land, their spiritual connections to the land, and the knowledge gained from these cultural practices to determine what the impacts of this project will be on the community. The positioning of this Esketemc traditional knowledge within this assessment demonstrates how it was viewed and valued by the government and the developer and how it was used to formulate the Panel recommendations for the federal Minister of the Environment. The analysis of the environmental assessment process also illustrates the strategies of power and resistance used by the Esketemc to oppose and respond to the unequal power dynamics. The imposition of power on First Nations within the historical colonial period endures in current encounters with government agencies such as the environmental assessment agency through environmental assessments. This unequal power permits those with control to decide what is valid, true and while dismissing that which does not conform to the prevailing paradigms. The study identified the structural processes within the Prosperity Mine environmental assessment process that served to validate some of the Esketemc concerns, while excluding others. The types of knowledge that the environmental assessment panel validated were those rooted in government processes such as a commercial venture, the Esketemc Community Forest and lands to be included in a final settlement within the British Columbia Treaty Process. The types of knowledge that were not recognized by the Panel were those that dealt with the project’s negative impacts on traditional hunting, plant and medicine harvesting, family areas and spiritual values. The result is a positioning of Esketemc traditional knowledge and cultural values as marginalized in contrast to the discourse of western science and development. ii Acknowledgements This thesis was inspired by the First Nations Elders and community members with whom I have been fortunate to work with over the years. It has been an honour to have listened to and learned from them. In particular, I would like to thank all of the Esketemc who are still fighting for their land, their culture and justice for past and present wrongs. There is not room to thank everyone who has been an inspiration and help, but I would particularly like to thank Chief Fred Robbins, Irvine Johnson, the Esketemc Councillors, and as Norma Sure and former Chief Charlene Belleau. I owe a great deal to many and cherish the memories of those who have passed on such as Josephine Johnson, Willie Rosette, Les Peters, and Angela George. Everyone who I have been fortunate to have worked with at Esket over the years has been an inspiration. I also want to thank Willard Dick, Arthur Dick, Jeannie Belleau, Shirley Robbins, Dinah Belleau, Cecilia DeRose and many, many others. In addition, I am grateful for the strength, dignity, knowledge and wisdom held by the late Nuxalk Hereditary Chief Nuximlayc, Lawrence Pootlass and Hereditary Chief, Ed Moody in Bella Coola, as well as Obie and Shirley Mack and all of the Nuxalk. I owe them more than words can express I want to express my appreciation for the guidance of my supervisors at Durham, Dr. Ben Campbell and Dr. Paul Sillitoe for their encouragement, thoughtful comments and insights. I am also grateful to the late Dr. Martin Whittles at Thompson Rivers University who encouraged me to continue with my education. I could not have finished this research without the help of my family. My parents Torsten and Akka Calvert were a strong support as was my husband Aneez. Chad, Lucy, Ammy and George, provided me with a home away from home. My sister Cathy and brother John also provided support and encouragement. I also want to thank my friend Gaye Burton Coe, for her insightful comments on my research and her support. iii Copy right The copy right of this thesis rests with the author and the Esketemc First Nation. No quotation from it should be published without prior written consent and information derived from it should be acknowledged. iv Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii Copy right ...................................................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix Chapter 1. Research Rationale. ....................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Research Focus ...................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Rationale for Research .......................................................................................................... 5 1.4 Purpose and Objectives of research ...................................................................................... 9 1.5 Theoretical Framework ....................................................................................................... 11 1.6 The Mine Location .............................................................................................................. 14 1.7 The Proposed Gold-Copper Mine and Transmission Line.................................................. 16 1.8 Structure of the Thesis......................................................................................................... 23 Chapter 2. Discussion of Issues: Historic Context of Colonialism and the Aboriginal Struggle against Marginalization. ................................................................................................................ 24 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 24 2.2 Conflict, Power and Traditional Knowledge....................................................................... 25 2.3 Colonialism ......................................................................................................................... 26 2.4 Institutional Power .............................................................................................................. 28 2.5 The Land and Marginalization ............................................................................................ 29 2.6 The Legal Landscape .........................................................................................................