The River Multiple: Exploring Identity and Place in Resource Politics on the Gander River
Jen Daniels, MA Candidate
The primary goal of this project is to contribute to a growing effort to better understand the role of Aboriginal, and particularly Qalipu Mi’kmaq, communities in Newfoundland and Labrador in environmental governance. The Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band’s status as a landless band poses a challenge to questions of resource governance because they do not have federally granted land– likewise they live in communities alongside non-Aboriginal residents.
This research seeks to understand how members of the Mi’kmaw- non- Aboriginal communities in central Newfoundland are involved on the Gander River, including: their historic and current use of the river, and how they negotiate environmental decisions with provincial and federal governments and non-governmental organizations.
This project will address the following research questions:
- In what ways do various policies, and development and management practices affect “landless” Aboriginal communities’ ability to govern resources and mould their identity in place?
- To what extent are “river-based” identities shared between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal residents of the communities in the Gander River Watershed?
- Finally, how are these collective identities mobilized in the context of resource politics?
Thesis
The Rive Multiple: Exploring Identity and Place in Resource Politics on the Gander River