This thesis explores whether environmental justice can attenuate the burdens attributed to the operation of the E.B. Campbell Dam experienced by downstream Indigenous communities in the Saskatchewan River Delta. Environmental justice for Indigenous people who are affected by dam management is important for three reasons. First, Indigenous people often experience environmental burdens of dam management disproportionately. Second, Indigenous people are often excluded from dam decision-making. Third, when Indigenous people are included in dam decision-making, their rights and values are sometimes misrecognized within decision-making processes. While exploring environmental justice for Indigenous people in the context of dam management, this thesis contributes to a recommendation that empirical studies of environmental justice should describe the underlying causes of environmental injustice. This thesis contributes to this recommendation by documenting how power relations challenge environmental justice for Indigenous people in dam decision-making. A place-based, interdisciplinary methodology was taken to clarify an environmental justice pathway for downstream Indigenous communities in the Saskatchewan River Delta. This methodology involved analyses of hydrometric data, interview data and legal and policy documents. The findings of this thesis include that Indigenous people, through their meaningful participation in dam decision-making, could help government representatives recognize the environmental burdens of dam management. However, imbalances in power between Indigenous people and government representatives could constrain Indigenous people’s meaningful participation. The implication of these findings is that if power relations are accounted for in decision-making, the meaningful participation of Indigenous people can facilitate the recognition and remediation of environmental burdens attributed to dam management.

Archaeological fisheries information represented in fish scales provides relative abundance and age-at-harvest data that can assist in understanding a range of culturally vital Indigenous fisheries. In this thesis, I undertake fish scale analysis (squamatology) to explore fish scale preservation in twelve coastal archaeological sites from two First Nations’ territories in coastal British Columbia (Wuikinuxv and Tseshaht). These data demonstrate that fish scales are more readily preserved in coastal archaeological deposits than is currently appreciated and can refine species-level identification of culturally significant Indigenous fisheries including forage fish and salmon. Fish scales can additionally generate baseline data on age-at-harvest in Pacific herring and when considered alongside other fisheries records provide relative abundance records for forage fisheries in Wuikinuxv territory that span the last 3000 years. This study additionally temporally anchors eulachon fishing along the Wannock River by at least 3000 years ago extending upon previous archaeological assessments by over 2000 years. I apply the concept of two-eyed seeing, as envisaged by Mi’kmaw elder Dr. Albert Marshall, to recognize the strengths of Indigenous and Western perspectives in developing decolonial practices for sharing archaeological fisheries data with community-based fisheries managers. Two-eyed seeing highlights the strength of archaeological data as deep time records of Indigenous fisheries that can be anchored by Indigenous knowledge including cultural stewardship and fishing practices. In this case study, I provide baseline fisheries data co-derived from archaeological and Indigenous knowledges including deep time accounts of relative abundance and traditional harvest methods that community-based managers may wish to use on their terms to pursue future activities of restoration, renewal, and affirmation of traditional fishing practices. / Graduate / 2022-05-14

Bridging knowledge systems is a potential means of equitably and collaboratively working towards shared goals in aquatic ecosystems, such as the management of invasive species. Invasive species pose a significant threat to aquatic ecosystems, and one example of an invasive species with an established control program are sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) within the Laurentian Great Lakes. Sea lamprey management faces many challenges including climate change and the apparent declining social acceptance of control programs, especially amongst Indigenous communities in the region. Such challenges illustrate the need for sea lamprey management to better engage Indigenous Nations and knowledge systems. Etuaptmumk (Two-Eyed Seeing) is a Mi’kmaw concept that can facilitate knowledge bridging as it enables Indigenous and Western knowledge systems to work together in parallel on a shared issue. This thesis research uses social science and Indigenous methodologies to understand the Denny’s Dam rehabilitation (sea lamprey barrier) as a case study for relationship-building and knowledge coexistence between Indigenous and non-Indigenous parties in sea lamprey control. Virtual semi-structured interviews (n = 14) were conducted with key decision-makers and others involved in the Denny’s Dam rehabilitation. Results illustrated why and how a knowledge coexistence approach (e.g. Two-Eyed Seeing) could bridge knowledge systems to inform a shared decision-making process. Moreover, findings outline four main factors needed for relationship-building. This study provides practical guidance for practitioners and addresses a gap in the literature concerning Indigenous engagement in sea lamprey management and knowledge coexistence/Two-Eyed Seeing in aquatic invasive species management.

Background: Food nourishes us, sustains us, and has the potential to both heal us and make us sick. Among many Indigenous cultures, traditional activities, ceremonies, events and practices often involve or use food, grounding Indigenous peoples within the context of their local, natural surroundings. This suggests that food is important not only for physical health, but also emotional, mental and spiritual health. The relationships that Indigenous peoples have with food can help us to understand the health of individuals, and the communities in which they live. Purpose: The following qualitative study explores how three generations of adults who live in one Labrador Inuit-Metis community experience and understand their relationships to food in a context of global change. Theoretical Orientation: The research is guided by Two-Eyed Seeing. Two-Eyed Seeing acknowledges that there are many different ways of seeing and understanding the world, some of which can be encompassed through a Western eye and some through an Indigenous eye. If we learn to see through both eyes, we can gain a perspective that looks very different than if we only view the world through a single lens. Methods: For the study, twenty-four people from the south-eastern Labrador community of St. Lewis participated in individual and joint story-telling sessions. A group story-telling session also took place where community members could share their stories with one another. During many of the story-telling sessions, participants shared photographs, which helped to illustrate their relationships to food. Findings/Discussion: Historically, the people of St. Lewis relied almost entirely upon their own wherewithal for food, with few, if any, government services available and very little assistance from the market economy. This fostered and upheld an Inuit-Metis culture that promoted sharing, reciprocity and respect for the natural world. Currently, greater access to government services and the market economy has led to the creation of certain policies and programs that undermine or ignore established social and cultural norms in the community. Conclusions: Existing Inuit-Metis knowledge should work alongside non-Indigenous approaches to policy and program development. This would serve to protect and promote the health of both individuals and communities.

Background: Food nourishes us, sustains us, and has the potential to both heal us and make us sick. Among many Indigenous cultures, traditional activities, ceremonies, events and practices often involve or use food, grounding Indigenous peoples within the context of their local, natural surroundings. This suggests that food is important not only for physical health, but also emotional, mental and spiritual health. The relationships that Indigenous peoples have with food can help us to understand the health of individuals, and the communities in which they live. Purpose: The following qualitative study explores how three generations of adults who live in one Labrador Inuit-Metis community experience and understand their relationships to food in a context of global change. Theoretical Orientation: The research is guided by Two-Eyed Seeing. Two-Eyed Seeing acknowledges that there are many different ways of seeing and understanding the world, some of which can be encompassed through a ‘Western eye’ and some through an ‘Indigenous eye.’ If we learn to see through both eyes, we can gain a perspective that looks very different than if we only view the world through a single lens. Methods: For the study, twenty-four people from the south-eastern Labrador community of St. Lewis participated in individual and joint story-telling sessions. A group story-telling session also took place where community members could share their stories with one another. During many of the story-telling sessions, participants shared photographs, which helped to illustrate their relationships to food. Findings/Discussion: Historically, the people of St. Lewis relied almost entirely upon their own wherewithal for food, with few, if any, government services available and very little assistance from the market economy. This fostered and upheld an Inuit-Metis culture that promoted sharing, reciprocity and respect for the natural world. Currently, greater access to government services and the market economy has led to the creation of certain policies and programs that undermine or ignore established social and cultural norms in the community. Conclusions: Existing Inuit-Metis knowledge should work alongside non-Indigenous approaches to policy and program development. This would serve to protect and promote the health of both individuals and communities.

The Indian residential school (IRS) system is part of Canada’s colonial history; an estimated 150,000 First Nations, Inuit, and Métis children attended IRS (Stout & Peters, 2011). Informed by Indigenous principles of respect, relevance, responsibility, reciprocity, and relationality (Deloria, 2004; Ermine 1995; Kirkness & Barnhardt, 2001; Wilson, 2008), this study uses classic grounded theory to explore how female IRS survivors or their female descendants are coping with the intergenerational transmission of trauma. Specifically, the general method of comparative analysis was used to generate theory and identify categories and conceptualizations. The emergent problem found that individual survivors and their descendants were dealing with kakwatakih-nipowatisiw, a Cree term used to identify learned colonial (sick) behaviours. These behaviours manifested first among the administrative staff of the schools, then eventually emerged as female generational violence between, for example, mothers and daughters. Indigenous women in this study aimed to resolve this, their ‘main concern’, in order to strengthen familial relations, especially between female family members. Analysis resulted in the identification of a theory derived from the social process of potentializing wellness, which was grounded in the real-world experiences of Indigenous women. Potentializing wellness involves three dimensions: building personal competencies, moral compassing, and fostering virtues. It was revealed that Indigenous women perceive the ongoing generational effects of IRS differently, and as a result, three behavioural typologies emerged: living the norm, between the norm, and escaping the norm. The “norm” refers to the belief that violence is accepted as a normal part of family life. The paradox, of course, is that this type of behaviour is not normal and Indigenous women in this study are looking for ways to eliminate aggressive behaviours between women. The discoveries made in this research, coupled with the final integrative literature review, suggest that Indigenous People’s cultural ways of knowing have a holistic component that addresses all wellness levels. Effective strategies to deal with intergenerational trauma can emerge when holistic health is followed by, or happens concordantly with, reclaiming cultural norms grounded in community and spiritual life. Indigenizing a Western intervention is not enough. Focusing on the spiritual as well as emotional, physical, intellectual, and social aspects of self is seemingly the best approach for Indigenous People who are dealing with the intergenerational effects of trauma.

There is a dearth of literature to guide the development of community-based HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) prevention and sexual health promotion programs within Inuit communities. The aim of this research project was to create a dialogue with Inuit women to inform future development of such programs. This study employed Indigenous methodologies and methods by drawing from Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit and postcolonial research theory in a framework of Two-Eyed Seeing, and utilizing storytelling sessions to gather data. Community-Based Participatory Research Principles informed the design of the study, ensuring participants were involved in all stages of the project. Nine story-sharing sessions took place with 21 Inuit women ages 18-60. Participants identified several key determinants of sexual health and shared ideas for innovative approaches that they believe will work as prevention efforts within their community. These research results build upon the limited knowledge currently available about perceptions of HIV and STI among Inuit women living in the remote north. / Graduate / 0573 / jenny.r.rand@gmail.com

In the increasingly diverse context of North American schools, cross-cultural understanding is of fundamental importance. Most teachers are mono-cultural – typically white, middle class women. To inform teaching practice, these educators draw primarily from personal cultural backgrounds often to the exclusion or detriment of other cultural ways of knowing brought to the classroom by students. Teacher education programs are challenged to interrupt the norms of their conventional practices in order to help dominant culture teachers become more sensitive and insightful towards issues of cross-cultural pedagogy. In particular, the needs of Canadian Aboriginal students require close attention. Indigenous ways of learning and teaching are rarely included in school curricula. This dissertation argues that not only is an indigenous pedagogy useful for Aboriginal students, it also serves to support learning for all students in a multicultural classroom. This phenomenological narrative study looked at the experience of non-Aboriginal preservice teachers enrolled in a university course taught by instructors from several First Nations of Canada. The course took place on Lkwungen Coast Salish territory and provided direct access to indigenous knowledge as the participants worked with earth fibre textiles. The wisdom keepers created a place for the preservice teachers to participate extensively in a cultural approach to learning that was quite different from their previous educational experiences. While engaging in the indigenous handwork, the preservice teachers carefully observed both their own processes as learners and the ways in which the wisdom keepers in the course acted as teachers. The insight gained through this reflexive work troubled the participants’ deep-seated Eurocentric perspectives. Reflecting on personal shifts in attitudes, values and beliefs about the twinned processes of learning and teaching, the participants reported changes in their teaching practice with both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. Significant themes in the data revolve around issues of personal and social intent, reflective and reflexive practice, spirituality, the endogenous processes of the learner, learning in community, and teachers’ faith in the learner. The data suggest that implementing an eco/social/spiritual framework is useful in cross-cultural learning and teaching environments as well as in the context of educational research.