Through the analysis of relationships between aboriginal and non-aboriginal communities in
Upper St'at'imc Territory in British Columbia, this thesis illustrates how bridging and bonding forms of
social capital affect vulnerability and cooperation to prepare for disasters in communities characterised by
cultural conflict. Social capital is based upon networks of trust and reciprocity, which enable individuals
to cooperate to achieve shared goals. In Upper St'at'imc Territory, people are most likely to have close
relationships or bonds with those from the same cultural background. The absence of inter-cultural bonds
means that bridges linking those less well known to each other (from each culture) are necessary to
facilitate cooperation. However, there are few arenas that enable the formation of bridges between
aboriginals and non-aboriginals.
Pre-existing patterns of social capital between aboriginals and non-aboriginals were played out in
BC Hydro's Exercise "Bridge River", a simulation exercise to prepare for a potential dam incident
affecting downstream communities. Lack of bridges between the cultures was highlighted by low levels
of cultural interaction during the exercise and the establishment of separate emergency operations centers.
Nevertheless, the exercise resulted in some aboriginals and non-aboriginals coming into contact with each
other and building new bridges. Unfortunately opportunities for strengthening these bridges through
regular cultural interaction are limited. This is due to cultural divisions in membership of emergency
preparedness organisations as well as wider social and employment networks.
The exercise reinforced the strong bonds that enable non-aboriginal emergency responders to
work well together. The benefits of these strong bonds are restricted if they result in excluding aboriginal
participation in emergency response organisations. Exercise "Bridge River" organisers were unaware of
the strong bonds among non-aboriginal emergency responders. This affected their ability to anticipate
how these bonds were used during the exercise and resulted in delaying the process.
Social capital is essentially a neutral phenomenon, how it is used determines whether or not it is a
destructive weapon or a constructive tool for building disaster resilient communities. Nevertheless, social
capital can be easily destroyed and bridges burnt by conflict and lack of trust between cultural groups.
Understanding a community's social capital will enhance disaster preparedness and mitigation efforts.
Inter-cultural social capital produced in one arena can be used to increase cooperation in disaster
preparedness. At the same time, disaster preparedness activities can be used as a foundation to strengthen
and build bridges between cultures. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UBC/oai:circle.library.ubc.ca:2429/10354 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Bhopalsingh, Lisa Ann |
| Source Sets | University of British Columbia |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis/Dissertation |
| Format | 9063231 bytes, application/pdf |
| Rights | For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use. |
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