Addressing the legacy of past mining in the garden river first nation community: Perspectives and pathways to improve community engagement

Abstract

The negative effects of resource extraction have disproportionately affected Indigenous people in Canada. There is an ongoing legacy of environmental damage and infringements of treaty and title rights among Indigenous Nations such as the Garden River Nation, that the government must address. A community engagement project between Natural Resources Canada and the Garden River First Nation community was carried out to gather information about the legacy of past mining activities in this Nation. Thematic categories were collaboratively and manually pulled from the community engagement transcripts to explore the effects of mining on the livelihoods of the people of the Garden River First Nation. The discussion results showed social and environmental concerns about resource extraction, and the community calls for action to be taken to restore abandoned mines that continue to leave a negative legacy for the People, land, and other inhabitants of Garden River. The community also urge the government and industry to make a concentrated effort to understand Indigenous worldviews, perspectives, and philosophies when conducting work that could have adverse impacts on the Indigenous Nations who call the territory home. Recommendations were made for capacity building for Indigenous people to adequately participate in project negotiations.