Environmental Reviews and Case Studies: Doing Credible Cultural Assessment: Applied Social Science

McCormack, Patricia A.

doi:10.1017/s1466046616000259

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The simultaneous inclusion and dismissal of Indigenous knowledge and claims is not a surprising finding given critiques of how Indigenous knowledge is extracted and also dismissed and suppressed in regulatory processes, western science, and the modern state (Cameron, ; Cruikshank, ; Hoogeveen, ; Song & M'Gonigle, ; Tester & Irniq, ). Specific to EA, scholars have highlighted the poor quality of expert assessment of social and cultural impacts for Indigenous people in EA (McCormack, ), and the fatigue that arises for Indigenous participants in an “extractive” consultation and assessment process seemingly designed to as quickly as possible secure consent or at least to create the semblance of legitimacy (Baker & Westman, ; Dokis, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extirpation despite regulation? Environmental assessment and caribou

Collard

Dempsey

Holmberg

2020

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Many caribou populations in Canada face extirpation despite dozens of provincial and federal legislative instruments designed to protect them. How are industrial developments that impact caribou justified and permitted despite governments' commitments to caribou protection? Toward an answer, this paper scrutinizes an approval process for major projects in Canada: environmental assessment (EA). We identify 65 EAs for major projects with potentially significant adverse impacts for caribou—all projects but one were approved. The results show that most projects were approved on the basis of proposed mitigation measures that promise to render adverse effects “insignificant”; yet mitigation effectiveness is largely unknown. Further, several projects were approved even though mitigation measures were insufficient, citing public or national interest. Finally, some projects' approval rested in part on scientific claims that the project area is already degraded or absent of caribou. Based on these findings, EA is failing caribou, acting as a means by which the state licenses major developments with potentially significant adverse effects for caribou, with a pretense of protection. The failure stems in part from a broader tension within the state that manifests in EA: a tension between the state's roles promoting economic growth and protecting against this growth's negative effects. Recognition of this tension needs to be more central to conservation biology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extirpation despite regulation? Environmental assessment and caribou

Collard

Dempsey

Holmberg

2020

Conservat Sci and Prac

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“…If engineers knew how to engage with Indigenous Peoples and their ways of knowing and doing, would they incorporate this in professional practice? The engineering profession is demonstrated to lack cultural knowledge of what it means to co-exist in equitable and ethical space with Indigenous Peoples in engineering-related projects [20][21] [22]. McCormack (2016) explains how oil and gas industry representatives, including engineers, engaged with Indigenous communities failed to exchange helpful information because of their lack of knowledge about traditional land use and Indigenous culture in northern Canada [20].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The engineering profession is demonstrated to lack cultural knowledge of what it means to co-exist in equitable and ethical space with Indigenous Peoples in engineering-related projects [20][21] [22]. McCormack (2016) explains how oil and gas industry representatives, including engineers, engaged with Indigenous communities failed to exchange helpful information because of their lack of knowledge about traditional land use and Indigenous culture in northern Canada [20]. Johnson (2020) recognizes that mining engineering students need to understand intercultural competencies that are "shifting towards epistemic openness" to move towards decolonization [22].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One Settler Student’s Story on Incorporating Indigenous Knowledges in Engineering Curricula

Thomsen

Cicek

Mante

et al. 2021

PCEEA

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The University of Manitoba Price Faculty of Engineering is actively working on initiatives to increaseIndigenous representation and ideology in engineering education. The initiatives aim to create ethical and equitable space for Indigenous Peoples, so their knowledges and perspectives are visible and valued in the Price Faculty of Engineering community. An Elder-in- Resident presented to an engineering ethics class the realities Indigenous communities face and how to work with Indigenous Peoples at the intersection of engineering projects such as oil and gas, hydroelectricity, andcommunity infrastructure. This study uses the threedimensional space narrative methodology and boundarycrossing theory to realize the impact on students’ learning. The student’s perspective negotiated and represented in this study acts as an artifact of boundary crossing and provides insight into the exchange of cross-cultural knowledge. Findings reveal a distinction between relationship and knowledge, where knowledge exchange is dependent on the relationship between people. Key factors contributing to a relationship include identifying each other’s historical backgrounds; situational contexts, and values, which require active listening; genuine curiosity; empathy; and time. The research presented in this paper is part of a more extensive case study exploring the impact onstudents’ learning when integrating Indigenous knowledges and perspectives into engineering education and is approved by the University of Manitoba’s Research Ethics Board.

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“…Yet in a very real sense these pages are the purpose and the final destination of the living consultation processes we describe above. Significantly, in spite of the consistency and power of participants' rejections, and the poor quality of the assessments (Gosselin 2010, Westman 2012, Crowley 2016, McCormack 2016, all of the projects in question were approved by regulators.…”

Section: "Adequate Support Is Lacking:" Eia Projections As Consultati...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Significantly, very few practitioners in traditional land use EIA studies conducted for the oil sands proponents have advanced degrees in social sciences. Furthermore, the authors of these studies -even the few with social scientific training -do not demonstrate mastery of scholarly literature in regional ethnology, history, relevant languages and sociolinguistic dynamics, or even social impact assessment methods (Wyatt et al, 2010:28-29, Gibson et al, 2011, Westman, 2013, McCormack, 2016. Indeed, such highly relevant and topical literature is rarely cited by the so-called expert practitioners.…”

Section: "Adequate Support Is Lacking:" Eia Projections As Consultati...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Extracting knowledge: Social science, environmental impact assessment, and Indigenous consultation in the oil sands of Alberta, Canada

Baker

Westman

2018

The Extractive Industries and Society

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Environmental Reviews and Case Studies: Doing Credible Cultural Assessment: Applied Social Science

Cited by 11 publications

References 32 publications

Extirpation despite regulation? Environmental assessment and caribou

Extirpation despite regulation? Environmental assessment and caribou

One Settler Student’s Story on Incorporating Indigenous Knowledges in Engineering Curricula

Extracting knowledge: Social science, environmental impact assessment, and Indigenous consultation in the oil sands of Alberta, Canada

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