Research as Reciprocity: Northern Cree Community-Based and Community-Engaged Research on Wild Food Contamination in Alberta’s Oil Sands Region

Abstract

In this paper I suggest that it is possible to participate in research as an act of reciprocity; when a community asks a researcher for help on a specific topic, the application of that researcher’s skills can be one of the ways they show appreciation for being welcomed into a place. I also argue that a researcher needs to be sensitive to, and participate in, systems of respect and reciprocity belonging to the people, ancestors, and sentient landscape of the place they are doing research. I critique the extraction of traditional knowledge in the traditional land use consultation industry in Alberta, Canada that is used in place of the Federal Government’s duty to consult First Nations regarding their Treaty rights. As an alternative to traditional land use assessments I provide a description of the methods used in projects that test Fort McKay First Nation and Bigstone Cree First Nation’s wild foods for contaminants resulting from oil sands activities in northern Alberta’s Treaty No. 8 region.

A State‐of‐the‐Art Review of Indigenous Peoples and Environmental Pollution

“…There are indirect health impacts of pollution through IPs' food systems. For example, pollution can result in fear of consuming traditional wild foods (Turner and Turner 2008; Baker 2017), and the decline in game availability due to pollution can foster increased reliance on nutrient‐poor and expensive market foods, often increasing the risk of malnutrition and chronic diseases (Young et al 1992; Howard et al 1999). For example, some IPs in British Columbia (Canada) have stopped gathering seaweeds in large amounts due to fears about marine pollution (Turner and Turner 2008; Turner and Clifton 2009).…”

Essential components and pathways for developing Indigenous community‐based monitoring: Examples from the Canadian oil sands region

“…Indigenous communities living in the OSR have their own culturally relevant way of observing the effects (response) of emissions on the land because they have long-standing IK that allows knowledge holders to recognize change (Foster et al, 2019). In 2010, Elders of the FMFN began noting changes in the quality and quantity of berries in traditional patches and approached the WBEA with their concerns (Baker, 2016(Baker, , 2020Foster et al, 2019). The Berry Harvesting project was consequently formed to explore contamination concerns (Oil Sands Monitoring Program, 2019).…”

Citizen science and social movements: A case of participatory monitoring of genetically modified crops in Japan

“…It is in this context that CS – participatory data taking by non-professionals – is important for social change. For instance, community members have documented contamination from oil sands development (Baker, 2016), have collected epidemiological/environmental data on breast cancer (Brown, 1992; Brown et al, 2006), and obtained data on oil spills (Simon-Friedt et al, 2016; Wickliffe et al, 2018; Wilson et al, 2015).…”