Saturday, December 29, 2007
The Vancouver Sun publishes today a long and immensely sad portrait of suicide and other social problems in Hazelton, British Columbia. The article’s subtitle summarizes adequately the suicide problem facing the community: “Eight suicides and 111 attempts this year have left a B.C. community reeling.” Speculative answers for the suicide epidemic are given: downturn in [...]
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
The Tahltan of northwestern BC are not the only people making decisions and facing challenges about resource extraction and traditional sustenance cultures. Karl Vick details in the Washington Post (or here) plans for a massive mining development, The Pebble Mine, in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The issues sound eerily familiar: The mining companies count on … [...]
Friday, December 21, 2007
Dogwood Initiative details the latest round in the efforts of Shell to rebuild a road into the Klappan and the efforts of the Klabona Keepers’ to use all means possible to protect Tahltan cultural resources. The BC Heritage Conservation Act — and the provision that archaeological sites are protected as long as they are older [...]
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Charles Menzies (Forests & Oceans for the Future; UBC Anthropology Dept) posts his research proposal for an ethnographic investigation of the social construction of place at the UBC Golf Course. His focus is on how non-natives construct their attachment to the Golf Course and Pacific Spirit Park. The golf course is the site of a [...]
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
The Whale Hunt presents Jonathan Harris’ experience among Inuipiat Eskimos of Barrow Alaska in stunning photography and a unique, narrative-driven interface. From Harris’ statement: The purpose of this project was threefold: First, to experiment with a new interface for human storytelling. The photographs are presented in a framework that tells the moment-to-moment story of the [...]
Saturday, December 15, 2007
Justine Hunter reports in the Globe and Mail that the BC and Federal governments have filed appeals of the recent Tsilhqot’in land claims case. It is unclear at this time if the appeal will go ahead or if, rather, the appeals are filed simply because there is a time limit on doing so. Sphere: Related [...]
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Word today from the Klabona Keepers announcing that a temporary injunction has been issued in BC Supreme Court against Shell. This prevents Shell from rebuilding the road into the Klappan where they wish to continue exploring for coal bed methane. Notably, the injunction was issued on the assertion that BC’s Heritage Conservation Act — which [...]
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
After I posted on the ten year anniversary of the Delgamuukw decision, I became aware of articles in the Osgoode Law School (York University) online journal/blog by lawyers involved in the case. The articles are: 1) The Anniversary of Delgamuukw v. The Queen: Two Legacies by Peter R. Grant. Grant was the lead counsel for [...]
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The Supreme Court of Canada is hearing arguments today in a case of illegal fishing on the Fraser River. Sometimes referred to as the Kapp Case, the Court is expected to rule on the legality of aboriginal-only commercial fishing openings. From CTVNews.ca: At issue is whether the government has the authority to issue early fishing [...]
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The Supreme Court of Canada issued its ruling in Delgamuukw v. British Columbia on December 11, 1997. The National Centre for First Nations Governance reminds us of the significance of the decision: The courts have defined the duty to consult and accommodate. This means that First Nations must be meaningfully engaged at the highest strategic [...]
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