According to Professor Anne Johnson, mining has often clashed with Indigenous interests—she wants to change this sentiment.
Although Johnson is an assistant professor in the Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining, she identifies more as a social scientist than an engineer. Her focus lies in intercultural communications and conflict resolution, particularly concerning Indigenous communities. While mining is a central area of her research, her ion extends to understanding the underlying factors leading to conflicts between mining groups and local communities.
“We often enter post-colonial environments where there’s already pre-existing stress on communities. There may be ethnic tensions, tensions left from civil wars, unrest, and really extreme differences between the power of the dominant culture and the marginalized groups,” Johnson said in an interview with The Journal.
Tensions in the past have been heightened by a lack of curiosity in asking what she considers important questions before engaging with Indigenous communities. She said historically, Canadian mining companies have rarely considered preexisting conflicts, human rights risks, or other situational factors.
“[These] communities have very little political power, and so they’re very often just disregarded when it comes to giving companies the rights to mine,” Johnson said.
Johnson explained efforts from the of the Mining Association of Canada, an advisory body to the Government of Canada, have pushed Canada into a direction that’s more concerned with the needs of Indigenous people.
Despite positive changes around the mindsets of how communication is done, Johnson argued there can still be negative health outcomes for Indigenous communities living near mining operations, with rock that’s pulled from the ground contaminating water sources as one example.
“Piles of waste rock means that if rain falls on that rock, deleterious chemicals that are embedded within the rock can be leached out by the rain and then get into groundwater. This is why Indigenous peoples are very concerned about mining because water is not just something we rely on for life, it’s also sacred in many indigenous cultures,” Johnson said.
There are some examples of both positive and negative mining effects on current-day Indigenous communities. Johnson pointed out Tahltan Territory as one positive example of a mining operation that achieved its success by establishing “its review process and engagement protocols,” which were in line with Indigenous communities.
As for negative effects, Johnson pointed out leftover issues in certain communities remain, with abandoned mines sitting in Indigenous territory that were established before there was consultation with Indigenous groups, pointing out the Giant Mine in Yellowknife as one example.
As for the efforts Queen’s makes in this area, Johnson outlined the opportunity for students to take a graduate diploma in Social Performance Management in the Extractive Industries (SPMEI).
SPMEI include four courses, an overview of mining for those who have no previous knowledge, the social implications of large mining projects, a course on mining projects and Indigenous culture, and a course looking at community development and how to build strong communities.
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Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining
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