A culturally appropriate approach to civic engagement: Addressing forestry and cumulative social impacts in southwest Yukon

Abstract

This article reports on an experimental civic engagement approach to link community observed cumulative effects of numerous local events and periods of resource development to indicators for sustainable forest and land management for the future. We describe a process where the interview findings with 28 key aboriginal and non-aboriginal informants in the Champagne Aishihik First Nations' (CAFN) Traditional Territory were summarized into key themes by researchers in a community workshop to elicit a selection of social indicators for future cumulative effects assessments. These responses were visions for the future based on a great deal of experiential learning that interviewees identified-part and parcel of any betterment to the community as new developments unfold. Themes such as "social healing" were further broken into indicators such as "community support systems" and then further broken into local measures, such as "the presence of, and access to, a youth centre, youth programs, and youth centres". The local historical approach to cumulative effects assessment helps us not only understand more about forestry, but more about the broader connections between community members and leaders, forestry and other resource developments, and lessons people have learned from the past and visions for the future.Key words: civic engagement, cumulative social impacts, social indicators, sustainable forest management, Northern Canada RÉSUMÉ Cet article fait état d'une approche expérimentale d' engagement civique servant à relier les effets cumulatifs observés dans une communauté suite à plusieurs événements locaux et survenus lors de périodes de développement des ressources aux futurs indicateurs de durabilité des forêts et de gestion du territoire. Nous décrivons un processus par lequel les résultats tirés des entrevues de 28 personnes ressources tant autochtones que non autochtones résidant sur le territoire traditionnel de la Première Nation Champagne Aishihik ont été résumés selon des thèmes dominants par les chercheurs lors d'une session de travail au sein de la communauté afin d'initier une sélection des indicateurs sociaux d' évaluation des effets cumulatifs à venir. Ces réponses constituaient des visions de l'avenir reposant en grande partie sur l'apprentissage par action que les interviewés ont identifié -élément et ensemble de toute amélioration apportée à la communauté lors de l'implantation des nouveaux développements. Les thèmes comme « la guérison sociale » ont été par la suite subdivisés selon des indicateurs comme « les systèmes d'aide communautaire » et encore subdivisés selon des mesures locales comme « la présence, l'accessibilité à un centre pour jeunes, programmes pour adolescents et centres pour jeunes ». L'approche locale de l' évaluation des effets cumulatifs nous a aidés non seulement à mieux comprendre la foresterie, mais également les relations générales entre les membres d'une communauté et leurs leaders, entre la foresterie et le développement d'autres ressources, ainsi que les leçons qu...

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