Social capital and drought‐migrant integration in 1930s Saskatchewan

Abstract

This study examines the role played by social capital in the migration of rural households from drought‐stricken areas of southern Saskatchewan to the Aspen Parkland during the 1930s. During a period of extremely difficult economic and environmental conditions rural households relied heavily on social networks, and the capital generated within them, to identify and select potential migration destinations, and to integrate into a destination region very different in agro‐ecological terms than the source areas. By combining archival and secondary data and findings from in‐depth interviews with migration participants, an enhanced understanding was obtained of the relationship between social capital, migration, and adaptation processes during Depression‐era droughts. This case study, and the insights derived from it, is a useful historical analogue from which to improve our understanding of future adaptation and migration responses to anthropogenic climate change under similar socio‐economic and geographical conditions.

The Mental Health Outcomes of Drought: A Systematic Review and Causal Process Diagram

“…These losses can lead to financial constraints and unemployment, as well as issues associated with food availability and access [ 24 , 61 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 ]. Migration away from the drought prone area, often in search of better employment opportunities, is a related outcome [ 56 , 60 , 64 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 ]. Figure 2 highlights the direct economic effects of drought.…”

“…Migration away from drought-stricken communities with depressed economies can lead to a reduction in community resources, services, and support systems [ 45 , 52 , 54 , 56 , 61 , 70 , 76 , 88 ]. Altered family and community structures coupled with social and geographical isolation can also be issues for those who emigrate and those left behind, and may lead to symptoms of anxiety and depression [ 50 , 53 , 58 , 67 , 72 ]. Poor reception of immigrants by receiving communities has been observed [ 73 , 89 , 90 , 91 ].…”

The Static and Dynamic Effects of Capital Factors on the Social Adaptation of Chinese Migrant Workers

“…Physical capital is the basic condition for social adaptation. Social capital helps aid migrants' decision-making and integration into a new community (Laforge and Mcleman, 2014). It determines whether migrant workers can integrate into and settle into cities, as this integration forms the basis for peasant workers' social adaptation.…”

“…Human capital has a positive effect on social adaptation, as more educated households are more mobile and more selective in their migration choices (Fu and Gabriel, 2012). Social capital helps aid migrants' decision-making and integration into a new community (Laforge and Mcleman, 2014). In addition, social capital can facilitate adaption to a new culture (Du et al, 2014).…”

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“…For example, one of the four papers in this category (Gober & Wheater, 2014) discussed the pressures on the Saskatchewan River Basin, based upon Sivapalan et al (2012) belief of the coupled coevolution of water and humans, where "it is not possible to predict water cycle dynamics over decadal or longer time periods without considering interactions and feedbacks among natural and human components of the water system" (Gober & Wheater, 2014, p. 1419. Laforge and McLeman (2013), another of these four papers, discussed the coevolution of Saskatchewan and freshwater, through the role drought played in shaping and limiting the migration of people, and the impact of freshwater at the household level. Publications in this level offered a framing of EFWE where natural systems and societal systems-including politics, economics, spirituality, and power relations-were recognized as deeply interdependent and inseparable.…”