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    Canadian Political Science Association
    2020 Annual Conference Programme

    Confronting Political Divides
    Hosted at Western University
    Tuesday, June 2 to Thursday, June 4, 2020
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    Presidential Address:
    Barbara Arneil, CPSA President

    Origins:
    Colonies and Statistics

    Location:
    Tuesday, June 2, 2020 | 05:00pm to 06:00pm
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    KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
    Ayelet Shachar
    The Shifting Border:
    Legal Cartographies of Migration
    and Mobility

    Location:
    June 04, 2020 | 01:30 to 03:00 pm
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    Keynote Speaker: Marc Hetherington
    Why Modern Elections
    Feel Like a Matter of
    Life and Death

    Location:
    Wednesday, June 3, 2020 | 03:45pm to 05:15pm
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    Plenary Panel
    Indigenous Politics and
    the Problem of Canadian
    Political Science

    Location: Arts & Humanities Building - AHB 1R40
    Tuesday, June 2, 2020 | 10:30am to 12:00pm

Race, Ethnicity, Indigenous Peoples and Politics



L12(b) - Exploring the Practices and Politics of Traditional Indigenous Knowledge

Date: Jun 3 | Time: 02:00pm to 03:30pm | Location:

Chair/Président/Présidente : Kelsey Leonard (McMaster University)

'Everything is changing right in front of our eyes’ – Arctic First Nations and the Frontlines of Climate Change: Gabrielle Slowey (York University)
Abstract: In May 2019 the most northern and remote community of Old Crow, located high in the Canadian Arctic, in the Yukon territory, officially declared a state of emergency, signalling the effects of climate change in the North are not only present but in fact a cultural and political imperative. According to Vuntut Gwitchin Chief Dana Tizya-Tramm, the declaration can be used to empower citizens and could lay the groundwork for an accord with Indigenous nations around the world. On the subject of climate change, Chief Tizya-Tramm explains: “It’s happening now, and we are at the frontlines of this. It’s coming for all of Canada and all of the Arctic, and we have a very real stake in the international community and our voices need to be heard, that this is not just an inconvenience to your bottom-line, to economies. This is a climate crisis.” So are their voices being heard? How are self-governing First Nations using their political powers to protect their cultural ways of life? Drawing on this rich and timely case study, this paper will explore the ways in which this climate crisis state of emergency is putting pressure on governments around the world that are not sufficiently responsive to the dire circumstances already being experienced and the ways in which Indigenous communities and governments are leading the charge. It will consider the ways in which Arctic communities are also at the forefront of important political and policy change when it comes to global climate change action.


Indigenous Knowledge for Environmental Protection and Climate Change Adaptation in Africa: Towards Decolinizing Climate Science: Geoffrey Nwaka (Abia State University)
Abstract: Global inequalities today derive largely from the unequal power relations in the way knowledge about development has historically been produced and applied. Africa contributes least to but suffers the most from the disastrous consequences of climate change”. This paper argues that Africa should search within its own knowledge systems for appropriate ideas and approaches to many of its development challenges, and that indigenous knowledge may prove to be “the single largest knowledge resource not yet mobilized in the development enterprise”. Although poverty may sometimes force people to use resources unsustainably, most traditional African societies have deeply entrenched ideas about environmental protection and sustainability because their livelihood depends largely on the land and on the stability of the ecosystem. They believe that land and other forms of nature are sacred, and are held in trust by the present day users on behalf of dead ancestors and future generations. Chief Nana Ofori Attah of Ghana once told a colonial official that ‘land belongs to a large family of which many are dead, a few are living, and countless hosts are yet unborn”. These local communities have over the years developed intricate systems of forecasting weather systems in order to prevent and mitigate natural disasters. The paper recognizes that the unprecedented scale of climate change today may have undermined the reliability of many traditional indicators for predicting the pattern of climate variability, and techniques for preventing and adapting to climate induced natural disasters. There is therefore a need for those who hold and use traditional knowledge to partner with scientists and practitioners in order to co-produce updated knowledge for better climate risk management. This way, the traditional and modern knowledge systems will complement and enrich each other. Development agents, researchers and donors should therefore try to tap into the vital resource of indigenous knowledge for locally appropriate ways to ensure environmental protection, climate resilience and sustainable development.


The Use of Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit in Policies Deabte in the Legistlative Assembly of Nunavut: Alex Norman (University of Leeds)
Abstract: The territory of Nunavut is the only sub division in the Canadian confederation that is populated in majority by Inuit. Created in 1999, the territory functions politically through a consensus based system based on Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit which can be translated as “that which has been long know by Inuit” (White, 2006, p. 17). One of the most noticeable impact of the integration of Inuit values within the territory’s legislative assembly is the absence of territorial parties. It also allows that within the debating chamber a more consensual approach on issues is being practices. Those debates distinguished themselves not only by not being trapped between political parties, but also how members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) uses IQ in advancing their argument. As the integration of IQ in the policy framework of the territory across different areas is one of Nunavut government’s cornerstones; it seems that it is normal of debating this concept. This paper argues that MLAs discuss policies in relation to Inuit societal values as a way of legitimising their stance and discourse. Using discourse analysis of the first 20 years of the assembly’s Hansard, it will set to map out how IQ is used by MLAs and whether there is an evolution either through times or through different policy area.


Introducing the PILAC Innovative Model: To What Degree has Traditional and Local Knowledge Been Incorporated into the Arctic Council’s Work?: Evgeniia Sidorova (University of Calgary)
Abstract: By signing the Arctic Council’s Ottawa Declaration in 1996, the Arctic states recognized that “traditional knowledge of the indigenous people of the Arctic and their communities and took note of the importance and that of Arctic science and research to the collective understanding of the circumpolar Arctic.” Many AC reports claim that they utilized traditional and local knowledge (TLK) in their work. Yet, after 25 years of research on TLK in the Arctic Council, the question still remains: How to evaluate to what degree has TLK been incorporated into the AC reports and assessments? This paper suggests the innovative model of evaluation scale called PILAC, which uses five indicators to assess whether TLK has been meaningfully incorporated into Western science and decision making. Using the PILAC scale (Participation-Indigenous methods-Localized nature-Application to policy-Cross-cultural expertise), the study evaluated more than 40 reports released by the Arctic Council. The study concluded that: 1) there are “ups” and “downs” in the process of TLK incorporation in the Arctic Council; 2) Permanent Participants were more successful in incorporating TLK; 3) most AC reports are “lip service,” they failed to incorporate TEK.




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