Authors: Lars Huemer; Morten Abrahamsen
Many First Nations along the Canadian west coast have relied on seafood and the catch of wild salmon to sustain their communities. Salmon farming is an industrial alternative to the traditional way of living, but this is not an obvious choice for First Nations. Firstly, doing business with corporations can be challenging for indigenous peoples. Secondly, opposition against salmon farming is strong in British Columbia: critical voices from First Nation communities and external stakeholders alike have been common over years. This study focuses on two First Nations and their formal agreements with two salmon farmers. Ahousaht have worked with the global farming giant Cermaq for a number of years. Tla-o-qui-aht has a more recent agreement with Creative Salmon, a local and small farmer. The study acknowledges that relationships between corporations and indigenous peoples are often troublesome. Conflict is common and their interactions are competitive regarding goals, the use of resources, and distribution of benefits. Indeed, the meeting between corporations and indigenous peoples concerns questions of how to make a living, how to make living itself meaningful, and may even challenge the conditions under which one makes a living. An Ahousaht member stressed that “the West” and its corporations usually miss that “everything is one People and Ocean.” This emphasis, stressed by both Ahousaht and Tla-o-qui-aht, relates to resource development in truly fundamental ways, including the development of identity and knowledge. Consequently, a relevant theme is how First Nations and corporations influence one another when they enter into partnership agreements or alliances. Specifically, this study asks how First Nations perceive salmon farming and their relationships with commercial fish farmers
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Publish Year: 2016
Conference: Cape Town (2016)