Papers by Ryan Bowie
IAGLR Lakes Letter, 2021
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES have distinct cultural, spiritual, and economic relations with the Great Lakes... more INDIGENOUS PEOPLES have distinct cultural, spiritual, and economic relations with the Great Lakes and hold responsibilities to take care of the water. This relationship predates the arrival of settlers and is upheld in treaties, such as the Dish with One Spoon and the Treaty of Niagara. Indigenous Knowledge of the Great Lakes and surrounding regions both supports and is produced by this relationship, and is rooted in specific cultural and political contexts (e.g., Anishinabek Knowledge, Onkwehonwe Knowledge, Omushkegowuk Knowledge).
Behavioural Insights for Living within the Earth's Carrying Capacity: An Interdisciplinary Review of the Scholarly Literature
Applications of behavioural insights (BI) are increasingly being used in social and economic cont... more Applications of behavioural insights (BI) are increasingly being used in social and economic contexts by both public and private actors, and particularly in highly developed countries like Canada. These applications aim to use an understanding of human decision-making informed by key findings in behavioural science in recent decades, one that challenges conventional assumptions about rationality. BI applications are based on systematic and predictable errors in individual decision-making, the biases and shortcuts individuals use routinely. Proponents of BI foreground their low cost of implementation and their ability to produce benefits without regulation or incentives, preserving individual choice. In the last decade, numerous governments have established dedicated units to further pilot and implement BI in public policy, including the UK and Canada.<br><br>Our Synthesis Paper assesses the underlying scholarship of BI, by examining the research testing its significance ...
Reconciliation and Indigenous resurgence in the Ontario Far North and Mushkegowuk Cree land use planning processes
Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space, 2021
The introduction of Ontario’s Far North Initiative in 2008 and resulting Far North Act (2010) set... more The introduction of Ontario’s Far North Initiative in 2008 and resulting Far North Act (2010) set in motion efforts to create land use plans in the northern regions of the Canadian province. Ontario’s approach to reconciling Aboriginal and treaty rights with provincial planning was through a community-based land use planning process, to which Mushkegowuk Council responded with a regional process based on the Omushkegowuk nation. The paper argues that the goals and approach of Mushkegowuk Council were reflective of indigenous resurgence principles, to which Ontario’s community-based planning objectives were a significant obstacle. The paper will closely examine the challenges Mushkegowuk Council faced in their attempt to assert an alternative to Ontario’s Far North planning, and the implications for Mushkegowuk Council and other indigenous communities and organizations involved in land use planning. The paper will conclude with a discussion of how the case study exemplifies the broader difficulties of achieving indigenous driven planning as resurgence necessarily confronts the institutions and ambitions of Settler governments.
Indigenous Self-Governance and the Deployment of Knowledge in Collaborative Environmental Management in Canada
Journal of Canadian Studies, 47(1), 2013
This paper examines the rebuilding and revitalizing of self-governance capacities in Indigenous c... more This paper examines the rebuilding and revitalizing of self-governance capacities in Indigenous communities, and how this is impacting their efficacy in resource management. The origins and experiences in Canada of integrating Indigenous peoples and knowledge into institutionalized resource management are discussed, and the paper will posit necessary conditions for full and effective participation in environmental management, arguing why effective self-governance is vital to moving forward on these conditions. Two collaborative processes led by Indigenous peoples will be highlighted as they demonstrate the importance of self-governance initiatives for participation in environmental management processes: the Whitefeather Forest Initiative led by Pikangikum First Nation in northern Ontario; and the Turning Point Initiative led by the Haida in British Columbia.
Conference Presentations by Ryan Bowie
A Shared Vision? Planning the Future Development of Indigenous Homelands in the Far North of Ontario
The Far North of Ontario is regularly characterized as a vast, remote, and pristine wilderness wi... more The Far North of Ontario is regularly characterized as a vast, remote, and pristine wilderness with enormous resource potential. Conversely, it is home to Ojibway, Oji-Cree and Cree peoples, in which their spiritual, material, and ancestral relations are embedded. Thus, in the Far North of Ontario the homeland versus frontier debate highlighted by the Berger Commission Report in 1977 is revisited. But unlike in the Mackenzie Valley, where Berger urged the settling of land disputes through comprehensive land claims, northern Ontario is governed by historic treaties. These treaties, such as Treaty 9 which covers much of the Far North, have been narrowly interpreted by provincial governments who continue to assert full authority over Crown lands. Community based land use planning legislated by the Far North Act arguably sets out to change unilateral provincial decision making, to implementing a shared vision for lands and resources with northern First Nations. But can Ontario’s economic development and conservation goals be compatible with Indigenous visions for their homelands? This paper examines how the future course of development is being planned for in the Far North by focusing on the Ring of Fire, and highlighting challenges to realizing a shared vision for future development between Ontario and First Nations in the Far North.
Mushkegowuk Land Use Planning: Shifting from State Directed to Self-Driven Initiatives in the Far North of Ontario
This paper will examine the conflict between provincial and Indigenous land use planning approach... more This paper will examine the conflict between provincial and Indigenous land use planning approaches in northern Ontario involving the traditional territories of the Mushkegowuk Cree. Specifically, how Indigenous rights are understood and put into practice through the Mushkegowuk Regional Land Use Planning Initiative will be examined. This initiative directly challenges, or attempts to expand, the conception of rights reconciliation imposed by the Ontario government. With the passing of the Far North Act (2010), enduring problems with Ontario’s approach to recognizing and reconciling Indigenous or Aboriginal rights in its northern land planning policies are repeated. The paper makes the argument that the Mushkegowuk Land Use Planning Initiative is representative of a shift in Indigenous rights praxis. One of the features of this shift is Indigenous driven environmental governance and management initiatives. These initiatives aim to provide more robust foundations for realizing community goals than can be achieved solely through participating in state institutional processes. Thus, this shift is necessary to counter weaknesses in federal and provincial frameworks for addressing land-based Aboriginal and treaty rights in Canada.
Theorizing a Resurgent Rights Praxis in Environmental Management by Indigenous Communities in Canada
This paper will explore the concept of Indigenous resurgence to develop a theoretical framework f... more This paper will explore the concept of Indigenous resurgence to develop a theoretical framework for examining Indigenous environmental governance and management initiatives in Canada. A growing number of Indigenist scholars and activists advocate for the resurgence of Indigenous nations based on cultural traditions and their inherent right of self-determination. Resurgence is premised on a strong awareness and critique of ongoing colonial relations, as well as the articulation of alternatives that are rooted in the traditions of Indigenous communities. A significant argument emerging from the resurgence literature relates to the problem of state-centric approaches to reconciling Indigenous rights. Reconciling Indigenous rights in Canada through recognition and inclusion in state institutions still maintains the colonial relationship in which Indigenous rights and practices are reconciled, or made congruent, with the institutions of the broader Canadian polity. The resurgence model shifts the praxis of rights from reconciliation within the largely unchanged institutional structure of the state, to self-driven initiatives that find their logic and authority from within Indigenous nations themselves. Thus, rather than transforming Indigenous communities, the resurgence model aims to transform colonial relations by reasserting continuity with cultural and political traditions. It is the argument of this paper that the theoretical framework of Indigenous resurgence is necessary for both a critique of federal and provincial approaches to the question of Indigenous rights in lands and resource management, and an understanding of environmental management initiatives by Indigenous communities in Canada.
Thesis Chapters by Ryan Bowie
This research examines the conflict between provincial and Indigenous land use planning approache... more This research examines the conflict between provincial and Indigenous land use planning approaches in northern Ontario that involve the traditional territories of the Mushkegowuk Cree. Specifically, I examine how the politics of resurgence were evident in the Mushkegowuk Regional Land Use Planning initiative (2008-2015) in ways that challenged or broadened the conception of rights reconciliation envisioned in the Ontario government’s Far North Act (2010). Significant tensions often exist between the goals of state directed environmental governance and management initiatives, and the needs and aspirations of Indigenous communities. Therefore, Indigenous communities in some instances have unilaterally developed their own initiatives, shifting the praxis of rights from participation in the institutions of the state, towards autonomous nation-building exercises. The Mushkegowuk Land Use Planning initiative is representative of this shift in rights praxis where Indigenous driven environmental governance and management processes potentially provide for more robust foundations to realize community goals, and for negotiating with state governments and other interests.
The dissertation explores how a politics of resurgence might transcend the sphere of culture to support self-determination in the governance and management of Indigenous homelands. It does so by first developing a theory of resurgent rights praxis by examining Indigenist thinking on the subjects of self-determination and cultural resurgence. Second, the institutional development of land use planning in northern Ontario is tracked, with specific attention to the Far North Initiative and development of the Far North Act. Third, the Mushkegowuk Regional Land Use Planning initiative is examined, focusing on the process captured by documentation and meeting minutes. Lastly, interviews with several people involved with planning at the Mushkegowuk Council and First Nations’ community levels are analyzed to interrogate the goals, the role of cultural and political traditions in planning, and how Omushkego relationships with their lands are defined and made relevant to land use planning in the Mushkegowuk initiative.
The study reveals how the politics of resurgence characterized the approach and goals for Mushkegowuk planning. However, Ontario was instead determined to reconcile Indigenous rights under its Far North Community Based Planning. The Ontario government’s breaking from a partnership approach with First Nations in crafting the Far North Act, and intrusive control of the funding and the process for regional planning, served to undermine Mushkegowuk Council’s nation building aspirations. The involvement of the province at early stages of regional planning also made it difficult to conceptually root LUP in Omushkegowuk traditions, and to be clear about their vision for land governance, planning process, and expectations. Given the challenges, Mushkegowuk Council was not able to meet its goal of a complete regional land use plan during the time of the case study, and fell short of the goal of reconfiguring relations with the province.
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Papers by Ryan Bowie
Conference Presentations by Ryan Bowie
Thesis Chapters by Ryan Bowie
The dissertation explores how a politics of resurgence might transcend the sphere of culture to support self-determination in the governance and management of Indigenous homelands. It does so by first developing a theory of resurgent rights praxis by examining Indigenist thinking on the subjects of self-determination and cultural resurgence. Second, the institutional development of land use planning in northern Ontario is tracked, with specific attention to the Far North Initiative and development of the Far North Act. Third, the Mushkegowuk Regional Land Use Planning initiative is examined, focusing on the process captured by documentation and meeting minutes. Lastly, interviews with several people involved with planning at the Mushkegowuk Council and First Nations’ community levels are analyzed to interrogate the goals, the role of cultural and political traditions in planning, and how Omushkego relationships with their lands are defined and made relevant to land use planning in the Mushkegowuk initiative.
The study reveals how the politics of resurgence characterized the approach and goals for Mushkegowuk planning. However, Ontario was instead determined to reconcile Indigenous rights under its Far North Community Based Planning. The Ontario government’s breaking from a partnership approach with First Nations in crafting the Far North Act, and intrusive control of the funding and the process for regional planning, served to undermine Mushkegowuk Council’s nation building aspirations. The involvement of the province at early stages of regional planning also made it difficult to conceptually root LUP in Omushkegowuk traditions, and to be clear about their vision for land governance, planning process, and expectations. Given the challenges, Mushkegowuk Council was not able to meet its goal of a complete regional land use plan during the time of the case study, and fell short of the goal of reconfiguring relations with the province.
The dissertation explores how a politics of resurgence might transcend the sphere of culture to support self-determination in the governance and management of Indigenous homelands. It does so by first developing a theory of resurgent rights praxis by examining Indigenist thinking on the subjects of self-determination and cultural resurgence. Second, the institutional development of land use planning in northern Ontario is tracked, with specific attention to the Far North Initiative and development of the Far North Act. Third, the Mushkegowuk Regional Land Use Planning initiative is examined, focusing on the process captured by documentation and meeting minutes. Lastly, interviews with several people involved with planning at the Mushkegowuk Council and First Nations’ community levels are analyzed to interrogate the goals, the role of cultural and political traditions in planning, and how Omushkego relationships with their lands are defined and made relevant to land use planning in the Mushkegowuk initiative.
The study reveals how the politics of resurgence characterized the approach and goals for Mushkegowuk planning. However, Ontario was instead determined to reconcile Indigenous rights under its Far North Community Based Planning. The Ontario government’s breaking from a partnership approach with First Nations in crafting the Far North Act, and intrusive control of the funding and the process for regional planning, served to undermine Mushkegowuk Council’s nation building aspirations. The involvement of the province at early stages of regional planning also made it difficult to conceptually root LUP in Omushkegowuk traditions, and to be clear about their vision for land governance, planning process, and expectations. Given the challenges, Mushkegowuk Council was not able to meet its goal of a complete regional land use plan during the time of the case study, and fell short of the goal of reconfiguring relations with the province.