Large-scale mining operations in northern Canada undoubtedly brought capital and jobs, but the costs of such development were high. Many former mine sites have left not only a toxic legacy of tailings ponds and waste rock dumps, but also a history of social and economic dislocation that continues to disproportionately impact northern First Nations communities. Our research will examine the historical impacts of mining in northern Canada. The project has four main goals:
- assess the economic consequences of mine closure for northern communities (capital flight, job losses, community collapse, disruption of traditional economies)
- assess the social impacts of industrial mining on northern communities, particularly in the areas of community health, cultural adaptation and the impact of mining on women
- examine historical environmental impacts associated with industrial mining at a local and landscape scale, and analyse whether the historical siting of abandoned mines near indigenous communities can be interpreted within an environmental justice framework;
- investigate local understandings of the historical physical and ecological changes resulting from mining activity as a prelude to developing community-driven strategies for balancing ecological restoration with the preservation of industrial heritage landscapes.
To answer these questions, we will be conducting extensive archival research, oral history interviews, community workshops, and community-based mapping.
The following two tabs change content below.

Latest posts by NiCHE Administrators (see all)
- Transforming Brown to Green: Environmental Organizing in Toronto in the 1970s - January 11, 2021
- 2020 Year In Review - December 22, 2020
- The NiCHE Wikipedia Page Needs an Update! - November 20, 2020
- Subscribe to the New Monthly NiCHE Newsletter! - November 12, 2020
- 2021 NiCHE Prize Announcement - September 16, 2020
- CFP: Discard Studies Twitter Conference - September 10, 2020
- CFP – Environments of Exile: Refugees, Nature, and Representations - September 4, 2020
- CFP: Fighting Scarcity and Creating Abundance - July 30, 2020
- Ten Books to Contextualize Environmental Racism - July 8, 2020
- Call for Contributors: Research and Writing in the Time of COVID-19 - June 12, 2020