Beyond the Blue and Green: The Need to Consider Aboriginal Peoples’ Relationships to Resource Development in Labor-Environment Campaigns

• Published in: Labor Studies Journal
• Main Author: Mills, Suzanne E.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SAGE Publications 2010
• Subjects: Sociology and Political Science; Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous); Industrial relations; inuit
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0160449x10392527; http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0160449X10392527

In this article, I argue that labor researchers in North America need to engage more thoroughly with Indigenous studies if they hope to advance social and environmental justice. First, I suggest that researchers approach Aboriginal peoples’ relationships to the environment by supporting Aboriginal rights to lands and resources. Second, and related to this point, I raise the issue of the need for Aboriginal-controlled development in northern Aboriginal communities. Finally, I draw on a case study on Inuit and union participation in the creation of the Vale Inco, Voisey’s Bay nickel mine in Labrador to discuss how the increasing prevalence of corporate-Aboriginal alliances is creating important challenges to union engagement that need to be addressed.