Re‐animating Gros Morne's storyless space: From natural heritage to ecological heritage

• Published in: Area
• Main Authors: Vannini, Phillip, Vannini, April
• Other Authors: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley 2019
• Subjects: Gros Morne National Park
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/area.12533; https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Farea.12533; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/area.12533; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1111/area.12533; https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/area.12533

This paper reports on ethnographic research conducted at one of Canada's Natural World Heritage sites: Gros Morne National Park. UNESCO 's criteria for the identification of natural heritage sites and its descriptions of the specific qualities of listed sites are informed by a dualist ontology that sharply separates nature and culture. The result of this separation between nature and culture is the construction of natural heritage spaces that seem to exist in a vacuum from social life, abstracted from human relations, largely devoid of human presence, and thus emptied of the many stories that make them meaningful to both Indigenous and non‐Indigenous residents. In contrast, this paper/video combination describes how natures at a Canadian natural heritage site are relationally woven with the lives of their human inhabitants. The narratives we share about Gros Morne are meant to re‐animate this site in response to the World Heritage classification, calling to attention the perpetual growth and becoming of its relational environments. We make our case by utilising a short video to recount the stories, experiences, and perspectives of a few residents who have taught us about Gros Morne. We argue that in place of natural heritage we ought to consider the concept of ecological heritage.