Adapting Disaster Risk Reduction Tools to Support Indigenous Resilience : A Case Study in the Strait of Georgia

• Main Author: Marteleira, Michelle
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Canada; First Nations
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/64242

This project investigates the current challenges for disaster risk reduction planning across First Nations communities in Canada and explores ways that tools can be adapted to improve regional resilience efforts. It is clear that institutional gaps exist in disaster risk reduction planning between Bands and other local governments in Canada, leading to increased risk among First Nation populations. Colonial policies, such as the reserve system, have forced communities to live in areas with greater exposure to hazards, while the jurisdictional power of the federal government over Bands makes collaboration with local governments difficult. Natural hazards often have regional impacts, so inter-jurisdictional collaboration should be an important features of resilience building. Shared and adapted disaster risk reduction tools are a way to encourage this regional cooperation and build stronger relationships. Through a case study with the Musqueam First Nation, this project identifies methods for adapting a coastal resilience tool (the Resilient-C platform) and proposes recommendations for future collaboration efforts between First Nations and other local governments. Interviews with staff from several departments of the Musquean Band administration were conducted in 2016 to gain further insight on the current institutional challenges for implementing disaster risk reduction efforts. This engagement also informed the recommendations made in this research project, including how resilience tools can be adapted to First Nations contexts through the recognition of Indigenous worldviews and traditional practices, and how the sharing of resources across jurisdictions can be improved within a region. Specific recommendations for the Resilient-C platform—which has been developed by a team of researchers, including the author, at the University of British Columbia (UBC)—were also established. The research finds that regional resilience efforts must include Indigenous communities through communication, cooperation, and collaboration to make disaster risk reduction more effective and equitable across Canada Applied Science, Faculty of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of Unreviewed Graduate