NWT RESEARCH DATABASE

Regions: Gwich'in Settlement Area, Sahtu Settlement Area, Dehcho Region, North Slave Region, South Slave Region

Tags: social sciences, industrial development, women, resilience

Objective(s): In light of the social upheaval expected from rapid and widespread industrialization of the North, it is the aim of this Master's-level research project to explore the potential of women's written and oral narratives to help secure a valued place for women in NWT society in the 21st century. Identifying the stories northern women need to tell and how these stories should be told will achieve this aim.

Project Description: The NWT is on the cusp of unprecedented change as the global capital machine in the form of the Mackenzie Gas (pipeline) Project (MGP), a massive hydrocarbon development, mobilizes to roll through the territory. The unparalleled scale and size of the MGP and the industrial activity that it will ignite will likely stress every element of the northern ecosystem. Women and the social and cultural spaces they occupy are likely to feel the greatest stresses. Impending large scale industrial activity will likely mean that women will make up a smaller portion of the population and their value in society will be diminished. Women are a source of social cohesion, resiliency and hope, the qualities needed to positively manage upheaval and the stresses of change. These qualities and contributions will not be recognized or valued if women are marginalized in NWT society. Women’s narratives as a form of public discourse can help bring attention to women and to secure their place and value in society. This project asks: What stories should women tell so our place in NWT society is valued and supported? This is a qualitative research project. Discourse analysis is the research method. The analytical framework is drawn from several disciplines of study including critical feminist, postcolonial, literary and political theories. The research process involves a literature review, a presentation to the Joint Review Panel (reviewing the Mackenzie Gas Project), twenty personal interviews, a presentation and workshop at the NWT Women’s Conference, and a final research report. The twenty women participants will be selected based on their interest and commitment to social justice in the NWT. The researcher will invite potential interviewees to participate in the project through electronic mail. Those who agree to participate will be interviewed face-to-face in Yellowknife or by telephone should they reside outside Yellowknife. Interviews will last from one to two hours, and will be audio-recorded. Consent will be obtained from each participant. The confidentiality of all participants will be maintained throughout the research. Interviewees will have the opportunity of validating preliminary findings. Once these findings have been validated, they will be presented to the NWT Women's Conference in Yellowknife in February 2007. The final research report will be returned to interviewees for use in their own communities as well as made publicly available through the Status of Women Council, NWT Native Women’s Association and the Aurora Research Institute. The study will be conducted from January 4 to April 2, 2007.