I learned a lot from Dr. Earley’s presentation last Friday. For starters, I didn’t even know that the Canol pipeline even existed, which surprised me. I feel like bringing 30 000 US military up to the Yukon and Northwest territories to build an oil pipeline that would be only used for only 15 months during the war is not something that we just stop talking about. What strikes me is also how long it took for people to start cleaning up the remains of the pipeline and how much was actually left there. While I am glad that remediation is underway and the trail will eventually turn into a project that will benefit the local communities, I cannot imagine the impacts of the materials, the oil and the asbestos left behind on the Sahtu and the wildlife. Just seeing the pictures of the piles of oil barrels and the tangled antlers, it makes you wonder about how much the pipeline damaged the landscape over the years.
Dr. Sinead Earley definitely also reminded me of the importance to stop and think about the land that I will be working on during my research. My Master’s will involve field work and whether my research brings me to the John Prince Forest or to Algonquin Park, I will definitely ask myself about the history of the land, who it belongs to or who acts as stewards, what does it represent to them and how my work might have an impact on the place. Dr. Earley mentioned that she worked in partnership with the Sahtu during their project and I also think it is important to seek permission and even participation of the communities associated with the areas where we conduct research. Seeing how much the pipeline still has an impact on the environment and the Sahtu people even today (what, almost 80 years later?), I also want to minimize the impacts of my research in the field and will pay special attention to not leave anything behind.
As for the question period, much like her talk, the questions were varied and multi-disciplinary. She did a great job answering questions or at least hypothesizing or referring us to another expert when she was not sure of the answer herself. The question about the script and the way she answered it made me really thinks about the connotation of certain words like exploration and expedition and other terms we use all the time to describe northern areas. I would have also liked to know what were the motivations of the other women in her group to hike the trail, other than the documentary. They had such different academic and work backgrounds, I am wondering if any conducted research of their own or had any other reasons for doing this trek. Overall, I enjoyed Dr. Earley’s talk. She was very knowledgeable and passionate about her project and you could feel it during her presentation which made it that much more enjoyable to listen to.
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