Indigenous Environmental (in)Justice (IEJ) Project -BACK UP

The concept of environmental justice (or injustice) refers generally to the inequitable distribution of the costs and benefits of environmental degradation, such that people of colour and the poor tend to bear a significantly greater portion of the costs while receiving relatively little in terms of any benefits. In Canada, environmental (in)justice is a constant undercurrent for arguably most (if not all) environmental challenges that Indigenous peoples face. The field of environmental justice studies, therefore, forms a critical theoretical and applied framework for addressing key environmental issues of concern to Indigenous peoples in Canada. To date, however, research focused on Indigenous environmental justice (EJ) has not yet occurred in a substantive way in Canada. Furthermore, if EJ studies are to benefit Indigenous communities, then they must include knowledge, principles and values already held and practised by Indigenous peoples. The Indigenous Environmental Justice Project, a 5-year SSHRC-funded initiative based out of York University, is working to fill this gap. Our research aims to develop a distinctive EJ framework that is informed by Indigenous knowledge systems, laws, concepts of justice and the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples.