“LACE” LABOUR MOBILITY AND COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION IN THE EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRY – YUKON
LACE (2014–2019) examined the complex relationships between the mining industry, local communities, and, in particular, First Nations in Northern Canada. In the context of economic interests, social expectations, and Indigenous rights, the project analyzed how mining workers navigate long-distance commuting and shift work, how Yukon First Nations perceive mining, how mining shapes ideas about land, land use, and environmental responsibility, and how the First Nation of Nacho Nyäk Dun responds to these challenges. LACE combined ethnographic research, interviews, and community-based participatory approaches to explore the dynamics resource extraction and community relations. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of mining’s impacts on Indigenous communities and inform strategies for sustainable development in resource-rich regions. Research was conducted from 2014-2019 in various places and mines in the Yukon.
The project was co-funded by the Yukon Territorial Government (Department of Economic Development) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). The LACE team collaborated particularly with the Na-Cho Nyak Dun First Nation in Mayo. Institutional partners included Yukon College, Lakehead University in Ontario, and the University of Vienna as well as the Austrian Polar Research Institute.
LACE 