Critique of Oil Sand Exploitation in Indigenous Community from a Perspective of Political Ecology

Abstract

The high demand of energy and the goal of reducing energy-related pollution emission are both urgent needs in contemporary global discussion, and the topic of sustainable development and the concept of sustainability are integrated through the discussions. Canada is one of the largest oil-producing states due to its large oil sands deposits in Northern regions where is also important reservoir for indigenous communities. The large-scale oil sand extraction by energy corporations and the promotion from governments along with the colonial heritage has caused degradation in vulnerable indigenous communities environmentally, socially, and culturally. This paper adopts a political ecology approach and integrates the study of extractivism and the concepts of consumption and metabolic rift into the case analysis on the power structure underlying the oil sands exploitation in McMurray Metis indigenous community, which provides an insight into unequal and asymmetric power structure among the oil industry, the government, the indigenous community, and the public.