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Frequent Spring Flooding Impacts, Evacuation Experiences, and Perceived Adaptive Capacity of Kashechewan First Nation, Northern Ontario
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- Author / Creator
- Khalafzai, Arshad K.
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Kashechewan First Nation, located in the southwestern James Bay (Subarctic) region of northern Ontario, is frequently affected by the flooding risk and recurring evacuations. Residents have been evacuated 14 times since 2004 (consecutively from 2004-2008 and 2012-2019) to at least 22 different host communities across Ontario. This dissertation provides valuable insights into the nature of spring flooding and its impacts from the perspectives of Kashechewan residents. The aim of this research is to examine how Kashechewan First Nation is affected by and responds to floods. Specific objectives are to explore First Nation’s flood-related observations on changes in frequency and intensity of floods, to examine residents’ experiences of impacts of frequent flooding risk and recurring evacuations, and to determine the community’s perceived adaptive capacity to spring flooding.
Through a collaboration with Kashechewan First Nation, data were collected from 155 participants using mixed methods research. The qualitative methods included semi-structured interview and participatory flood mapping, including on-site walk and photography. Qualitative data were collected to understand the increased flooding risk, flooding impacts, and evacuation experiences of residents. Quantitative data were collected through survey research to assess perceived adaptive capacity. This research included all subgroups of the community, such as socioeconomic, sociocultural, and demographic. Qualitative data were analysed using NVivo, ArcMap, GIS, and Google Earth. The semi-structured interview data were coded and analysed using a mix of descriptive and analytical coding schemes. Categories were made using the words of participants, which were commonly used. Analytical codes were also derived from the research literature, previous studies, and the researcher’s understanding of the rich qualitative data collected. The data collected using flood mapping workshops and on-site walks were analysed in ArcMap, GIS and Google Earth to produce scaled maps. The survey data was analysed in SPSS and used descriptive and inferential statistics. The nonparametric statistics of one-sample Chi-square, Spearman’s (rho) correlation coefficient, Friedman’s χ2 two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and principal component analysis were employed.
The findings contribute to the literature on natural hazards, DRR, and climate change adaptation. This research is especially unique because it has brought new methodological and theoretical insights into the research, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to facilitate an in-depth investigation of spring flooding by employing a mixed case study approach. The first contribution is the documentation of community-specific traditional knowledge concerning spring flooding characteristics and river morphology to identify the major drivers of increased flooding risk and recurring evacuations. These findings complement the existing spring flooding data collated by natural scientists and contribute to the literature on the spring breakup ice jamming phenomenon to better understand ecological and human-induced changes to mitigate flooding risk. The contribution is involving traditional and scientific knowledge systems about warming temperatures, and the spring breakup ice jamming contributes to bridging the gap between the two diverse knowledge systems. Second, this research has explored the experiences of the short-term evacuations of residents that happened 14 times since 2004. The findings are unique because there is a lack of research about how people and a community are affected by recurring evacuations. This research also revealed the consequential negative effects due to repeated evacuations on the community's sociocultural, emotional, and spiritual well-being. The finding of enhanced resilience and coping capacity is a significant contribution to the literature.
Third, this research contributes to the literature on adaptive capacity by focusing on the perceived capacity of the First Nation. The adaptive capacity literature mainly focuses on objective capacity. This research shows that perceived capacity is as important as the objective capacity to determine total adaptive capacity. The fourth contribution is the use of survey research and the integrated socio-ecological system approach to assessing perceived capacity involving a First Nation. This is the first application of the method and the approach in northern Canada to assess perceived adaptive capacity. The use of structured interviews contributes to the literature by showing that survey research involving northern Indigenous communities can be culturally appropriate. -
- Graduation date
- Fall 2020
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy
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- License
- Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission.