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Lead Papers
Anne M. Karanja,Dr. Ross Mallick, Dr. Nazih Noureldin, Dr. Svetlana D. Schlotgauer, John Koffi B. Toguefai
considered in this paper are
Indigenous peoples and their nurturing of spiritual and environmental partnership with nature - a valuable and integral part of their
socio-economic structure. The change of focus platform preserves the socio-economic relationship with nature that is evident in many
Indigenous societies, and calls for the integration of contemporary environmental sciences to assist in environmental goals. Therefore,
the change of focus platform encourages the conscious participation of all peoples towards a more environmentally sympathetic global
order. By associating Indigenous values with contemporary sciences, it is also possible to produce a strategy to effect environmental
consciousness in capitalist production. Therefore, the first chapter of this paper discusses Canada’s First Peoples historical and
contemporary existence in capitalist society.
Indigenous peoples are dependent on their environment for traditional livelihoods, which are being threatened by development
projects(Mallick).
The indigenous relationship with nature is typically portrayed as being in harmony, and though this may be so in many instances, there
are examples where it is not. The paper cites cases where the harmonious relationship is being disrupted by outside development, as
well as instances where indigenous people themselves contribute to the disruption. The complex relationship between the
environmentalist movement in the dominant society and indigenous peoples is a major theme in the study, where frequently
environmentalist support indigenous but in some cases oppose aboriginal development. Both multinational interests and
environmentalists cast an influence which affects aboriginal peoples. This paper attemps to increase the understanding of
environmentalist about indigenous peoples so that some of the mistakes that occurred in the past will be less likely to be repeated.
Noureldin explains that as we enter the new millennium, one of the growing concerns among First Nation people in Canada is the under-representation of
Aboriginal students in all science disciplines such as health-related professions. For those students who are interested in working with
Aboriginal populations, there is a requirement for an understanding of basic science as well as traditional healing philosophies and
approaches. Furthermore, as society continues to rely more and more heavily on technology, it is increasingly important that there
should be a large proportion of Aboriginal people with a balanced scientific background. There has been, therefore, a great need to
initiate, develop, and promote programs in science among First Nations students in order to attract them into scientific professions.
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