Hooksum (Part 4) Economic development

I don't want to give the impression that our entire visit to Hooksum was consumed only with philosophical discussion. There were some excursions. We kayaked to Cougar Annie's Garden. We hiked to a waterfall. And hung out on the beach, taking it all in.

Britt and Curt kayaking.

In the evening our group sat around the camp fire, admired the magnificent night sky, and resumed our discussion with Stehphen and Karen. A topic to which the conversation often returned is the meaning of economic development. The promise of economic development is often presented by government and industry as a silver bullet for solving the many social problems confronting First Nations people. Economic development brings jobs and money to these communities. It is in the name of economic development that logging, commercial fishing and aquaculture are introduced to this region. Given the extent of the social problems on some reservations, the development of these industries is generally seen as the only way to move forward.  

Hooksum (Part 3): A place-based ethic

In the writings of some environmental philosophers one occasionally encounters the idea of a place-based ethic. My understanding of this idea is that it identifies as valuable the particular region as such.  Two places might be identical in the species of plants and animals that they contain, in their ecological structure, and even perhaps in their beauty. For some, those regions would be of equivalent value. But from a place-based perspective, certain regions possess a value that is necessarily unique to it and which exists in addition to these general features.  In Western culture we are somewhat familiar with this concept.  Certain locations, such as the site of a historic battle, a famous cathedral, or the home of a famous scientist or artist are valued as what we might call sacred ground. 

Here Stephen Charleson is reconstructing the system of fish traps that fed his ancestors. Unfortunately, the details about how this system functioned are lost to history.

Hooksum (Part 2): The sustainability concept

Over the course of our conversations, Stephen Charleson often referred back to the concept of sustainability. As he proceeded to describe his involvement in a series of sustainability planning meetings for Clayoquot Sound, it became apparent how this term acquired a hollow meeting for the First Nations participants. 

 Here is a picture of our group around the table at Hooksum, just up from the beach, talking philosophy with Stephen Charleson. The hillsides, devastated by clearcut logging, provided a sobering backdrop for our discussion.