2003 Trudeau Scholar

anna.stanley@trudeaufoundation.net

Profile

Lecturer in Human Geography, National University of Ireland

As an undergraduate student conducting research in a 'returned refugee' community in Guatemala, Anna Stanley began to challenge her assumptions about the place of research and researchers in struggles for social justice; specifically questioning the power of research to intervene in the struggles as they happened. Her work is driven by a belief that there are many avenues by which social justice arises, and that research can help to create alternatives and change. Her personal connection with the Canadian wilderness, as a hiker and canoe tripper, has also fuelled her passion for ecological and environmental issues.

Examining how Canada's official representation of the nuclear waste management problem and its official discourses may exclude the experiences, perceptions and judgements of First Nations groups possibly most affected by nuclear fuel waste management policy, she posits that inclusive policy-making, respecting diverse forms of knowledge, should challenge and stretch environmental management frameworks and improve social justice. Specifically, she has worked with the First Nations community of Serpent River, conducting oral history interviews with 22 Elders about their experiences with the nuclear industry that operated uranium mines in the watershed, documenting the stories to pass on to future generations.

"Part of my mandate for my research is to give back to communities and help in a positive way." As such, Anna serves as an advisor to the Assembly of First Nations Environmental Secretariat and is involved with various aboriginal communities. "Actively participating in these communities would have been much more difficult without the support of the Foundation."

Trudeau Foundation Themes

Responsible Citizenship »
Humans and their Natural Environment »