Environmental Justice Case Study

The Lummis’ direct authority and tie to the federal government allows them to assert their sovereignty and establish a leadership position amongst non-tribal communities, like with Bellingham commercial fishermen and environmental nonprofits (Grossman 2014). Other transboundary, inter-tribal governance organizations have allowed indigenous groups to reinforce self-governance and self-determination, and resist development that would violate their treaty rights (Campling et al. 2012, Norman 2012). An environmental justice framework, which combines social justice with environmentalism, could reveal the practices that allow for unequal protection and give others a voice. This framework would help expose how this conflict constitutes a case of environmental

I would also closely examine the laws and treaties that govern the Lummi Nation, the plan for the coal export facility, international trade laws of fossil fuels, and an analysis of fishing treaty rights and how they may be used as an advocacy tactic to win the case. I would avoid common flaws in environmental justice case studies, such as inaccurate and incomplete data sources, inconsistent variable selection, and uncertainty about whether the closeness to hazards would provide a dependable approximation of risk (Holfield 2001). I would also be aware that environmental justice is sometimes a simple explanation for the complex struggles within the communities, as they are intertwined with politics of tribal sovereignty and identities developed in a political-geographic context of colonialism (Ishiyama 2003, Hosmer 2012). It is also important to note that fisheries access rights are tough to track and to impose and are often politically challenged (Campling et al 2012). In addition, I would address transboundary issues, such as the governance of the Coast Salish Aboriginal Council, which could unite the First Nations of Canada and the indigenous groups of the US to manage for environmental implications of the fossil fuel export terminals (Norman

As a new and developing issue, there were absolutely no academic articles covering the proposed fossil fuel developments along the Pacific Northwest coast, and I received all of my data regarding this particular case through secondary sources. Therefore, this study would ideally assist other research in environmental justice and indigenous resistance, not only along the Northwest coast, but also around the world. An environmental justice framework would raise awareness and provide valuable research as indigenous resistance to fossil fuel export terminals becomes more visible on the global stage. Ultimately, I hope that this study would shift the “burden of proof to hold perpetrators accountable for egregious acts” (Dickinson 2012:62) by highlighting the cultural, ecological, and social effects the Lummi Nation will feel if Gateway Pacific Terminal builds the coal terminal. The stories told by fishermen can increase the mobilization potential of other communities fighting fossil fuel terminals in the Pacific Northwest. In my study, I would address key questions posed by other researchers, such as how environmental justice activists can use storytelling to enact change (Houston 2013), what environmental justice is in the setting of tribal sovereignty, and how to adequately narrate a community’s desire for access to tribal fishing grounds when