“A lot of people ignore our culture when it comes to waste management”: examining the impacts of culture on solid waste management in two Canadian First Nations

Abstract

Municipal solid waste management approaches in Canadian First Nations have not considered the culture of communities. However, First Nations’ way of life is ingrained in their culture. This research examined whether the culture of First Nations impacts municipal solid waste management. A qualitative case study of Peguis First Nation, Manitoba, and Heiltsuk Nation, British Columbia, was conducted, involving 52 semi-structured interviews. Results revealed that avoiding waste, taking care of one another, protecting the land, respecting the land, and connection to the land were cultural factors that influenced participants’ municipal solid waste management efforts. Nonetheless, participants indicated that applying these cultural factors to municipal solid waste is not widespread because of culture loss; hence, programs that improve the understanding of culture and highlight the importance of cultural beliefs, values, and teachings in managing waste should be developed. The research concludes that cultural solutions need to be pursued to complement other solutions that aim to improve municipal solid waste management.

Keywords

Canada culture First Nations municipal solid waste management solid waste management solid waste policy

Introduction

The culture of a group of people can impact their generation and management of municipal solid waste (MSW) because decisions regarding consumption of resources and approaches to management are influenced by cultural beliefs, values, and understandings of waste within space and time. Culture is a “set of basic assumptions and values, orientations to life, beliefs, policies, procedures and behavioural conventions that are shared by a group of people, and that influence (but do not determine) each member’s behaviour” (Spencer-Oatey, 2008, p. 3). Culture is communicated and passed down from one generation to another (Matsumoto, 1996), which indicates that the value of waste and MSW management practices of one generation can impact that of another generation. Examining the culture of a group can, therefore, provide insight into their perspectives about waste and the environment, prior and existing waste management methods, effects of waste management on the environment, and unearthing possible solutions about proper and culturally appropriate waste management solutions.

The cultures of First Nations are intrinsically and intimately linked to the environment or land that they occupy and use (Belanger, 2018; Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, 2000; Styres et al., 2013), despite the diversity and uniqueness of each First Nations culture. First Nations have always had a respectful and interdependent relationship with the environment, which continues to provide for the necessities of life and sustain them (Hampton, 1995; Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2020). As a result, First Nations are thought to live in harmony with the land and have a sense of responsibility to protect it (Korff, 2022). “The environment . . . is the breadth of our spirituality, knowledge, languages and culture . . . . The environment speaks of our history, our language and relationship to her . . . . We do not dominate her. We harmonize with her” (Assembly of First Nations, 1993, p. 33).

However, this relationship to the environment is negatively impacted due to pollution associated with improper MSW management in First Nations. Many First Nations lack MSW diversion programs and services, including recycling, composting, and reuse (Oceans North, 2021), and proper MSW management practices are lacking. Inadequate infrastructure and facilities and historical lack of funding are two major challenges to MSW management in First Nations (Assuah & Sinclair, 2021; Indigenous Services Canada [ISC], 2021). The above factors, coupled with capacity challenges, small population sizes, staff turnover, and extreme weather conditions, make MSW management in First Nations dire (ISC, 2021; Keske et al., 2018; Sebastian & Louis, 2022). Moreover, remoteness and isolation of many communities suggest that waste streams, such as plastics and cardboards, will continue to increase given communities’ reliance on packaged products. The negative impacts of poor MSW management on the environment, which is key to First Nations’ culture and survival, cannot be overemphasized.

Nonetheless, the challenges of MSW management in First Nations have often been framed as a technical problem and approached through finding such solutions without attention to the culture of the people. In fact, cultural considerations are non-existent within the conversations and discourses regarding improving MSW in First Nations, and no efforts have been made to explore the same. Yet, the ways of life of First Nations are organized and centered around their culture (Oster et al., 2014), and understanding First Nations’ culture as they relate to MSW management can help improve practices and develop appropriate solutions to challenges communities face. Siragusa and Arzyutov (2020) note a similar concern among Indigenous Peoples in Russia and concluded that there is “a gap in the literature as well as in the policies, where the northern Indigenous perspectives and practical knowledge concerning waste management and its sustainability are put aside, instead of being fully acknowledged for their social and cultural value” (p. 46). This is also true in the Canadian context. Given that culture embodies the values, beliefs, attitudinal, and behavioral patterns of a group of people, this research examined whether First Nations culture impacts MSW management.

Methods

This research was a multiple qualitative case study of two First Nations in western Canada—Heiltsuk Nation, British Columbia, and Peguis First Nation, Manitoba. Heiltsuk Nation has an on-reserve population of about 1,020 people, 330 private dwellings, and a land size of about 5.85 km², whereas Peguis First Nation has approximately 2,685 people, an estimated 785 private dwellings, and a land size of 310.81 km² (Statistics Canada, 2017). The research utilized a qualitative research design (Creswell, 2014) and a case study strategy of inquiry to collect in-depth and detailed information (Yin, 2014) about participants’ experiences with their culture and how that has impacted their MSW management practices. Fifty-two participants, 26 each from the two communities, were selected to be part of the research. Each participant was a community member participating in their communities’ MSW management programs, including recycling, composting, reuse, and household garbage pick-up. They included elders, hereditary chiefs, MSW management staff, and broader community members.

Semi-structured interviews were employed, and questions asked included the impact of cultural factors on MSW management, participants’ involvement in MSW management programs in their community, and challenges faced while applying cultural factors to MSW management. The interviews were audio-recorded with permission from participants and transcribed afterward. Interview transcripts were then sent to participants for review, verification, and approval before use. Once interview transcripts were received back from participants, the resultant data were organized using NVivo™ (QSR 2010) software. The analysis revealed five themes that emerged from, and were grounded in, the data regarding cultural factors that impacted the MSW management efforts of participants. These factors included avoiding waste, taking care of one another, protecting the land, connection to the land, and respect for the land. The next section of the article discusses these themes, making use of quotes that were culled from the data. Given the familiarity and social connections among participants in the two communities, as well as ensuring anonymity and confidentiality, pseudonyms, for example, P1 and P2, are used to refer to individual participants instead of their names in line with ethics and agreement with research participants. Thus, the actual names of participants are excluded from the data and replaced with pseudonyms. Furthermore, we do not directly link data with any of the communities to maintain confidentiality of the information provided and in line with the ethics associated with the research. A final report of the research was submitted to participants and the two communities.

This research was conducted in line with the Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession principle for conducting research with First Nations (Castellano, 2004; First Nations Information Governance Centre, 2014). Approval to conduct the research was sought from Chief and Council of Peguis First Nation, and the Heiltsuk Integrated Resource Management Department Research Advisory Committee, which is responsible for ensuring ethical research conduct. Following discussions with the leadership and appropriate authorities or bodies in the two communities about the research, as well as a community visit to Peguis First Nation, a research proposal was submitted for review. The proposal was reviewed, and written permission was granted for the research to commence in both communities. In addition, the manuscript for this article was sent to the appropriate authorities in the two communities for review before it was submitted. This research was also approved by the Joint Faculty Research Ethics Board at the University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.

Results

This section of the article provides information on the cultural factors—avoiding waste, taking care of one another, protecting the land, connection to the land, and respect for the land—which participants explained impacted their MSW management practices, attitudes, and behaviors.

Avoiding waste or taking what one needs

Participants explained that their belief system, as First Nations, requires them not to waste anything they take from nature or the environment, particularly food. Instead, First Nations need to reuse items until they are no longer useful. Avoiding waste is, therefore, “a teaching which is a preventive measure of not creating waste and asking how to clean it, but to prevent waste in the first place” (P11). This is because as First Nations, “our traditional teachings relate to the environment. We are environmentalists, so when we go out to hunt, we only take so much. Our grandparents only took what they needed when they hunt and that is what we teach today” (P32). A hereditary chief provided perspective on how they grew up with this belief, explaining that

It is just one of those things that we grew up with . . . it was just understood that you do not waste anything. For example, carcasses of salmon were disposed of in areas that eagles, ravens, and other birds will feed on them. That is a way of waste management. (P1)

Participants explained that they have and continually live by this belief and provided examples of how they do so when managing MSW. According to P4,

As a Heiltsuk, we have been taught to take just what we need and not to waste anything. And, when we take, say cedar, we have to put the back of it into the bush. The fish bones also go back into the ocean. Our grandfathers taught us to take what we need to protect the environment because it is ours.

P29 also revealed that

When I take an animal from the bush, I do not leave my waste behind but put it back in the bush for other animals to feed on them. That is recycling . . .. As a traditional person, that is what I do with animal waste . . . . It is a natural law for everyone.

Despite the widespread discussion of this belief and practice, some participants opined that they do not think enough is being done to teach the current generation about the importance of MSW management generally and avoiding waste specifically, because there is a lot of waste generated in communities. P30, for example, questioned the lack of teachings about MSW management:

I never heard my Elders talk about waste management when I was growing up. They taught us to pick up after ourselves, but we were not told the benefits or harm that waste causes. They never taught us how to recycle, but they said we should keep our spaces clean . . . . They say, “clean it up” . . . . It is only recently that we have had recycling coming up, and it will take a long time to take root in a big community like ours.

Taking care of each other

First Nations have learned to survive throughout generations by taking care of each other, and this is a cultural value that they continually hold, according to participants. One way to fulfill this value is through sharing items such as food with elders and the less privileged and not hoarding food. “We have been taught that when we go hunting or fishing, we provide for others who do not have when we have a lot. This prevents waste in the system,” said P1, who is an elder in their community. P19 added, “We go out to fish for, say, halibut, and we often go out to give it first to the elders, single moms, people who need it, and keep some for ourselves. That is taking care of ourselves.” P24, an elder, recounted that, as a child, they were involved in distributing and sharing food with members of their community:

There was a grandmother who did not have anyone to take care of her, so that choice meat goes to her. We have an elder who cannot hunt, so part of the meat goes to that person. There probably is a family over there that needs meat, so part goes to them. As children, we were the ones running around with all this meat. We tell them our father shot a deer and wants to share it with them. That is how it was, everybody took care of each other. We took care of the Elders, the old ones. If we find out that the Elders cannot take care of themselves, we did the cooking at home and sent it to them.

The overall goal of taking care of each other in the context of MSW management is to prevent the phenomenon, where someone has lots available that could be wasted while others were in need. Participants mentioned that this value guides their MSW practices, recognizing that

How we manage our waste is important . . . we have that interconnection culturally and socially, so what I do and what you do impact people . . . . Although it is individual actions, there is that community connection that needs to be considered. (P11)

The lead author participated in celebrating Oceans Day in the Heiltsuk Nation and observed that the Heiltsuk Tribal Council provided fish to elders and those in need of food in the community, and it was explained that it is the community’s practice to first provide for elders because they need to be taken care of.

Protecting the land

Participants mentioned that protecting mother earth is a duty, which is instilled in First Nations when growing up. According to P36, “All our teachings point to protecting mother earth: the water, sky, sun, [and so forth].” P35 explained that “We must protect mother earth, and how are we going to do that? By not contaminating it. From mother earth, we gather all our medicines, so we need places that have no contamination for picking and storing medicine.” Explaining how the belief that First Nations are protectors of the land has influenced MSW management, P16 indicated that “I recycle because I was taught to protect the land, and we have to take care of our land otherwise our children do not have a chance to have a cleaner environment.” P29, a traditional leader who conducts traditional ceremonies and hunts, reflected that

I recycle to preserve the land. Waste is damaging to the land . . . I can see that in the animals, the medicines, the land, and how much it has changed from when I was a young person hunting and gathering food on the land . . . . Once we live off the land, we need to take care of it and keep it clean. The healthy animals have moved back into the bush because there is no pollution there. Once they see that there is contamination and pollution, they move away where there are no such things.

Although participants explained how protecting the land has influenced their MSW efforts, some participants indicated that the extent of pollution in their communities did not justify this cultural value bestowed by the Creator. As a result, participants wondered whether indeed this value was being fulfilled. “We are not supposed to be throwing things out as Indigenous people, but I see people who throw their containers out and it irks me” (P39). P5 detailed how the value and responsibility of protecting the land have changed significantly from their younger years:

I was brought up by my grandparents, who taught me how to protect the land and keep our surroundings clean because you do not want wild animals coming around. Even when we only had one street in the community, the board walk, nobody left garbage around their portion. Everybody cleaned their property well, so the community was clean. Now, people go to the grocery store, purchase an item, open it, and drop the packaging on the floor.

As a result of these concerns, participants were of the view that protecting the land, as a value, was not being extensively applied when MSW management was involved, nor are traditional leaders teaching the current generation how to apply this value to MSW. According to P4, “We all have been taught that it is important to take care of our land and resources. However, that has not been brought to solid waste management because this is fairly new.” For their part, P47 called for a change in attitude to protect the earth:

Traditionally, I must cater for mother earth because she provides for us, and we have to respect it the way it does respect us. She is sick right now because of all the pollution and abuse that she suffers. We need to change our attitudes, because all that we do are hurting her.

Respect for the land

Respect for the land was identified by participants as an important cultural value among First Nations. Consequently, participants highlighted that “A lot of the teachings come with respecting the land like respecting your mother. We must look after the earth like our mother, because it looks and takes care of us. As a result, we must respect it” (P29). P8 described how respect for the land has been practiced in their community and how that impacts their MSW practice:

Our Elders were not just throwing their bones and fish guts anywhere, but they put them back in the water as a sign of respect for the water, so that the salmon will come back. Some people also throw the guts out to the birds and there is a respect element to it. That is a big thing. I think about that and when I do my fishing, I take my fish guts and bones back to the ocean to say thank you, because that resource, fish, is sustaining me. These kinds of teachings and having respect for the land shows that we are not better than any other species.

In addition, P47 disclosed that “My love for mother earth and my respect for her motivates me to recycle. Everything we have, she provides for us—from food to everything else—but she does not get the respect she deserves.” Respect should emanate from an individual before it is utilized in other areas of life, according to P42:

For respect, it starts with self. We all want to dress and appear neat. Imagine walking around with a piece of garbage attached to you. That is how it is when you throw a piece of garbage on the earth. You are carrying the garbage with you everywhere you go and that does not look good on you. You will not look good if you have garbage attached to you.

Some participants claimed that most people in their communities have lost respect for the land, and that was evidenced by the amount of littering in their communities. For instance, P48 noted that

We were clean, we loved mother earth and the animals, but that love is gone, I think. Are you going to throw all that garbage out there? No, and that is what was taught by our ancestors. You must treat mother earth with respect that she deserves like your mother that you love and respect. But most of the traditional people have forgotten that.

Accordingly, participants suggested that as an important cultural value, respect needs to be emphasized in MSW education because “part of our cultural teaching is respecting the land and environment, and I think that can be part of the education and teaching offered in the community” (P40). Echoing this suggestion, P11 added that

One of our teachings is respect . . . what I am saying is that the waste is the residue of society and our relationship to place. As we move forward, this teaching must continue to inform us regarding how we need to live.

Connection to the land

A belief that participants referenced often and explained impact their attitudes and behavior about MSW management was their natural connection to the land as First Nations. “Our forebears did not pollute anything but left things in the forest intact. All that our people did were because they are connected to the land” (P27). Explaining how their connection to the land impacts MSW management, P32 revealed that: “I am motivated to recycle because I am a hunter and trapper, and I am connected to the land. . .it is a way of life for me.” P33 also mentioned that “I recycle to save our environment, because I have connection to the land as an Indigenous woman.” P46 further explained that

My connection to the land is always at the back of my mind in whatever I am doing. It is always there regarding how I am going to manage my waste at home or at work. If I spill oil at work, there is a place we send the contaminated soils, used oils, etc. That is because I am connected to the land and do not want to contaminate the earth.

However, participants indicated that many people in their communities have lost their connection to the land because “that connection must come from within a person with knowledge about the environment” (P42), which people do not have. To reconnect people to the land and environment, participants suggested that

People must be taught and be aware of the teachings. People are caught up in their busy lives, so people do not want to sit to listen to these teachings. The teachings have to be the connection to the land, and that will make them think differently about things like waste management. (P31)

In addition to the five cultural elements presented above, participants also mentioned that the Seven Grandfather Teachings—respect, love, honesty, truth, bravery, humility, and wisdom—have been passed down from generations and are important to First Nations culture. Some participants described how some of these teachings can be applied to MSW management. Respect and love were the most mentioned of the seven teachings. For example, P32 explained that

With the teachings that I have learned growing up, I think it is respect, being truthful, and honesty that impact MSW management. When dealing with waste management, be honest about it. Respect the land and the environment, the bylaws, and recycle . . . . Lots of people do not recycle, because they do not follow the traditional teachings.

Although participants extensively discussed how cultural factors have impacted their attitudes, behaviors, and practices about MSW management, they were also critical that applying these cultural factors is not rife when dealing with MSW management. P16, for example, explained that

A lot of people ignore our culture when it comes to waste management, because people do not recycle . . . . The older people do not want to recycle because they are stuck in their old ways. However, if you are taught to protect the land, then you need to care more about recycling . . . . The culture here has died compared to when I was a child, because everybody cleaned the environment and you attended ceremonies to learn how things are done.

Admitting that they are not versed in their community’s culture, P42 revealed that

When I see litter around in the street and water ways, I see a disconnect from our culture. This is because our culture is to look after the land and respect it and leave it as you met it. I think if we apply our Gvi’las [a complex and comprehensive system of laws that embodies values, beliefs, teachings, principles, practices, and consequences] to waste, we will feel prouder of ourselves. My brutal assessment is that, how can we worry about what the federal government is doing up there, if we cannot take care of our land? People will not agree with me though.

P45 added that

When it comes to waste, people do not think about the ancestral and traditional sides. But people must connect to that because our people were caregivers—they cared for the land and tried to keep the land the way they found it.

Based on the concerns raised above, participants offered suggestions regarding how to revitalize culture in their communities. To begin the process, P41 noted that “We can start from asking ourselves which teachings will help us heal and then move on to respecting the land, then move to managing the land—waste management . . . healing leads to healthy people and healthy environments.” P49 suggested that “it starts with reconnecting with our roots. Some are not connected to the teachings we have compared to others. The teachings need to be promoted.” Participants strongly suggested that working with children at a younger age will be ideal to start making connections to culture and the environment.

Discussion

The data shows that five cultural factors—avoiding waste, taking care of each other, protecting the land, respecting the land, and connection to the land—influenced MSW management efforts and practices of participants in the two communities we worked with. These cultural factors are a combination of values, beliefs, teachings, and responsibilities that have been passed down from generations and participants have learned them through interactions with community members and significant others, such as elders, knowledge keepers, grandparents, and parents. As a result, these values, beliefs, teachings, and responsibilities have become part of participants’ identity and way of life as First Nations.

Avoiding waste when one can and taking care of others, particularly when one has enough and another does not, are two cultural factors that emphasize sharing with those in need, which prevents accumulation of resources for oneself. When applied in an MSW management context, these two cultural factors help to avert overconsumption, which is the cause of increasing MSW generation and society’s current throwaway culture (Vafa, 2009; Van Kerckhove, 2012). By avoiding waste and taking care of each other, per capita waste generation is reduced, which is important in First Nations because of the many challenges communities face in managing MSW.

Furthermore, avoiding waste or prevention is the most desired MSW management option on the zero waste management hierarchy, which provides guidance to individuals, organizations, and institutions regarding the most to least preferred options of managing waste (Hansen et al., 2002; Zero Waste Canada, 2018). As participants indicated, they prevent waste by using all parts of animals they harvest. As such, when animals cannot be used for food or making ceremonial regalia, they are used to feed other creatures to prevent waste from being produced. This latter finding illuminates the practice in First Nations culture, where other components of the environment are cared for and treated with respect (Assembly of First Nations, 2005; Borrows, 2018). These undertakings also follow trends regarding how traditionally biodegradable MSW has been managed.

Given that First Nations have a special relationship with the environment that sustains them (Hampton, 1995; Zinga & Styres, 2011), respecting and protecting the environment is central in First Nations cultures for continued sustenance. This understanding, which is rooted in lived experiences, influenced participants to participate in MSW management programs—for example, recycling and composting—to prevent pollution to the land. In addition, giving back to the land—leaving fish bones in the ocean—shows respect to the ocean in hopes that it will continue to sustain people by providing fish and other aquatic resources. This finding reveals an interdependent relationship built on reciprocity between First Nations and the environment (Battiste & Youngblood, 2000; Cajete, 2000). In addition, most Indigenous epistemologies highlight the sacred connection between Indigenous Peoples and human and non-human beings, such as water and the environment (McGregor, 2016; McGregor et al., 2020). This connection makes participating in MSW management programs, which are geared toward environmental protection, essential and compulsory for some participants.

A careful examination of all the cultural elements identified by participants reveals that they are interrelated and bestow a sense of individual and collective responsibility and challenge community members to do more for the environment, considering that individual actions impact the collective (Pan et al., 2019). For instance, when a community member comes to the realization that they are connected to the land through traditional teachings, they have a responsibility to respect and protect the environment by avoiding waste, sharing with others, and safeguarding the environment for future generations. Some participants indicated that applying and reflecting on these cultural factors together can result in a positive impact on the environment as a whole and MSW management specifically, because an individual realizes their responsibility alongside their values and beliefs toward the environment, such as composting and recycling.

Practically, however, this is not absolute as participants noted a discrepancy between waste generated in both communities and adherence to the cultural factors described above. Thus, there is too much waste generated and disposed of in both communities, which does not show that community members reflect on the impacts culture has on MSW management nor apply them. Some participants attributed this dichotomy to the influence that the influx of packaged consumer goods—a settler economic model—has had on First Nations culture. More explicitly, First Nations lived off and took care of the land for centuries until that was made impossible through colonization and assimilation policies that moved them from their original settlements (Dickason & Newbigging, 2019) into areas that required them to depend or rely on packaged foods and become part of the larger world economy by necessity.

Not surprisingly, many of the stories shared by participants about the cultural factors related to biodegradable waste as opposed to non-biodegradable waste. This is in line with the literature because historically First Nations have participated in cultural activities such as hunting, trapping, and fishing (Oster et al., 2014) and, as a result, are accustomed to generating and managing biodegradable waste, since things taken from the land can be given back to it. Nonetheless, there is an opportunity to learn about how the identified cultural factors can be applied in managing non-biodegradable waste. For example, to respect and protect the land, individuals must consider the harm their consumption would cause the environment and rethink their purchases. This can be achieved through intensive public education and awareness creation that connects cultural practices, teachings, values, and beliefs to MSW.

Participants expressed the need for their communities to consciously teach and apply the cultural factors and others to positively change attitudes and behaviors regarding MSW. This appeal results from the realization that culture does not play a predominant role in MSW and that a (re)connection to cultural ways of life can reverse the situation. That is to say that when First Nations begin to learn more about their culture, knowledge about the environment and how to protect it would increase, leading them to practice traditional ways of managing and protecting the environment, including MSW management. Participants largely attributed the wide gap between peoples’ understanding of culture and how that should influence MSW behavior and attitudes to a non-vibrant culture when compared with that of earlier generations.

The Seven Sacred or Grandfather Teachings—love, courage, wisdom, truth, respect, humility, and honesty—are said to be built into the ways of life of First Nations (Borrows, 2008; Kading et al., 2019). However, it was not clear to participants how all these teachings have been taught and applied in the context of MSW management, although they are “instructions about the foundational values that make up our relationships with each other and the natural world” (Verbos & Humphries, 2014, p. 2). For instance, how humility, wisdom, and bravery have and can be applied to MSW was not explained or understood by participants. In fact, no participant explained all the seven teachings and how they can guide community members to properly manage MSW. Nevertheless, love for the environment, honesty with self and the state of waste generation, respect for the environment and self, and truth about MSW challenges and their impact on MSW waste management were four of the Seven Sacred Teachings that were mentioned by participants when explaining the five identified cultural factors. Explaining the Seven Traditional Teachings and how they impact MSW management would require a deeper understanding of the teachings themselves and sharing of that knowledge by, for example, elders and knowledge keepers, who are tasked with the responsibility of passing down knowledge to younger generations in First Nations.

Conclusion

This research examined whether culture impacts MSW management in First Nations in Canada and unearthed five cultural factors that influenced participants’ participation in MSW management programs. These cultural factors—avoiding waste, taking care of each other, protecting the land, respect for the land, and connection to the land—provided the foundation for participants to be mindful of their MSW management practices, attitudes, and behaviors to protect the land—a characteristic that defines First Nations’ relationship with the environment (Richardson, 2009; Weiss et al., 2013). Application of the cultural factors was mostly limited to biodegradable waste, which traditionally and historically First Nations were used to because of traditional activities such as hunting, trapping, and fishing that characterized their living. However, participating in a broader world economy, where consumption of packaged resources is commonplace, has introduced waste materials that are more challenging to manage in First Nations.

The findings of the research provide researchers, solid waste planners, and practitioners with cultural characteristics that need to be examined and considered when planning MSW management and other environmental protection programs in First Nations. This is important because the identified cultural factors provide a lens for framing MSW management challenges as not predominantly an engineering or technical issue but one with cultural underpinnings that must be acknowledged to find sustainable solutions that are also culturally appropriate. Stated differently, developing MSW management plans and solutions must consider the unique culture of First Nations because they have lived with and been influenced by their culture for generations. The culture and worldviews of people influence what they choose to do and finding cultural solutions to MSW management will complement, for example, the technical or engineering solutions that have dominated solid waste management approaches in First Nations.

However, the data are clear that more needs to be done to make the cause–effect relationship between culture and MSW management widespread in communities. Community members may be aware of important cultural teachings, beliefs, and values, but without a conscious effort to connect these to MSW management, which is usually below the pecking order of issues communities face, the teachings, values, and beliefs may be applied in a limited way, as revealed in this research. Of important note is the lack of a direct application of the identified cultural factors to non-biodegradable waste and the Seven Grandfather Teachings to MSW management.

Given that education and awareness programs can change attitudes and behaviors about MSW management (Ferronato & Torretta, 2019), we suggest that a starting point to bring attention to how culture impacts MSW management in First Nations would be integrating the identified cultural factors and others into education and awareness campaigns and programs to emphasize their importance to dealing with MSW management challenges. Creating these building blocks would also connect community members to the environment and encourage them to act to improve their attitudes and behaviors because of connections they may see with the information provided.

We conclude that ISC, which is the federal body responsible for developing MSW management programs, as well as promulgating and enforcing legislation and regulations in First Nations, should work with First Nations during program development stages to identify and assess the unique cultural factors that need to be included into program planning and delivery. This approach or process should also inform policies on MSW management in First Nations.

Our research does not provide a comprehensive data on all cultural factors that impact or can impact MSW management in First Nations, but to the best of our knowledge, this is the first research that has attempted to examine cultural impacts of MSW management in First Nations specifically and MSW management generally. What is established, nonetheless, is that First Nations culture impacts MSW management efforts, and our research provides five cultural factors that should be integrated into plans, programs, and activities that seek to find solutions to the many MSW management challenges that First Nations are confronted with. It is also our conclusion that cultural solutions to MSW management challenges can complement the technical and engineering solutions that are usually pursued in First Nations.

Future research should further examine these factors to establish their impact and presence in other First Nations, as well as highlight challenges and barriers community members face in their attempt to apply them. In addition, research is needed to explore how the Seven Grandfather Teachings can influence people’s attitudes and behaviors regarding MSW management, since the teachings constitute a value system that places responsibility on First Nations in all facets of life, including human–environment relationships. Finally, we suggest research examines and assesses how culture can impact the management of non-biodegradable waste, such as plastics.

Footnotes

Acknowledgements

I acknowledge the leadership and people of Peguis First Nation and Heiltsuk Nation for allowing me to work with them on this research on their territories. I am grateful to the elders, knowledge keepers, and community members who shared their knowledge and experiences with me and guided me throughout the research.

Author’s note

Anderson Assuah is an Assistant Professor in the Aboriginal and Northern Studies program at University College of the North located in Manitoba, Canada. His research focuses on environmental and natural resources management and sustainability in Indigenous, rural, remote, and northern communities.

Declaration of conflicting interests

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and publication of this article.

Funding

The author received no financial support for the research, authorship, and publication of this article.

ORCID iD

Anderson Assuah

Glossary

Gvi’las a complex and comprehensive system of Heiltsuk laws that embodies values, beliefs, teachings, principles, practices, and consequences; inherent in this is the understanding that all things are connected and that unity is important to maintain

Heiltsuk a First Nation, British Columbia, Canada

Peguis a First Nation, Manitoba, Canada

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