Culture Loss and Sense of Place in Resource Valuation: Economics, Anthropology and Indigenous Cultures
Citation
Snyder, Robert, Williams, Daniel, and Peterson, George, Culture Loss and Sense of Place in Resource Valuation: Economics, Anthropology and Indigenous Cultures: Centre for Sami Studies, University of Tromsø: Tromsø.
Summary
Past attempts by economists and anthropologists to conceptualize and value culture loss suggest that greater effort is needed to open up new dialogues that recognize the perspectives of all actors present in resource valuation processes. Economic methods employed to value social and material goods associated with indigenous peoples' "sense of place" in the Arctic region develop only a portion of a more holistic problem of resource valuation for indigenous peoples practicing subsistence based livelihoods. Anthropological approaches to culture loss and valuation attempt a more holistic understanding a indigenous peoples’ sense of place, highlighting the uneven power relations embedded in the politics of resource valuation. These issues [...]
Summary
Past attempts by economists and anthropologists to conceptualize and value culture loss suggest that greater effort is needed to open up new dialogues that recognize the perspectives of all actors present in resource valuation processes. Economic methods employed to value social and material goods associated with indigenous peoples' "sense of place" in the Arctic region develop only a portion of a more holistic problem of resource valuation for indigenous peoples practicing subsistence based livelihoods. Anthropological approaches to culture loss and valuation attempt a more holistic understanding a indigenous peoples’ sense of place, highlighting the uneven power relations embedded in the politics of resource valuation. These issues are discussed in the context of economic efforts to conduct an environmental resource damage assessment (ERDA) of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill for value of the losses suffered by indigenous cultures affected by the spill.
