Week 6

Week 6, eh? That means I have this two more weeks to finish up this attempt at fieldwork. I've been told that it never really works out exactly as planned, so I've decided to do away with the anxiety. It's really more about the experience of going somewhere else and trying to learn something about it, right? That's the party line for this week, I think.

I've put up a poster at Keyano College asking people to do interviews with me. This tactic doesn't really fit into my original plan of having distinct sample groups, but then I'm not doing sociology. I'm more interested in talking to people and getting a bit of a broader view than fitting my research into neat categories. It may be harder to write up after, but I think I'll learn more this way.

I have gotten responses from the poster, and did an interview with one of these respondents this week. Pretty much everyone here is connected to industry in some way, and this student was an employee of one of the plants. Like most people here, he came from another province. He was surprised at the lack of concern for the environment in Fort McMurray; the way people drive cars spewing fumes, throw garbage out their windows, and generally focus on their own economic benefit and ignore whatever impacts they may have.

His observations mirror those of another woman I spoke to this week, who had come here from British Columbia. She was a bit shocked to find out that most residents didn't express concerns for their health here. She said that her experience growing up in BC, where environmental and health concerns are more prevalent, was much different from that of Fort McMurray residents. In her view, they don't exercise enough, are not informed about non-biomedical health options, and are subject to some hazardous fumes. One of her worries was for her children's respiratory health; one has asthma, which tends to worsen when the winds blow into town from the plants. It was interesting to hear from someone who is into holistic health--apparently such philosophies are rare in this region.

I took a few days on the weekend and went camping near Nordegg (many hours southwest of Fort McMurray, sitting right in the mountains). The environment was such a contrast to Wood Buffalo. Aside from not being in the boreal forest, I wasn't around huge trucks hauling strange equipment, I didn't see any moon-like landscapes, and it just felt different. The air felt a little different, the water looked clean, I saw wildlife. The change made me see how people can become indfiffernt to their environment. When you're around dirty streets and parks all the time, I think maybe you stop noticing it. Coming back to McMurray certainly reminded me that there was something going on here that was not happening in other places.

I've decided not to hate Fort McMurray, but I'm pretty sure I don't like it. I know that social scientists aren't really supposed to cast judgment, instead to study "objectively," but the experience of the social and physical landscape here is not something that I would like to continue indefinitely. Two more weeks!

Week 7

Maybe it's just because I know I'm going home soon, but Fort McMurray is wearing on me. It's hard to find things to do when I'm not doing interviews or going to the library. I'm sure it would be different if I knew people here to socialize with, but there doesn't seem to be much here that resembles my peer group at home. My living arrangements are entirely comfortable either, and it's hard to stop thinking about my own bed with my own bathroom and my own kitchen, and my cats on the windowsill and friends down the street.

This dissatisfaction with staying up here has inspired me to get more work done. I've been able to talk to a couple of people who are fairly important in their circles and have had the opportunity to observe the local environment for an extended period of time. They recognize the value that the industry has for the local economy, but also can offer insight on the ways that the landscape and how it is used have changed. Physical environment was an issue, but the social environment was also very important to them. As medical anthropologists know, the social determinants of health are just as critical to understand as biological determinants.

Some of the social concerns include inadequate housing, racism in work situations, drug and alcohol abuse, the effects of shift work on families and a lack of effective, well-funded social programs. Of course any of these situations can be found in other cities, but when they occur together and in geographical isolation, my respondents worry that much is needed to take care of the Wood Buffalo communities. Health, to them, was not just about bodies, but about families and communities and traditions.

Speaking of families, my dad came and visited me for a day. He had some business in town, so decided to spend the night--driving to and from Fort McMurray in one day is not nice, and I'm certainly fun to visit. I got to stay the night in a hotel! It had a bathroom right in it, and air conditioning, and a pleasant smell. We went up to the Syncrude front gates and looked at the displays they have set up for tourists. My dad enjoyed looking at all the huge equipment, and was shocked at the land surrounding the plants. Pictures are one thing, but actually seeing how strange the sites look is something completely different. The buffalo planted at the gates were hiding, so we didn't get to see them. We did get to read about how Syncrude is helping them--not much about how they decimated their homes in the first place, though.

Well, that's about it for this week. Things are getting done, but it's a bit monotonous. I would definitely like to have some fun soon. Next week will be tying up the "sure you can talk to me, how about in a couple of days? oh, maybe next week..." interviews and going home.

Week 8

I'm home!

And so happy to be here. Two months is not really a long time, and I probably sound like a whiny brat, but it sure is nice to be back.

As I always do before travelling, I got ready to leave way too early and then sat around my empty (but still stinky) room waiting until it was time to do my final interview and then leave for Edmonton. I had already turned my best friend (the TV) back in to the office, so I checked the drawers about fourteen times, then decided that I'd be early for the appointment.

My last interview was great. I spoke to a woman at the Metis local and she was so nice. She had "only" been in Fort McMurray for about thirty years, and had a lot to say about the changes she's seen. We had a great conversation, and I mentioned that I had my car loaded up and was leaving after we were done. She gave me cookies and pop and water and a little beaded thing to hang from my rear view mirror. Leaving on such a good note helped me to feel a bit more positive about Fort McMurray.

My Rabbit made it! I had very little faith in my poor car surviving it's trip to the oilsands, but it performed great. I got an oil change, and notice halfway home from McMurray that my mileage hadn't changed from the maintenance until Wandering River. So the odometer stopped working, and the motor that's supposed to squirt washer fluid onto my window is also dead, but neither of these is serious. I really don't care how many miles I've driven, and a water bottle works fine to clean the windshield. I smashed into a huge bug that looked like a giant spider when it was mashed into my wipers--I was going to take a picture, but I figured that was kind of gross, so nobody will have to see it.

I'm not quite sure how to sum up my fieldwork. I met a bunch of different people with different views--I'm not going to be able to write one of those "this is the only way things are in this place" kind of papers, but I think it will be interesting. Although I didn't get as many interviews done as I might have liked, I certainly learned a lot and will have a lot to write about.

I think I might put away my notes for a little bit and allow some time to just let everything settle into my head before I try to start writing. I'll work a bit (like for money) and hang out a bit, and get back into things in September.

I'm very grateful to all the people who helped me while I was away. The Nistawoyou Association Frienship Centre was a huge help, as were all the individuals who took the time to talk to some kid from Edmonton. Of course I couldn't have done this without funding; ATOP, ACADRE and the Canadian Circumpolar Institute's Northern Scientific Training Program all provided some greatly appreciated funds for this project. Thanks!

If anyone would like to contact me about this work, or wants to buy a reliable 1980 Volkswagen Rabbit Convertible with questionable mileage, feel free to email me at shelbym@ualberta.ca.