معرفی
Arn Keeling is a Professor in the Department of Geography at Memorial University of Newfoundland, specializing in the historical and contemporary interactions between Indigenous communities and resource extraction in Northern Canada. His research spans environmental justice, political ecology, and historical geography, with a focus on pollution legacies from mining operations.
His primary research interests examine colonial impacts on Indigenous environmental health, particularly through long-term studies of abandoned mines in Northern Canada. Keeling investigates how lax regulation and corporate practices created toxic legacies affecting communities like the Yellowknives Dene, with emphasis on arsenic contamination from sites like Giant Mine near Yellowknife. His work bridges historical analysis with contemporary environmental justice frameworks.
His publications reveal consistent focus on mineral development impacts, mine closure processes, and Indigenous resistance. Recent work analyzes arsenic exposure controversies at Giant Mine, demonstrating how government agencies downplayed health risks while communities documented poisoning through independent testing. This reflects broader patterns of environmental injustice in resource extraction zones.
Keeling collaborates extensively with John Sandlos on major funded projects, including multi-year studies examining abandoned mines (2008-2017) and international research networks investigating Indigenous engagements with mineral development. His work receives support from Canada's Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC).
As co-editor of Mining and Communities in Northern Canada (University of Calgary Press, 2015) and Mining Country: A History of Canada's Mines and Miners (Lorimer, 2021), he has shaped scholarly discourse on mining history. His current research examines perpetual care requirements for toxic waste sites and unresolved historical injustices affecting Indigenous communities.
