Whose Nature?: Exploring the Link Between Wilderness, Belonging and Residential Summer Camp Use among Canadian Immigrants

Kristen Bustamante

doi:10.32920/ryerson.14655327.v1

Abstract

This study reviews the relationship between a national identity in Canada based on wilderness and the exclusionary experience of immigrants and racialized groups. In particular, this study focuses on the opinions and experiences of immigrant parents towards residential summer camps, as they have long been considered a typically ‘Canadian’ activity for youth. While summer camps are an activity dominated by youth, immigrant parents were chosen as a sample group because they play a large role in mitigating the summer recreational experiences of their children. Feelings of belonging and exclusion experienced by parents are important when evaluating issues of child socialization into Canadian norms. Included are the results of qualitative interviews with immigrant parents alongside several theoretical frameworks that assist in explaining the under-representation of immigrant groups in both residential summer camps and wilderness-based recreational pursuits more broadly.

Highlights

In Canada, residential summer camps1 have long been considered “the definingCanadian growing-up experience” (Murray, 2008, p. 6) as they provide the opportunity for youth to engage with natural settings and traditional methods of ‘wilderness survival’
Certain recreational pursuits have been so closely developed alongside national identity formation they have achieved the status of ‘truly Canadian’
Interview Findings Interviews with immigrant parents revealed several issues regarding the participation of immigrant youth in residential summer camps and wilderness settings more broadly

Summary

Introduction

In Canada, residential summer camps have long been considered “the definingCanadian growing-up experience” (Murray, 2008, p. 6) as they provide the opportunity for youth to engage with natural settings and traditional methods of ‘wilderness survival’. In Canada, residential summer camps have long been considered “the defining. Activities associated with ‘Canadianness’ have often centered on iconic images of our engagement with nature as a culture descended from the frontier wilderness. Few activities exemplify this connection to Canadian wilderness better than residential summer camps. As Canadians engage with an increasingly multicultural population, questions of identity and belonging have become increasingly relevant in the dialogue surrounding full social inclusion. This report will explore the ways in which the Canadian identity reflects a legacy of social and political realities, wherein white Canadians sought to assert racial and cultural supremacy. Aspects of ‘Canadianness’ continue to portray symbolic renderings of the wilderness as an exclusive and exclusionary space for white Canadians

Methods

Results

Conclusion