Geography

Geography

Dr Nicole Gombay

Position

Lecturer

Qualifications

1990, B.A. (honours), University of Toronto, Canada
1995, M.E.S., University of Waterloo, Canada
2003, Ph.D., Queen’s University, Canada
2003-2006, Post-doctoral fellow, McGill University, Canada

Contact Details

Room:307
Phone: +64 3 364 2987 ext 8123
Fax: +64 3 364 2907
nicole.gombay@canterbury.ac.nz

Postal address:
Department of Geography
University of Canterbury
Private Bag 4800
Christchurch
New Zealand

Research

The focus of my research has, in various ways, been linked to the experience of indigenous people living in the context of a settler society. I have placed a particular emphasis on the impacts of the inclusion of indigenous populations in the political and economic institutions associated with the state. The context for my own research has been in the Arctic, with a particular emphasis on Inuit populations in Canada .

My general interests lie in:

  • The impacts of land claims on indigenous political processes and identity construction
  • Common property systems and the impacts of state intervention on those systems
  • Food systems
  • Territoriality and resource use
  • The construction of economic systems of indigenous peoples and interactions with the market forces
  • Identity and community construction of indigenous peoples in settler societies
  • Contested knowledges

I am currently involved in two research projects in Nunavik ( Northern Quebec ). The first project is related to poaching. I am interested in looking at how new regulatory concepts and structures that have been set up as a result of land claims are re-defining people's conception, access, and use of resources, and in so doing, shaping their notions of environment, community, and the rights and obligations that accrue to community members. This research also serves as a vehicle for looking at the formation of identity and ethnic relations between Inuit and non-Inuit.

The second research project is related to Inuit entrepreneurs. This research explores the ways in which Inuit entrepreneurs accommodate the demands of the social economy with those of the market economy.

Teaching

Selected Publications

Please see Nicole's UC Research Profile for a full list of publications