Man camp

For the 2019 American comedy film, see Man Camp (film).

Man camp in North Dakota

Man camps are temporary workforce housing to accommodate a large influx of high-paid workers in the resource extraction industries, especially in Canada and the United States. Twentieth century boom–bust housing cycles related to the oil and gas industry made companies reluctant to invest in permanent housing for temporary workforces.[1][2]

The term 'man camp' was popularized in association with the Bakken oil boom in North Dakota. Media and photography depicting the transient workers drawn to this boom led The New York Times to select 'man camp' as one of the most important words of 2012.[1] Workforces in the resource extraction industries are overwhelmingly male, and studies of man camps conclude that they are hyper-masculine environments—although they do include some women.[1][3][4]

Man camps are frequently located in remote locations and can overwhelm local infrastructure and emergency services.[5][3][6] One study of man camps documented three distinct types: ranging from dormitory style prefabricated compounds that provide full services for thousands of workers to informal congregations of RVs squatting on vacant land (possibly in violation of local ordinances).[1] Larger dormitory-style camps may have strict rules for residents' behavior,[5][7] but others may have little oversight.[3] Man camps have been associated with violent crime and sex trafficking.[3][8][9][10] When man camps are near or overlap with Native American reservations, they are strongly correlated with higher rates of violence against and sex trafficking of Native American women.[4][8] Several studies have confirmed this pattern of violence.[8][11]

  1. ^ a b c d Caraher, William R.; Weber, Bret; Kourelis, Kostis; Rothaus, Richard (2017). "The North Dakota Man Camp Project: The Archaeology of Home in the Bakken Oil Fields". Historical Archaeology. 51 (2): 267–287. doi:10.1007/s41636-017-0020-8. ISSN 0440-9213. S2CID 151600087.
  2. ^ "From Family Camps to Man Camps: A Brief History Of Housing Workers In The Oil And Gas Industry". KRTS 93.5 FM Marfa Public Radio. October 3, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d Morgan, Vanessa Sloan; Hoogeveen, Dawn; Leeuw, Sarah de (August 2, 2021). "Industrial Camps in Northern British Columbia". ACME: An International Journal for Critical Geographies. 20 (4): 409–430. ISSN 1492-9732.
  4. ^ a b Z, Lara (May 29, 2019). "Final Report | MMIWG". www.mmiwg-ffada.ca. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  5. ^ a b Sulzberger, A. G. (November 26, 2011). "Oil Rigs Bring Camps of Men to the Prairie". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  6. ^ "Bakken oil booms _ and so does crime on the Plains". Associated Press. March 25, 2015. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  7. ^ "Life on an oil field 'man camp' – not for everyone". NBC News. September 3, 2011. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved April 5, 2022.
  8. ^ a b c Condes, Ana (October 10, 2021). "Man Camps and Bad Men: Litigating Violence Against American Indian Women". Northwestern University Law Review. 116 (2): 515–560. ISSN 0029-3571.
  9. ^ Whyte, Kyle Powys (Spring 2017). "The Dakota Access Pipeline, Environmental Injustice, and U.S. Colonialism" (PDF). Red Ink. 19 (1): 154–169.
  10. ^ Whyte, Kyle (March 1, 2017). "Indigenous Climate Change Studies: Indigenizing Futures, Decolonizing the Anthropocene". English Language Notes. 55 (1–2): 153–162. doi:10.1215/00138282-55.1-2.153. ISSN 0013-8282. S2CID 132153346.
  11. ^ Sweet, Victoria (November 22, 2014). "Extracting More Than Resources: Human Security and Arctic Indigenous Women". Seattle University Law Review. 37 (4): 1157. ISSN 1078-1927.