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Dam Bennett: The Impacts of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam and Williston Lake Reservoir on the Tsek'ehne of Northern British Columbia
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- Author / Creator
- Sims, Daniel
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In 1968 the province of British Columbia completed the W.A.C. Bennett Dam and created the Williston Lake reservoir. Far from being an empty wilderness eagerly waiting for development, the site of this new body of water was the centre of the Tsekâehne homeland. Unsurprisingly, the W.A.C. Bennett Dam negatively affected them. Much of their traditional territory was flooded, and because of poor planning, the three Tsekâehne communities in the Rocky Mountain Trench were increasingly isolated from one another. BCâs Aboriginal policy, with its denial of Aboriginal title, small reserves and perception of Indigenous people as lazy and in the way of progress, only made matters worse as certain pre-existing aspects suddenly became relevant and the officially recognized bands often had to deal with it on their own. Because of the impacts of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam, the connections between the three bands were weakened. Previous academics have missed this point because of their over reliance on outsider perspectives of the Tsekâehne.
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- Subjects / Keywords
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- Graduation date
- Spring 2018
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- Type of Item
- Thesis
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- Degree
- Doctor of Philosophy
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- License
- This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.