Impact of hydroelectric development upon a northern Manitoba native community

Thesis/Dissertation · Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1983

OSTI ID:5070481

Waldram, J B

This dissertation describes the process of underdevelopment among the Cree Indian people of South Indian Lake, in Northern Manitoba, Canada, following the construction of the Churchill-Nelson River Hydro Project in 1975. The dissertation seeks to link the ecological, political, economic, socio-cultural and health aspects of the impact of the hydro project within the framework of the historical process of underdevelopment as it has occurred in Latin America, among Native people in the United States, and among Native people in Northern Canada. Utilizing both qualitative and quantitative data, a process of increased dependence is described as the product of two related processes. The first process is the impairment of the local commercial and domestic economy caused by the flooding of Southern Indian Lake, which has resulted in a decline in local productivity. The second process is the enhancement of consumerism through rising consumer expectations and a post-project increase in available goods and services which the people are increasingly unable to afford. The overall result has been a process of economic divergence at the local level. The dissertation concludes that the process of underdevelopment which has occurred in South Indian Lake has been the result primarily of changes in the local ecological system caused by the construction of the hydro project. These ecological changes have, in turn, resulted in secondary changes in the socio-economic system.

• OSTI ID: 5070481
• Resource Relation: Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

13 HYDRO ENERGY
29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
AMERICAN INDIANS
SOCIO-ECONOMIC FACTORS
ENERGY FACILITIES
HYDROELECTRIC POWER
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS
MANITOBA
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
LAKES
POLITICAL ASPECTS
CANADA
ELECTRIC POWER
ENERGY SOURCES
HUMAN POPULATIONS
INSTITUTIONAL FACTORS
MINORITY GROUPS
NORTH AMERICA
POPULATIONS
POWER
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
SURFACE WATERS
130600* - Hydro Energy- Environmental Aspects
290200 - Energy Planning & Policy- Economics & Sociology
296000 - Energy Planning & Policy- Electric Power