| The area surrounding the Serpent River watershed in Ontario has long been the traditional territory of the people of the Serpent River First Nation. As a result of the influx of uranium companies and settlers in the 1950s, the powerful narratives of mining and 'progress' silenced competing worldviews. In the context of a colonial relationship in transition in the Cold War period, the decision-making processes surrounding resource development excluded the Serpent River Anishinaabek. As effluent from mining tailings polluted the Serpent River threatened key community resources, so too did a sulphuric acid plant that was established on the reserve. As a result of both internal and external factors, the community began to successfully assert its traditional role as stewards after decades of inaction on the part of the federal and provincial government. This dissertation relies on both oral and archival sources, as well as media coverage to argue that colonialism in the Cold War period was in a time of transition, but its effects were no less pervasive. |
