| This thesis attempts to formulate the significance of an emerging movement in commercial forestry by First Nations across Canada from a comprehensive point of view, in which a forest-dependent Aboriginal community has been interrelated with mainstream society in Canada. The first half of this thesis discusses changes in mainstream society that have impacted Aboriginal communities on a profound level, such as the historical dynamics of Canada's resource-dependent economy, gradual acknowledgement of Aboriginal and treaty rights, and the growing environmental movement. Also, this thesis asserts that people who have close ties with the natural environment ("forest people") have a unique perspective of forests. Taking the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta as an example, the second half of this thesis discusses how this community has been vying with mainstream society in order to add their values to forest management planning processes, while utilizing their traditional forests. |
