Construction of Whitesand Rapids Storage Dam

The construction of this dam raised water levels in Reindeer Lake nearly five feet, and the outlfow south of the dam changed so drastically that the habitat became unliveable for muskrat, beaver and mink.  It also led to the destruction of spawning grounds and reduced fish harvests.  Local Indigenous residents were never compensated for their significant fishing and trapping losses, nor were they provided with alternative means to support their livelihoods. In addition, flooding represented more than a material loss; environmental destruction and the disappearance of key species in an ecosystem contribute to emotional, cultural, physical, and intergenerational impacts of colonialism within an Indigenous community. According to oral histories conducted by the Churchill Committee in March 1978, Pelican Narrows resident Alex Bear stated that very little consultation was undertaken with Indigenous residents when the Whitesand dam was built. He explains that the deeper water levels the dam created rendered net fishing impossible. Ernest McLeod, a resident of Stanley Mission explains how the high water levels flooded the muskrat nests, killing the animals in the process (Churchill Committee Brief to the Churchill River Board of Inquiry, 1978).