Summary
Hundreds of square miles of forest in the region around the confluence of the Reindeer and Churchill rivers were burned by Southern prospectors. Burning forests was a method of reducing the thick brush, making prospecting easier for those intent on increasing mining operations in Northern Saskatchewan.
Implications
Caribou would not return to burned out sections of the forest, and for local Aboriginal people who depended on caribou for their livelihood, these large forest fires made it extremely difficult to continue to survive through their traditional means of livelihood. This would force Indigenous peoples to adapt their lifestyle patterns to fit into colonial means of sustenance and livelihood in order to survive, thus furthering the Canadian Government's goal of assimilation.
Date
1937-00-00