Public Lands and Resources Management: The Policy Backdrop

• Author: Elaine L. Hughes, Arlene J. Kwasniak, Alastair R. Lucas
• Pages: 101-120

101

CHAPTER 5

PUBLIC LANDS

AND RESOURCES

MANAGEMENT:

THE POLICY BACKDROP

Elaine L Hughes

A. EARLY RESOURCE HISTORY

As discussed in Chapter 1, people f‌irst entered North America over

12,000 years ago. Over thousands of years, those early ancestors of

First Nations peoples spread across the continent. Over generations,

“their adaptations to new regions — t he Arctic, tundra, woodlands, and

coastal regions — created different societies and cultures.”1 Over mil-

lennia, Pacif‌ic coastal peoples survived primarily as f‌ishers; plains In-

dians’ resource use focused on migratory buffalo hunting; sub-Arctic

peoples were hunters, f‌ishers, and gatherers; eastern forest dwellers

became largely agricultural; and Arctic peoples survived as dedicated

hunters. As a generalization, early Aboriginal peoples sought to live off

the land in harmony with nature. As described by MacDowell (at 19):

Although Aboriginal people hunted animals, they shared their en-

vironment with them and developed rituals to show their respect.

Within their worldv iew, huma n beings did not hold a special place in

the cosmos — they were but one element among m any in an integrat-

ed environment. This worldview meant accommodation with other

species and with nature. Pre-contact farming and hunter-gatherer

societies understood their environment. They had to if they hoped

1 Laurel Sefton M acDowell, An Environmental History of Can ada (Vancouver: UBC

Press, 2012) at 15.

PUBLIC LANDS AND RESOURCES LAW IN CA NADA102

to maintain their culture, a food supply, and a manageable popu-

lation level. They were people who “adapted to their environment

and worked out a code of behaviour for living compatibly with their

world.”

Around 1000 CE, Norse traders — the f‌irst Europeans to reach

North America — landed in Newfoundland, Labrador, and the east-

ern Arctic. Trading of iron and cloth for pelts, horns, tusks, and tim-

ber occurred sporadically, but the relationship between the Norse and

the eastern First Nations peoples they encountered was also frequently

marred by conf‌lict.2 The few outposts established by the Europeans

were abandoned by the mid-1300s, apart from areas of Greenland that

were inhabited until the mid-f‌ifteenth century. It would be the late

f‌ifteenth century, however, before southern European explorers such

as Columbus and Cabot would rediscover the Americas and begin the

process of invasion “premised on notions of superiority, conquest and

environmental exploitation for commercial gain.”3 It was here that the

history of Canada as a story of resource exploitation truly began.

B. STAPLES EXPLOITATION

From the sixteenth century onward, European exploration, resource

exploitation, and colonization of the Americas expanded. In Canada,

early resource exploitation focused on the Ea st Coa st f‌isheries, particu-

larly the cod f‌ishery, whaling, and hunting of seabird colonies.4 Timber

from the eastern old-growth forests was another valuable resource, as

were pelts and furs. Eclipsed at f‌irst by trade in gold and spices from

the Caribbean and South America, the fur trade eventually emerged as

a major industry,5 which pushed the Europeans ever further into the

North American interior. Cultural impacts on Aboriginal peoples were

profound, and included the introduction of diseases, agricultural prac-

tices, technology, exotic pests, and the commercialization of hunting.

Subsistence practices were replaced by hunting and trapping designed

to meet the market demand of “European commercial companies in-

tent on prof‌it through plunder.”6 Mass wildlife depletions (e.g., buffalo,

beaver, and swans) and extinctions (e.g., passenger pigeons) sparked

2 Ibid at 19 –20.

3 Ibid at 21.

4 Ibid at 22–2 3.

5 Ibid at 3 0–31.

6 Ibid at 32.