it is only the beginning: an ethnohistory of mid-twentieth century land tenure in fort severn, ontario
abstract
this research presents the results of sixteen interviews with mushkego
(swampy cree) elders from the community of fort severn, ontario. the
interviews focused on commercial and subsistence trapping conducted in the
mid-20th century, specifically the period around the imposition of a foreign land
tenure system by provincial authorities. a variety of themes were identified in the
interviews related to traditional knowledge, animal-human relationships, access
to mechanisms of controlling land use, and relationships within and without the
community. special focus was paid to the history of relations between the
community and the ontario ministry of natural resources (mnr) and its
predecessors. the interviews were compared to historical developments in the
fur trade and wildlife conservation. the analysis concludes that the community
experienced repeated reductions in social-ecological resilience during the 19th
and 20th centuries, due to increasing social and economic marginalization
coupled with the reduction of access to their land and resources. a widespread
outbreak of infectious disease among beaver populations contributed to reasons
for abandoning the imposed land tenure system. after the 1950s, the trapline
boundaries defined by the province were largely retained in name only. in the
1990s they were co-opted in a co-management process, and elders noted that
continued use of the land (including the traplines) is a tool in maintaining their
rights to the land.