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Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

Power from the North

Territory, Identity, and the Culture of Hydroelectricity in Quebec

Distributed for University of British Columbia Press

Power from the North

Territory, Identity, and the Culture of Hydroelectricity in Quebec

In the 1970s, Hydro-Québec declared in a publicity campaign “We Are Hydro-Québécois.” The slogan symbolized the intimate ties that had emerged between hydroelectric development in Northern Quebec and French Canadian national aspirations. Caroline Desbiens focuses on the first phase of the James Bay hydroelectric project to explore how this culture of hydroelectricity marginalized Aboriginal territories through the manipulation of Northern Quebec’s material landscape. She concludes that truly sustainable resource development will depend on all actors bringing an awareness of their cultural histories and visions of nature, North, and nation to the negotiating table.

Table of Contents

Foreword: Ideas of North / Graeme Wynn

Introduction: Looking North

Part 1: Power and the North

1 The Nexus of Hydroelectricity in Quebec

2 Discovering a New World: James Bay as Eeyou Istchee

Part 2: Writing the Land

3 Who Shall Convert the Wilderness into a Flourishing Country?

4 From the Roman de la Terre to the Roman des Ressources

Part 3: Rewriting the Land

5 Pioneers

6 Workers

7 Spectators

Conclusion: Ongoing Stories and Powers from the North

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

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