Un-layering landscapes: A post-colonial critique of "wilderness" in Tsimshian Territory, northern British Columbia.

Wilderness' is a term commonly used to describe the forested landscapes of northern British Columbia. This interpretation stems from a western colonial ideology that was transferred to the landscapes of the New World' during the long process of colonization. The rhetoric embedded in the culturally constructed concept of wilderness' had the effect of dehumanizing and erasing an extant vibrant cultural Aboriginal landscape. This re-writing of the landscape was accomplished through various colonial mechanisms, including cartography and the creation of Indian Reserves. Primary and secondary literature demonstrate the extent to which the concept wilderness' has become a meta-narrative of the landscape and shows how this dominant colonial ideology continues to be embedded in social understandings of the land. Information gathered through exploratory interviews with people from the Tsimshian First Nation community of Kitsumkalum in northern British Columbia indicates that First Nations people's attachment to the land is still deeply embedded in their culture and in their everyday lives. The ethnography demonstrates that these peoples' ideologies of the land have not been erased through colonialism. Rather, they have continued to exist. Thus it is important to work towards a space where more than one ideology of the land can not only exist, but also be acknowledged and accepted especially when faced with treaty negotiations over land and rights.--P.ii.