CCF colonialism in northern Saskatchewan : battling parish priests, bootleggers, and fur sharks
"Saskatchewan's Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) the forerunner of the NDP, is often remembered for its humanitarian platform and its pioneering social programs. But during the twenty years it governed, it wrought a much less scrutinized legacy in the northern regions of the province." "Until the 1940s, churches, fur traders, and other influential newcomers held firm control over Saskatchewan's northern region. Following its rise to power in 1944 the CCF made aggressive efforts to unseat these traditional powers and install a new socialist economy and society in largely Aboriginal communities. The next two decades brought major changes to the region as well-meaning government planners grossly misjudged the challenges that confronted the north and failed to implement programs that would meet its needs. Northerners lacked the voice and political clout to determine policies for their half of the province and the CCF effectively created a colonial apparatus, imposing its own ideas and plans in those communities without consulting residents. While it did ensure that parish priests, bootleggers, and fur sharks no longer dominated the north, it failed to establish a workable alternative." "In written history that documents the colonial relationship between the CCT and northern Saskatchewan, David Quiring draws on extensive archival research and oral history to offer a fresh look at the CCF era. This examination will find an audience among historians of the north. Aboriginal scholars and general readers interested in Canadian history."--Jacket
History
xx, 356 pages : map ; 24 cm
9780774809382, 9780774809399, 0774809388, 0774809396
54372983
AcknowledgmentsIntroductionPart One: At the Crossroads1 Another Country AltogetherPart Two: Building the Colonial Structure2 From the Top3 The Ultimate Solution4 A Deterrent to DevelopmentPart Three: The Segregated Economy5 Never Before Have We Been So Poor6 At the Point of a Gun7 Just One Jump Out of the Stone Age8 A Pre-Industrial Way of LifePart Four: Poverty-Stricken and Disease-Ridden9 Scarcely More Than Palliative10 Dollars Are Worth More Than LivesEpilogue: We Will Measure Our SuccessAppendicesNotesBibliographyIndex