Once at the heart of economic exchange and cultural encounter between the First Nations and the early European traders in the Americas, the “Little North” region of Canada may be again at a crossroads in its history. This conference seeks to take stock of the past significance and contemporary dynamics of the “Little North,” its First Nations people, and the issues facing its inhabitants as Canada seeks sustainable development.

Participant bios

Working Schedule and Participants (subject to change)
More details to follow as they become available. Reception, keynote speech, and conference sessions are all free and open to the campus community, public, and press.

Friday evening  April 16, 2004

5:00 pm. Reception. Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology, Kroeber Hall.

6:30 pm. Conference keynote address, 160 Kroeber Hall.

Harry Bombay
Executive Director, National Aboriginal Forestry Association

Aboriginal Interests in Boreal Forest Management

The National Aboriginal Forestry Association (NAFA) was established in 1991. Harry Bombay has served as Executive Director of NAFA for the past twelve years where he has been responsible for organizational development, strategic planning and the creation of partnerships with governments and industry stakeholders, in addition to day-to-day administration of the association.

In his new role as Director of Strategic Initiatives, Mr. Bombay  will oversee a number of specific initiatives related to boreal forest management, forest research, capacity and institutional development, and international matters including trade, indigenous peoples liaison, and forest policy. Initially, a primary focus will be on boreal forest issues, facilitating Mr. Bombay’s continued involvement as a member of the Board of Directors of the Sustainable Forest Management Network and as a member of the NRTEEs (National Round Table on the Economy and Environment) Task Force on Boreal Issues.

 

Saturday, April 17, 2004

Goldberg Room, 297 Simon Hall, School of Law

9:00 am: coffee

9:15-11:15: Panel 1. Background, History, and Culture of the Little North
(Chair – Richard Rhodes, Linguistics, UCB)

Thomas G. Barnes (History and Law, UCB; Co-Chair of Canadian Studies Program)
In the Wake of Harold Innis' Canoe

Victor Lytwyn (Historical Geographer, Erin, Ontario)
In Search of Lake Sanderson: Tracing Hudson's Bay Company Fur Trade Routes in the Little North

Mary Black-Rogers (Anthropology, University of Alberta)
Life with the Crane Indians, Past and Present, in Mid-Little North:  Did Their Geography Mould Their Culture and Their Acceptance of Change?

Kathryn Molohon (Anthropology, Laurentian University) in absentia
Culture and Adaptations of Swampy Cree Residents of the West Coast of James Bay

11:15-11:30: break
 
11:30–12:30: Panel 2a. GIS in the Study of History and Culture
(Chair – John Radke, Director, Geographic Information Systems Center)

John Radke (Director, Geographic Information Science Center, UCB)
Why GIS? The Potential of GIS Applications in the Humanities

Dan Cole (GIS Coordinator and Research Cartographer, Smithsonian Institution)
Digital Atlas of American Indians: Changes Through the Centuries in Population and Land Tenure

12:30-1:30: buffet lunch

1:30-2:30: Panel 2b. “The Canoe Atlas of the Little North”
(Chair – John Radke, Director, Geographic Information Systems Center)

Jon Berger (President/CEO of Expert Information Systems, Inc.)
The Creation of the Canoe Atlas of the Little North

Weimin Li (Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, UCB)
From Spatial Data to GIS Data: The Goals of the Canoe Atlas GIS

2:30-2:45: break
 
2:45-4:45: Panel 3. The Present and Future of the Little North
(Chair – Nelson Graburn, Anthropology; Curator for North American Ethnology,
Hearst Museum of Anthropology; Co-Chair of the Canadian Studies Program)

Adrian Tanner (Anthropology, Memorial University, St John's, NFLD)
Can Traditional Knowledge be Captured using GIS?' 

Lillian Trapper (Policy Analyst and Coordinator, Lands and Resources, Moose Cree First Nation)
First Nations and GIS in the Little North

Raphael Sussman (Manager, Land Information Ontario)
Access to Ontario’s Spatial Data: A Partnership Initiative by Land Information Ontario

Fred P. Wesley (Deputy Chief, Attawapiskat First Nation, Attawapiskat, Ontario)
The Impact of Mega-Project Resource Development on the West Coast of James Bay

 4:45-5:00: Concluding remarks. Nelson Graburn.

Conference organizers: 

Prof. Nelson H.H. Graburn, Professor of Anthropology; Curator for North America,
Hearst Museum of Anthropology; and Co-Chair, Canadian Studies Program

Dr. Rita Ross, Vice-Chair and Academic Coordinator, Canadian Studies Program

Dr. Caverlee Cary, Academic Coordinator, Geographic Information Science Center

 

This conference is made possible through the generous support of the Government of Canada

with additional support from

the Doreen B. Townsend Center for the Humanities,  the Institute of International Studies,
the Department of Anthropology, and the Phoebe Hearst Museum of Anthropology.
 

Canadian Studies would also like to recognize the ongoing support of
International and Area Studies at the University of California at Berkeley.