Over the past two decades, the question of who owns the land of Temagami and how the land should be used has caused a debate of unparalleled intensity. For the native people, it is their lands under attack. For environmentalists from all parts of Ontario, it is a case of ecological preservation of a unique but fast-disappearing wilderness. For others, dependent upon the resource sector, it is a matter of economic survival, both individually and for their communities. In an attempt to clarify the issues surrounding Temagami, Laurentian University’s Institute of Northern Ontario Development and Research invited participants in the Temagami debate to a conference in October, 1989. What follows in this volume are eleven of the revised papers originally presented there. A balanced perspective on the issues at hand is coupled with the views of the various interest groups. Topics covered include aboriginal rights in Temagami, the development of a wilderness park system in Ontario, the management of multiple resources, the importance of tourism in Temagami and an environmentalist’s perspective.

Temagami’s Tangled Wild traces the processes and power relationships through which the Temagami area of northeastern Ontario has become emblematic of Canadian wilderness. In this sophisticated analysis, Jocelyn Thorpe uncovers how struggles over meaning, racialized and gendered identities, and land have made Temagami a site of wild Canadian nature. Despite the fact that the Teme-Augama Anishnabai have for many generations understood the region as their homeland rather than as a wilderness, the forestry and tourism industries, as well as Canadian law, have refused to acknowledge this claim. Instead, the concept of wilderness has been employed to aid in Aboriginal dispossession and to create a home for non-Aboriginal Canadians on Native land. An eloquent critique and engaging history, Temagami’s Tangled Wild challenges readers to acknowledge how colonial relations are embedded in our notions of wilderness, and to reconsider our understanding of the wilderness ideal.

The Temagami region of northern Ontario has been a magnet for recreational canoeists since the 1890s, when city dwellers began embarking on long, gruelling trips to reach its unfettered wilderness. The land is steeped in the history of its tribal inhabitants, the Teme-Augama Anishnabai (TAA), whose roots are 6,000 years deep. At the turn of the 20th century, the TAA still hunted on their traditional family territories, trading pelts at the Hudson's Bay Company post on Bear Island. The railway arrived in 1904, easing travel from all over North America. Steamships conveyed passengers to all five arms of the lake where rustic resorts and youth camps were popping up. Soon, the village of Temagami became a tourism hub. Logging and mining would later diversify the economy. The province of Ontario began leasing the lake's more than 1,200 islands in 1906. In 1931 cottagers united against logging near the mainland shoreline under the Timagami Association banner, now the Temagami Lakes Association. Temagami is the only Ontario lake where mainland shoreline development is banned Temagami Lakes Association: The Life and Times of a Cottage Community recounts Temagami's history to 2011, and examines the Association's often convoluted, occasionally controversial, relationships with the TAA, various levels of government, villagers and within its own ranks. The narrative is lightened by cottagers' tales of mice invasions, flesh-embedded fish hooks, encounters with big screen stars, cabin construction gone awry and the like. More than 150 photos enliven the text.

Features many stories from Native American folklore. The book is illustrated by several black and white illustrations and photographs.

Temagami, located in northern Ontario (five hours north of Toronto by car) is a world-renowned canoe tripping destination featuring over 4,000 square miles of canoe country. The waterways of the Temagami region are particularly attractive since many of the routes form convenient trip loops. Hap Wilson compiles more than 25 canoe route descriptions, including hiking trails that cater to wilderness paddlers from beginner to expert. Climb Maple Mountain, camp at Centre Falls, listen to the wolves howl, or fish its fabled deep waters -- Temagami has it all.

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