Dunaway, Finis

Environmental infrastructure transforms the surrounding physical and culturallandscapes. In Canada, it has long been an integral part of settler colonialism. It severs Indigenous ties to the land and furthers colonial goals. This thesis examines the complex history of the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW) during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when it drastically changed the region. Research using oral history, newspapers, and legal documents corrects a narrative that positions the TSW as a common good. The TSW is alleged to have served the people, but who benefitted? The experiences of riparian residents varied as Anishinaabe First Nations endured a multilayered form of violence, distinct from their settler counterparts. What was often a nuisance for settlers could be life-altering for Anishinaabeg. However, amidst these changes, residents demonstrated resilience. Communities actively shifted the TSW to tourism as they adapted to a transformed landscape.

Author Keywords: Canada, Colonial, Environment, Indigenous, Ontario, Waterway

Colonization has transformed the landscapes of the American Midwest and compromised the region's resources and ecologies. In response, governments, environmental scientists, and Indigenous nations have undertaken myriad efforts over the past century to restore Midwestern environments. Yet the appropriate goals and techniques for this work have been deeply contested. This thesis explores the scientific, political, and cultural meanings of ecological restoration in the region. Comparison of different forms of restoration reveals the contingency, malleability, and historical pitfalls of restoration knowledge and practices. By framing the pursuit as a problem of scientific, historical, or technical knowledge, practitioners have often neglected the political and cultural ramifications of restoration efforts. At the same time, restoration practices have influenced the intellectual, environmental, and political history of the Midwest in the twentieth century. The efforts of Midwestern scientists and public agencies have advanced wildlife and ecosystem conservation in the region, but have at times exacerbated environmental injustices and inequalities. More recent wild rice conservation efforts by Ojibwe governments demonstrate that, depending on how the framework has been constructed, ecological restoration has served as a tool for reclaiming Indigenous sovereignty as well as a vehicle for settler colonialism.

Author Keywords: American Midwest, conservation, ecological restoration, ecology, Indigenous history, settler colonialism

This is a community-based research project investigating the ability to meet a vision of co-governance. This dissertation investigates the effectiveness of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) as a treaty-implementing institution under Chapter 12 of the Umbrella Final Agreement (UFA). The UFA, a modern treaty between Yukon First Nations (YFNs), Canada, and the Yukon, outlines a vision for co-governance, environmental stewardship, and sustainable development. Established under the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Act (YESAA), YESAB was designed to operationalize this vision through a Development Assessment Process that integrates Indigenous participation and cultural values into decision-making on development projects. Guided by three core research questions, the study assesses: (1) how well YESAB fulfills the spirit and intent of Chapter 12 of the UFA; (2) the strengths and weaknesses of its impact assessment processes, particularly in terms of inclusivity, responsiveness, and environmental integrity; and (3) the influence of other institutions and actors on YESAB's capacity to fulfill its treaty-mandated responsibilities. This study used a community-based participatory research framework and Constructive Grounded Theory methodology. Information was collected through a selected documentary analysis as well as interviews with 35 individuals with direct experience in Yukon's impact assessment system—including past/present YFN Self-Government officials, past/present YESAB staff, territorial regulators, Yukon-based NGOs, legal experts, and proponents. The findings reveal that while YESAB has made procedural strides—such as improved transparency and research depth—it continues to face structural and epistemic challenges that limit its ability to meaningfully implement the UFA's goals. These include inadequate incorporation of Traditional Knowledge, limited capacity and follow-up, and external interference from other regulatory bodies. Furthermore, participants emphasized that the Development Assessment Process is often constrained by outdated mining legislation, political pressures, and jurisdictional fragmentation. This research contributes to scholarly and policy discussions on Indigenous governance, treaty implementation, and environmental justice in Canada. It recommends specific legislative and institutional reforms to enhance YESAB's effectiveness and align its operations with the UFA's original intent. Ultimately, the dissertation underscores the need for an impact assessment system that is co-governed, culturally grounded, and responsive to both ecological and Indigenous priorities in the Yukon.

Keywords: Impact Assessment, treaty implementation, resource extraction, Yukon, Indigenous Rights, colonization, spirit and intent, Umbrella Final Agreement, Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board, co-management, Traditional Knowledge

Author Keywords: Impact Assessment, Indigenous Rights, resource extraction, treaty implementation, Yukon, Yukon Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment Board

Colonization has transformed the landscapes of the American Midwest and compromised the region's resources and ecologies. In response, governments, environmental scientists, and Indigenous nations have undertaken myriad efforts over the past century to restore Midwestern environments. Yet the appropriate goals and techniques for this work have been deeply contested. This thesis explores the scientific, political, and cultural meanings of ecological restoration in the region. Comparison of different forms of restoration reveals the contingency, malleability, and historical pitfalls of restoration knowledge and practices. By framing the pursuit as a problem of scientific, historical, or technical knowledge, practitioners have often neglected the political and cultural ramifications of restoration efforts. At the same time, restoration practices have influenced the intellectual, environmental, and political history of the Midwest in the twentieth century. The efforts of Midwestern scientists and public agencies have advanced wildlife and ecosystem conservation in the region, but have at times exacerbated environmental injustices and inequalities. More recent wild rice conservation efforts by Ojibwe governments demonstrate that, depending on how the framework has been constructed, ecological restoration has served as a tool for reclaiming Indigenous sovereignty as well as a vehicle for settler colonialism.

Author Keywords: American Midwest, conservation, ecological restoration, ecology, Indigenous history, settler colonialism

In 1915 U.S. Marines invaded Haiti. Driven first by the epidemiological dangers in Haiti, health and medicine was made a central tenet in administering the occupation. Useful for protecting the American Marines from disease, the Service d'Hygiene (the occupation-era Public Health Service) also served a hegemonic purpose. By bringing American biomedicine to sick Haitians, the Service d'Hygiene built support for the occupation and helped foster long-term connections between Haiti and the United States. This hegemonic drive was made possible by the incorporation of non-state actors into the colonial project. To achieve this, the American authorities forged a development strategy for Haiti that was premised upon a relationship between the state and private institutions such as the Rockefeller Foundation. This strategy also encouraged Haiti to look to the United States for support, a goal successfully realized when Haitian politicians continued to do so even after the Marines left Haiti in 1934.

Author Keywords: Haiti, Hegemony, Imperialism, Public Health, Rockefeller Foundation, Service d'Hygiene

The Beat Generation shaped, and was shaped by, the post-WWII containment culture that arose in 1950s America. This so-called cultural containment reflected the social, political, and economic factors that were unique to the post-WWII period and are often

considered concurrent to post-war McCarthyism, which promoted a national ideology of exclusionism that was foremost opposed to the threat of Communism. I propose in my thesis that containment was a major influence in the rhetoric of resistance that is found

within the most prominent works of the Generation. My thesis also looks at the how Beat literature shifted from the counterculture to the mainstream and the impact that celebrity had on the Generation. When the Beats achieved literary fame their counterculture

represented the forefront of the New Left and was synonymous with succeeding protest cultures of the 1960s.

Author Keywords: Beat Generation, Cold War, Containment Culture, McCarthyism, Postmodernism, Second Wave Feminism

A presidential spouse in an era of rigid gender norms, Jacqueline Kennedy frequently straddled the divide between celebrity, social acceptability, and personal desire. Yet, history remembers America's thirty-seventh First Lady more for her fashion and soft-spoken nature. Forgotten is that she was a `transitional' figure, who oversaw America's largest restoration of the White House and served as a `goodwill ambassador' for her husband. When three gunshots brought their tenure to an abrupt end, Jackie's focus shifted and she fixated on the creation of a legacy that immortalized JFK. `Camelot,' is a construct almost exclusively conceived and executed by the former First Lady. In this vein, the coming exploration delves into the private actions of Jackie during her time in as First Lady, contrasting them sharply with her public image. What emerges is a portrait the world seldom saw: one driven by raw intellect and a desire to be of service to her husband and country.

Author Keywords: Camelot, First Lady, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Restoration, White House

The lengthy and raucous 1986 Gainers meatpacking plant strike in Edmonton, Alberta was one of the most important events in recent Alberta labour history. In the midst of the economic crisis of the 1980s and the rise of neo-liberal ideas, the strike marked a backlash by both the labour movement and ordinary citizens against attacks on workers and unions. Characterized by widely covered picket line violence, repressive police and court actions, and government unresponsiveness, the strike generated massive solidarity within and beyond the labour movement. This solidarity originated in a rejection of the neo-liberal new reality of Alberta typified by high unemployment, anti-union laws and practices, and lack of government welfare support, and it generated a provincial change the law campaign, national boycott, and rising class consciousness. The working class mobilization during the Gainers strike was a watershed for the Alberta labour movement.

Author Keywords: Alberta Federation of Labour, Gainers strike, neo-liberalism, solidarity, working class

Since 1979, photographer and sociologist Camilo José Vergara has taken repeat photographs of American cities in decline, focusing on evolving landscapes of postindustrial decay. Vergara's images subscribe to an aesthetic of ruin while providing a record of America's crumbling ghettos rooted in social documentary concerns. Vergara's work diverges from the ahistorical tendencies of contemporary ruin porn photography: by challenging the photograph's temporal stasis Vergara bears witness to the ongoing reality of disenfranchisement, assembling an archive that takes up the Benjaminian task of doing history in images. Vergara's photographs challenge standard photojournalistic portrayals of violence, particularly the ways in which `violent' African American and Hispanic inner city populations have been erroneously cast as the cause of their own economic misfortune. The Invincible Cities website assists Vergara in drawing attention to forgotten places but also complicates his mandate to engage outside viewers by distancing them from the real-­world environments his photographs portray.

Author Keywords: Camilo José Vergara, imagistic history, postindustrial decline, repeat photography, ruin porn, Walter Benjamin

The Reagan era instigated a fundamentally conservative shift in the political, economic and discursive climate of America. As Ronald Reagan is a highly divisive symbolic figure in American politics, much of the historiography of his presidency has been characterized by polarized interpretations. Over the past decade there has been a noticeable shift towards more favourable and triumphal interpretations of the Reagan era. This thesis seeks to analyze the ideological shifts that have characterized the trajectory of historical writings on the Reagan era. Through employing a careful textual analysis of key works by Michael Schaller, Gil Troy and Sean Wilentz, amongst others, this study demonstrates how historiography serves us less as an objective means of understanding the past and more so as an expanding collective historical artifact that illustrates the changing currents of intellectual and political discourse. In doing so, the notion of scholarly objectivity itself is thrown into question.

Author Keywords: Cold War, Conservatism, Historiography, Neoliberalism, Reagan Doctrine, Ronald Reagan