Go to the river: Understanding and experiencing the Liard watershed.

• Other Authors: Staveley, Jeremy (Author), Smith, Angèle (Thesis advisor), University of Northern British Columbia (Degree granting institution)
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Northern British Columbia 2013
• Subjects: Rivers > Study and teaching; Liard River Watershed > History; Rivers > British Columbia > Liard River Watershed; Nature > Effect of human beings on > British Columbia > Liard River Watershed; GB1202 .S73 2012; Canada; British Columbia; Liard; Liard River
• Online Access: https://arcabc.ca/islandora/object/unbc%3A16287; https://doi.org/10.24124/2013/bpgub880

This study contributes to an emerging space of interdisciplinary literature that explores the cultural dynamics people and rivers and the associated contestations. A network of rivers in northern British Columbia, all within the Liard River watershed, provides a relevant case study to examine such topics. Data and analysis are presented using a phenomenological approach that employs archival and participatory fieldwork. Through this research, I ask: why do people go to the river ? In attempting to understand the significance of rivers in people's lives, Go to the River addresses questions concerning the Liard watershed, including: how interpretations of rivers are represented in historic maps the significant transitions during the nineteenth and twentieth century that redefined human-river relations and how rivers are still experienced through direct lived engagements. I argue that past and present direct experiences with rivers are essential in reframing the dialogue about the future of rivers in western Canada. --P. ii. The original print copy of this thesis may be available here: http://wizard.unbc.ca/record=b1805847