Every extractive industry deeply affects the relationship between people on the land and their newly manufactured landscape. The incredibly rapid development of the tar sands in Northern Alberta is having a profound affect on the culture, lifestyle and health of the First Nations. Conversely, communities have gained employment, and access to modern health care and services. Is the stability and preservation of a culture better served through attention to traditional lifestyle or to commerce and industry? This multimedia piece on Vimeo explores this story and the consequences of the Tar Sands development on the First Nations of Northern Alberta.
Special thanks to Northern Cree for the music and to all the individuals and groups in Fort McMurray, Fort Chipewyan and Fort McKay that made this possible.
