Native Peoples and Water Rights: Irrigation, Dams, and the Law in Western Canada

Economic developments in irrigation, agriculture, and hydroelectric power generation in western Canada at the turn of the last century challenged the way Native peoples had traditionally managed the watershed environment. Facing rapidly expanding provincial and federal power as well as private industries, Native peoples saw opportunities to protect their self-governing rights and explore reserve-based economies.

Through a combination of field work and archival research, Kenichi Matsui provid...