The Myth of the Frontier.
Understanding the Geography.

 

The idea that much of the Canadian landscape consists of pristine and untouched wilderness is perpetuated by several aspects of Canadian society: the natural resource industry,environmentalists, wilderness tourism, and Canadian nationalism.  Land around British Columbia is often seen in a mythical view as  the last vestige of the Canadian Wild West; A frontier rich in historical traditions and where the wilderness remains untamed and untouched.  Therefore, this area consists of uncharted territory, sitting on the edge and creating the spatialization and interaction between land and culture. The regional economy is based on natural resources and agriculture where land is at a premium and a forefront of social discussion. The myth of the frontier can be a way of understanding the dominant culture of the area, an idea that Euro-Canadian construct their sense of place, a connection to their geography, their area, in some cases, surrounded by the natural wilderness offering an abundance of national resources that are un-owned and ‘free’ for the taking.

 

 

This ideology allows for a land question that is not simply situated in the past during the making of reserves, but instead is prevalent today. In this, we can understand the cultural forms in which colonialism operates as one of the most important components of the frontier complex.  This comples is a continuous division of the heterogeneous regional population into two ideal and mutually exclusive categories: Indian and white. Different aspects of the frontier myth are expressed in settings of casual conversations among Euro-Canadians, political discourse, museum displays and public debates about aboriginal land claims, and the annual events. In each setting, these practices contribute to and reinforce the relations of inequality between Euro-Canadians and local area First Nations, enforcing colonialism as an ongoing cultural complex. The frontier complex obtains a connection to history which implies a form of connection to Canada’s colonial history- a full awareness. Therefore, I feel that the frontier complex makes a fitting statement that, in Canada, there has been no radial break with the past: Canadian culture remains resolutely colonial in shape, content, meaning, and practice.