Flooding Hope and Livelihoods: Lake St. Martin First Nation

Abstract

Lake St. Martin First Nation, a community situated in the Interlake Region of Manitoba, was permanently displaced in 2011. After they were flooded out of their ancestral lands and left homeless, the Province of Manitoba further disempowered the members of the community by refusing to listen to their preference for a new site. That a nearby Cold War radar base was selected by the Province as an interim location, against the wishes of the community, further victimized the members and left them in limbo. This article, incorporating both Indigenous and Western methodologies, examines the consequences of community displacement on sustainable livelihoods, homes, health, and sociocultural integrity in the Lake St. Martin First Nation.