This study is about the Burns Lake Indian Band's Indian Reserve No. 18 located in northwestern British Columbia. It is a case study that spans the 20th century. Through an analysis of archival documents pertaining to land loss I investigate the long term process that facilitated the alienation of land from this Indian reserve. This thesis is about borders, spatial marginality and social geography and it focuses on power and inequality. Historical records reveal the genesis of growing polarization and deteriorating social relationships evident in the clearly demarcated communities which establish the Indian reserve and the Village of Burns Lake. Theoretical perspectives informing my analysis include social construction, standpoint theory, and the sociology of storytelling. It includes postmodernist concepts of authority and power. The storytelling process sets the stage for contested history.

This study is about the Burns Lake Indian Band's Indian Reserve No. 18 located in northwestern British Columbia. It is a case study that spans the 20th century. Through an analysis of archival documents pertaining to land loss I investigate the long term process that facilitated the alienation of land from this Indian reserve. This thesis is about borders, spatial marginality and social geography and it focuses on power and inequality. Historical records reveal the genesis of growing polarization and deteriorating social relationships evident in the clearly demarcated communities which establish the Indian reserve and the Village of Burns Lake. Theoretical perspectives informing my analysis include social construction, standpoint theory, and the sociology of storytelling. It includes postmodernist concepts of authority and power. The storytelling process sets the stage for contested history. / Arts, Faculty of / Anthropology, Department of / Graduate