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Wildlife Animals And Indigenous People

Decent Essays

Both wildlife animals and Indigenous people resided in Canada long before European colonization took place, and both have suffered from these invaders’ oppressive practices as a result of the dispute over territory. Because of this, many newcomers to Canada has this preconceived notion that the place is only associated with vast wilderness landscapes and that wildlife is constitutive of Canadianness (Francis 1997). This is played out in many Canadian films which portray stereotypical images of the country. In particular, this essay will highlight Indigenous people and wildlife interaction with urban spaces and the wilderness in The Wolfpen Principle (1974) and North of 60 (Southern Comfort), while also exploring the conflict between urban dwellers and their environment. Most Canadian filmmakers continuously depict the place as a wilderness area, filled with wild animals and Indigenous people. This idea is socially constructed and is normalize to reinforce the idea that certain people and animals should belong or excluded from nature and urban spaces. In parks, wolf tourism is usually portrayed as a wilderness experience where humans dominate animals and nature. Yet, according to Kellert’s (1985) research, associating the wilderness with wolves has increased their stigmatization, thus resulting conflicts over who belongs where. If the wolves are not exterminated, they are instead taken from their natural environment and moved to an “altered” landscape where they have

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