Modernism and the Hinterland: The Canadian Example.

This article considers the most important features of social and economic life in three hinterland towns of the Mackenzie basin of Canada. On the one hand, the towns themselves provide a good basis for uncovering variations and constancies that result from socio-economic change. This is because each town represents a different degree of influence from low to high, of government and other outside development in the area. On the other hand, despite these variations there is a great deal of similarity in the native way of life. As one has seen, the general standard of living and the social organization of the Indian population remains roughly the same despite the difference in town size and the amount of local capital investment. Certainly there are more employment opportunities available, but these still concern only a small minority of the population and the effect of wage labor expressed on a per capita basis actually diminishes with more jobs. This can be seen by comparing the three towns where there are more than one or two jobs. There is a rise of five percent in wage labor opportunities between these two towns. However, this five percent increase must be seen against the fact that community size increases by thirty percent in number of Indian households.