Documentary Reflection

September 1, 2025 By: Vraj Bharatkumar Patel

Dr. Mark Butorac

HIST 3991 – Environmental History

Vraj Bharatkumar Patel – T00785625

Sept 1, 2025

 

Media Item 1: Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again

Reference
Patrick, L. (Director). (2025). Nechako: It Will Be a Big River Again [Documentary film]. Experimental Forest Films; Lantern Films; National Film Board of Canada.

https://www.nfb.ca/film/nechako-it-will-be-a-big-river-again/

Reflection
This documentary follows the Stellat’én and Saik’uz First Nations in their long struggle for justice after the Kenney Dam diverted the Nechako River to power hydroelectric projects. The loss of salmon and the disruption of cultural traditions reveal the high social and ecological costs of “progress.” In Unit 4, Loo and Stanley (2011) describe how large hydro projects across Canada framed rivers as resources for development, often ignoring Indigenous rights and long-term ecological impacts. According to me, the film is powerful because it shows resilience as well as loss—Indigenous voices demand restitution and emphasize reciprocity with the river. I believe this demonstrates that energy systems are not only technical or economic projects; they are social and cultural as well.

Media Item 2: Land-Based Civil Disobedience in Canada

Reference
Tkachenko, A. (2025, January 10). Land-based resistance, civil disobedience, and resource extraction in Canada [Policy brief]. NAADSN Research. https://www.naadsn.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/25-jan-Tkachenko-Policy-Primer-Land-based_Resistance_Civil_Disobedience_and_Resource_Extraction.pdf

Reflection
This policy brief examines Indigenous land defenders’ use of blockades, camps, and autonomous zones to resist extraction. Unit 4 highlights the tension between reformist and radical strategies in environmental movements (Steinberg, 2018), and these actions clearly represent the radical side. According to me, such tactics are necessary when formal political channels fail to respond to the urgency of climate change or Indigenous land rights. I believe civil disobedience works not because it always brings immediate change, but because it forces public debate, pressures governments, and makes hidden injustices visible.

Together, these sources show that environmental struggles are also struggles for justice and power. I believe that civil disobedience remains essential in Canada today, combining cultural resurgence, legal action, and direct resistance to create more equitable futures.

Unit 4 Readings Cited

Loo, T., & Stanley, M. (2011). An environmental history of progress: Damming the Peace and Columbia Rivers. Canadian Historical Review, 92(3), 399–427. https://doi.org/10.3138/chr.92.3.399
Steinberg, T. (2018). Down to earth: Nature’s role in American history (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.