A River Captured explores the controversial history of the Columbia
River Treaty and its impact on the ecosystems, Indigenous peoples,
contemporary culture, cross-border politics and recent history of the
Pacific Northwest.
Long lauded as a model of international co-operation, the Columbia River
Treaty governs the storage and management of the waters of the upper
Columbia River basin, a region rich in water resources and with a
natural geography well suited to hydroelectric megaprojects. The Treaty
also displaced more than 2,000 residents of over a dozen communities,
flooded and destroyed archaeological sites, and upended once-healthy
fisheries.
Paying special attention to First Nations history, ecology, economics,
politics, and Canada-US relations, this investigative work weaves from
the present day to the past and back again in an engaging and
unflinching examination of how and why Canada decided to sell water
storage rights to American interests.
With one of the Treaty's provisions set to change in 2024 and
termination of the treaty requiring a 10-year notice period, this
updated edition of A River Captured looks at the destructive mistakes
of our collective past in order to save us from an even more difficult
future
