The First Nations who have lived in the Great Lakes watershed have been
strongly influenced by the imposition of colonial and national
boundaries there. The essays in Lines Drawn upon the Water examine the
impact of the Canadian--American border on communities, with reference
to national efforts to enforce the boundary and the determination of
local groups to pursue their interests and define themselves. Although
both governments regard the border as clearly defined, local communities
continue to contest the artificial divisions imposed by the
international boundary and define spatial and human relationships in the
borderlands in their own terms.
The debate is often cast in terms of Canada's failure to recognize the
1794 Jay Treaty's confirmation of Native rights to transport goods into
Canada, but ultimately the issue concerns the larger struggle of First
Nations to force recognition of their people's rights to move freely
across the border in search of economic and social independence.