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The Atlas of the Little North: Mapping on the Edge in Canada

Rain Simar
UC Berkeley

The Little North, an area of Canada north of Lake Superior and south of Hudson Bay, was once the most active site of Euroamerican contact in North America. An extensive network of rivers, streams, and portages crisscrossed the region, a network that had long been used by the First Nations for communication and exchange. These routes facilitated the exchange of goods and services between First Nations inhabitants and European traders in an era before an infrastructure of road and rail opened up commerce elsewhere. These networks are still used by First Nations as well as those coming for business and recreation.

Today this region is again on the brink of change, as Canada negotiates the needs of inhabitants, visitors, and the requirements of its growing industrial infrastructure. The Atlas of the Little North, the result of thirty years of research on the terrain and culture of the region, documents the region in image, map and text. The Atlas illustrates the application of GIS in spatial data management and visualization.