GO rD hIll 500 Years of Indigenous resistance
These aboriginal claims to land are so general and undefined that
it is not realistic to think of them as specific claims capable of
remedy except through a policy and program that will end injus-
tice to Indians as members of the Canadian community.^54
During the same period, Canada was moving towards increased re-
source extraction. This had begun in the 1950s especially in the min-
ing of uranium for nuclear energy and as export for the U.S. nuclear
energy and weapons industry. Uranium mining was centred primarily
in Saskatchewan and in the U.S. southwest. As well, there was increased
oil and gas exploration in the North and the development of hydro-
electric projects. What better way to push through these dangerous and
damaging projects than by accelerating the government’s long-term as-
similation policy and denying Native land title? Clearly, extermination
campaigns in Brazil and assimilation policies in Canada are two sides
of the same coin: destroying Native nations and opening up the lands
to further exploration. What these governments didn’t count on was the
continued resistance of Native people.