During the 1960s, residents of isolated Kwakiutl Indian communities, located near the northern tip of Vancouver Island in Johnstone Straight, were encouraged by representatives of the Department of Indian Affairs (DIA) to relocate to regional urban centers. The majority of families from various Kwakiutl bands were, as a result, assimilated into non-native centers throughout the province. This thesis examines the planning processes that contributed to the death of the Johnstone Straight

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... es; identifies the impacts of relocation on members of one Kwakiutl band, the Tanakteuk; and evaluates various alternatives for Indian development in the future, including an assessment of the desirability of reinhabitation of Kwakiutl homelands. A literature review of international regional planning theory and development approaches points to the popularity of growth center development theory for two decades after World War Two. This theory continued to guide Canadian planning initiatives during the 1960s, resulting in the decline of rural communities, both native and non-native. Interviews with Kwakiutl band members and former DIA personnel, and an examination of DIA documents, contribute to a profile of events leading to the relocation of Kwakiutl bands in the region. Consistent with the proponents of the growth center theory, DIA suspected that the costs of providing services and facilities could be minimized in urban centers as a result, of achieving economies of scale not possible with scattered villages, and that employment opportunities in industry would be greater. The department acted on this belief by reducing the provision of crucial services to the Johnstone Straight communities, without consulting those Indians directly affected. An examination of documentation suggests that the relocation of Indians to urban centers was further advocated by DIA personnel for an additional reason: such a move would encourage Indians to abandon traditional lifestyles, and promote their assimilation into modern Canadian soc [...]