Overview

"Winner of 2021 U.P. Notable Books Award In the 1980s, Phil Bellfy pondered the question: Why does Sault, Ontario, appear to be so prosperous, while the ""Sault"" on the American side has fallen into such a deplorable state? Could the answer be that the ""American side"" was little more than a ""resource colony""--or to use the academic jargon of ""Conflict and Change"" Sociology--an ""Internal Colony."" In UP Colony, Bellfy revisits his graduate research to update us on the state of the Sault. The ultimate question: why has the U.P.'s vast wealth, nearly unrivaled in the whole of the United States, left the area with poverty nearly unrivaled in the whole of the United States? None of the conventional explanations from ""distance to markets,"" to ""too many people,"" to ""disadvantageous production costs,"" have any credibility. Simply put: ""Where did the $1.5 billion earned from copper mining, $1 billion from logging, and nearly $4 billion in iron ore go?"" To get to the bottom of these thorny questions, Bellfy looks at the possible economic pressures imposed by ""external colonial powers."" The pressure-points examined in this book include the presence of a complimentary economy, lopsided investment in one sector, monopoly style management, disparity of living standards, a repressive conflict-resolution system, and the progressive growth of inequality over time. In UP Colony, Dr. Bellfy has revisited his MA thesis and brought this analysis up-to-date in conjunction with the Sault's Semisepticentennial-the 350th anniversary of its French founding in 1668."

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9781615996063

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Reviews

Bellfy's deft rural sociological analysis cuts through centuries of whitewashing and exploitation with a single stroke -- Victor R. Volkman, President, UPPAA

In the 1980s the author headed north and attended Lake Superior State University at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. As a student he was struck by the differences between the sister cities on either side of the St. Mary's River. The American Soo was clearly in decline while the Canadian Soo prospered. The question why turned into a master's thesis that grew to include an examination of the economic woes of Michigan's U.P. This short book includes the original thesis and a 20-year update of the manuscript. For a book of only 70 pages, it is filled with eye-opening facts that clearly show that the U.P. was treated as if it was no better than a colony in which the colonizing country systematically exploited its enormous wealth then left it one of the most poverty-stricken areas in the country. --Tom Powers, Michigan in Books There are many people who will benefit from reading this book: academic readers and researchers; nonfiction writers working on similar themes; and more creative authors who want to get the facts straight, whatever their projects. The extensive bibliography will be helpful to many of these readers, too. UP Colony is a fairly quick read and easy to follow with its typical academic format of stating a premise/theory, organizing the points of the argument, supporting that argument with facts and statistics, and finally drawing a conclusion. -- Deborah K. Frontiera, U.P. Book Review Bellfy's deft rural sociological analysis cuts through centuries of whitewashing and exploitation with a single stroke -- Victor R. Volkman, Marquette Monthly

Author Information

Phil Bellfy, PhD, is the Editor and Publisher of the Ziibi Press, Enrolled Member of the White Earth Band of Minnesota Chippewa, Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Indigenous Border Issues (CSIBI), and Professor Emeritus of American Indian Studies, Michigan State University. He has been involved in environmental issues, at the Tribal, international, national, state, and local levels for over 45 years. He is also a Lay Advocate, qualified and admitted to practice Tribal Law in the Courts of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

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