People, involuntarily removed due to construction of development projects, undergo grief, cultural involution and fundamental restructuring of their lives. Drawing upon the processual model of Elizabeth Colson and Thayer Scudder, this paper analyses the effects which removal had upon five populations, two in Africa and three in North America. The Gwembe Tonga, Egyptian Nubians and Three Affiliated Tribes of Fort Berthold, Seneca and James Bay Cree all underwent massive changes with the inundation of their lands due to the construction of large hydroelectric dams. All underwent a process of grief and all resisted their resettlement. Comparative analysis indicates, however, that the resettlement process differed in terms of each society's incorporation into the larger national arenas, compensations given for lands lost, coping mechanisms and the time period in which the resettlement occurred. © 1995 Oxford University Press.

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Canada Africa hydroelectric project resettlement USA population displacement dam construction resettlement process indigenous population North America Refugees