The Alexander Mackenzie Voyageur Route: A Community Perspective on Waterways and the Development of a Trans-Canada Heritage Route
Do communities located along the Alexander Mackenzie Voyageur Route have ties to their waterway? What is the nature of these ties?

Communities located along the Alexander Mackenzie Voyageur Route are closely tied to their waterway by physical and cultural associations which extend into the past and reach to the future. Communities look to the waterway as a focus for providing a sense of history, cultural character and a sense of place. A long geological and natural history has created a country of water and rock linked by natural water corridors. Cultural links to the waterway have grown from early use for sustenance and transportation to resource and industrial use, recreation and tourism and are evident today in museums, parks, events, and kept alive by oral history and local literature.

The strength of the ties to the waterway vary along the Route, with stronger identification with the waterway in less populated regions. Although the human connections to the 'Route' are difficult to judge, the Route as a collection of physical sites and significant segments which reflect tradition, heritage and culture, is closely tied to the communities it contains.