The Athabasca tar (or oil) sands have a long and complex history. A thick deposit of heavy oil, entwined with the very material of the earth, this natural resource has been exploited for centuries, if not millenia, by the indigenous Cree and Dene aboriginal population. However, such a potentially lucrative resource soon came to the attention of colonial explorers, and by the early 20th century speculation surrounding large scale oil abstraction had already begun to build in intensity....