Burnt Snow: My Years Living and Working with the Dene of the Northwest Territories

by Kieran Moore

Overview

In northern Canada, there is a way of life that has been vanishing before our very eyes-and is continuing to disappear at an alarming pace. Life in the North is undergoing incredible changes, and yet the people of the North, cling onto every vestige of that old life that they can. 

The author, an Irish Immigrant, who for five years was partially raised by a Metis family in Winnipeg, heads North in a soul searching mission to find himself and his place in life. The reflections of his encounters with some of the leading figures of the North are quite humorous and consequential in the later development of the North. 

He describes the Indigenous Elders who would influence him in countless ways, and how their teachings are later, the source of northern survival in otherwise seemingly impossible situations. This book reflects the people of that time, and their lifestyle of living off the land in total independence and their incredible life-skills of survival.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780888392657
Publisher:	Hancock House Publishers
Publication date:	08/01/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	29 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Kieran Moore is an Irish immigrant who, at the age of twenty, faced impending layoffs at his construction job in Winnipeg. He was frustrated at the instability and purposelessness of his life at the time and decided to head into the Northwest Territories in the hope of finding that purpose there. Shortly after arrival, he was asked to build a church in the Dene community of Rae Lakes in the northern boreal region of Canada. That assignment led to his immersion in the world of the Dene throughout the 1970-1980s, the period covered in his book.It was at a time of dramatic change for Dene communities. He experienced both the richness of character of the people and shared in their traditional ways and also experienced the confusion and suffering the community underwent as the old ways came under threat from outside forces. The tradition of storytelling was an integral part of the Dene way and he learned a great deal by listening to their elders and working with them as they built structures, lived side by side, and hunted together. The stories he tells reflect his personal engagement with the Dene of the N.W.T. and they are told in the spirit of the storytelling tradition of the Dene and that of his Irish ancestors.The author presently lives in Peterborough Ontario, still clinging to the past with good connections with his friends in the North, some of which make the long journey to do talks at Trent University and stop in for visits. He owns two incredibly large Huskies that take up a great part of his time. He has done guiding for Mahoosuc Guide, operating adventure trips in Chibougamau Quebec. Trips such as week-long dog sled and canoe trips in the Quebec wilderness on Cree family trap-line.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Heading to the Northwest Territories

Tom Dornbross

Working at the Gold Mine

Founding of Rae Lakes: Gamèti

My First Days in Rae Lakes

Life in Rae Lakes

Rae Lakes: Memorable Individuals

Hislop Lake: K'Eàgotì

Put To the Test

Jimmy Lacorde: Teacher

Jimmy Lacorde: Survivor

The Ice Storm

Camping On the Hunt

Legends of Edzo

The Changeling

Hunting in the Barrenlands

A Gifted Story

The Joker: Dzèhkw'ii

Nàhga: The Bushman

Handball Game: Gohzìi

Cambridge Bay

Rae Lakes Community Hall

Rae Lakes Airport

Hottah Lake Yqhtsik'e

What Happened to Bear Lake Alexie?

Fort Franklin: Deline

Charlie Neyelle

Don't Burn the Snow

Fort Franklin to Rae Lakes

A Community Hunt and A Dog Called Jesus

Making Connections

Steel Space Industries

If Ravens Could Talk

Bear Lake Alexie Comes to Hay River

Chief Dan's Dilemma

Buffalo River

Hay River Reserve's Dream Bus

Raft Race

The Inquisitive One

Hay River to Fort Simpson

Fort Simpson and Hay River in 1977

The Horn Plateau Experience

Akaitcho

My Mother Saved My Life

Black Duck Camp: Whǫ̀sı̀iwekǫ̀ǫ̀

A Traditional Marriage

Dog Island

The Emergence of a Strong Leader

Brother Gosselin

Joseph Rabesca: K'aadee Susie

A New Beginning

Acknowledgements

Editorial Reviews

“Burnt Snow opens the reader to the fascinating world of Dene life, culture, way of life, mythology, medicine, and beliefs. This is a great book and will be greatly appreciated by the people of the North. The world needs to see and read this book.”

--Senator Nick Sibbeston

"This is an amazing book about a young man who embraced the Dene culture in our spectacular True North in exploring, travel and working. A respectful story of our people’s lives in a time of great change.”

-- Charles Neyelle, Dene Spiritual leader and Elder of Deline, Northwest Territories.

“As a young man, he set out to experience the hunter/gather culture of the Dene people before it disappeared and wise elders shared everything with him - their land and skills, legends and so much more for a reason. They knew how to live in complete harmony with the environment. Something we in the south have lost, and now Mother Nature is screaming."

-- Peter Blow, Documentary filmmaker (Village of Widows, The BarrensQuest)

“This is a work of historical significance to Canada. Moore records events during a period of rapid change in the Canadian north, a period of industrialization, devolution, the re-emergence of Indigenous self-government. This, of itself, qualifies the work as a historical document. I would suggest that this book will appeal to scholars and enthusiasts interested in the north; to hunters, fishers and wilderness travelers, to scholars of history, anthropology, and public policy, and ultimately it will appeal to those who love a good story."

-- David Young, retired Manitoba economist and wildlife enthusiast.

“Mr. Moore’s book is equal parts frank self-exploration and humble ethnology. As a newcomer in Dene and Dogrib lands, Moore experienced local culture, economics, and, at times, overwhelming change, first hand. I admire his approach as a sojourner and writer. Moore lived in the north for more than three decades but never assumes a superior tone in his perspective. He arrived in the north to be educated and never stopped learning and listening. This is a memoir steeped in love and respect for the life skills and vast knowledge of the land-based people he encountered in the Northwest Territories of Canada."

-- James Cullingham, Adjunct Graduate Faculty Member Canadian Studies and Indigenous Studies, Trent University.

From the Publisher