Burnt Snow

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.

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