Metis Archives - Patricia Sandberg

Progress… on publishing

So who knew, certainly not I, just how long and how much work it takes to write and publish a book! But things are shaping up for the publication of Sun Dogs and Yellowcake in early September. My very detail-oriented editor Naomi Pauls has put me through a rigorous review, giving me a new-found and hard-earned respect for the editorial role. The uber-talented Bill Glasgow is shaping the physical design of the book and Neil Klassen has lent his fine creative eye to produce three fabulous maps. And of course, the perfect cover photo is courtesy of artist and photographer Robbie Craig

Woven into the context of the Cold War and post-war immigration, and set against a backdrop of pristine Lake Athabasca with its First Nations and Métis communities, life in an isolated uranium mining town unfolds. Stories of love, loss, and adventure, with much joy and laughter.

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The photo is of me in the early days of Gunnar Mines, Saskatchewan – and in my early days too, of course.

The art of making art, Donna Lee Dumont

Following upon the previous blog post about Gunnar Mines alumni, Donna Lee’s role as educator can’t be separated from her art. In 2012, she wrote and colourfully illustrated a children’s book Peter Fidler and the Métis. Fidler was an explorer and mapmaker for the Hudson’s Bay Company. He married a Cree woman and Donna Lee is a descendant of this union. The book relates Fidler’s story but is, at the same time, a portrait of the oft-troubled Métis history in Canada and Donna Lee’s personal journey into her Aboriginal heritage. Continue reading “The art of making art, Donna Lee Dumont”

Sun Dogs and Yellowcake, a new book by Patricia Sandberg

Gilbert LaBine’s first uranium mine helped end the Second World War. His next fed the Cold War. Immigrants fleeing post-war Europe and job-seeking southerners came to Gunnar Mines in northern Saskatchewan, joining the area’s First Nations and Métis. They found adventure, romance, tragedy, and a freedom never again to be equaled. Meanwhile, lamps made of uranium drill core sat in their homes and their children played at the tailings pond. Sun Dogs and Yellowcake is their story.
The beautiful cover image is based on a photograph by the very talented Robbie Craig.
I am thrilled to announce that Sun Dogs and Yellowcake will be available this September. Stay tuned.

Donna Lee (Hoddinott) Dumont, “Métis is how you feel”

“The most wonderful thing about being Métis is that we come in all colours. My grandmother used to tell me that ‘Métis is how you feel’. I am now part of the culture and have a strong sense of belonging.”

In 1957, one of Canada’s famed Group of Seven painters, A.Y. Jackson, made a surprise visit to the small uranium mining town of Gunnar Mines, on Lake Athabasca in Saskatchewan. He made a few appearances at the local Handicraft club where he gave painting exhibitions and suggestions to the members. Donna Lee was a member of this group and remembers him as being quite blunt, even caustic at times while reviewing paintings. One afternoon, when the club’s members were invited to accompany him on a painting excursion on the rocks, Jackson motioned to her to sit beside him. While they painted, he gave her little tips, such as “use a bigger brush” and “put these little strokes through the water.”

This was a key event in Donna Lee’s artistic career. Continue reading “Donna Lee (Hoddinott) Dumont, “Métis is how you feel””

Reader Reviews

I'm happy to report (and also embarrassed about the delay) that I started reading and am well into your book now, and I have to say that I am very impressed.

I thought it was going to be just another memoir of a small town girl, but the addition of the Cold War context, and the amount of historical research that you have done is simply remarkable. I love and read a fair bit of history, but I'd forgotten or didn't know a lot about this era. Very informative.

The photos are great, and the anecdotal sidebars give it personality and bring it alive. And from a copy editor's standpoint (I used to be one) it is flawless as far as I can see. You might know otherwise. 🙂

Anyway, you have produced an important book, and it deserves a place in every library and bookstore in the country. I hope you're working on that.

Congrats on a job well done! -David Tycho, writer, editor and artist extraordinaire.

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It's an amazing true tale of the men and women who built and lived in a uranium mining town on the shores of Lake Athabasca, Sask during the 1950s - 1960s. Yes, uranium! The ore that was key to the manufacture of nuclear bombs during the height of the cold war. This is an elegantly told, respectful story ... It is also about fearless pioneers, risk-taking and commitment to building a community - all values worth remembering. — Simon Johnson, best-selling author of House of Wives

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.....My sincere thanks and congratulations for this great little book. One of my first tasks when I moved to Watson Lake, Yukon, was to go over to Cassiar BC and empty our church there prior to its being sold and moved out. All around me homes and two story apartments were being dismantled. Cassiar was a mining town. Its life was the asbestos mine. The town, like Gunnar, had every recreational facility and resource; every building in this neat, properly laid-out town, complete with sidewalks, was heated from the mine's steam plant. In winter, the doors would be open because it was still too hot inside.
When I held the Rite of Deconsecrating the church I invited any and all remaining members to attend. All declined. It was too emotional for them. So my congregation was just my son.
My father was a bush pilot flying out of Yellowknife after the war, but had left there before Gunnar opened. My daughter lives in Yellowknife and just recently the Giant head frame was knocked down. The town was divided between those who wanted it kept as an historic site and those who wanted to be rid of the memories it brought up.
Thanks Patricia for making Gunnar come alive with the residents' memories. John Tyrrell

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Sun Dogs and Yellowcake is more than a story of a mining town, it is a story of the Canadian experience and heritage whose parallels exist in small towns throughout the country. Ms. Sandberg unfolds the experiences of the Gunnar community in which the reader assumes a front-row, central seat as the story evolves. What sets this work apart is the superb story-telling and comprehensive research into the historical mining community of Gunnar. Crafted with readable script and supported with excellent graphics and images, it presents the community’s issues, voices, and personalities clearly. Ironically, the enduring significance of what the town represented outlives its eventual demise. A delightful addition to the Canadian library of historical mining communities, Ms. Sandberg has preserved the account of a story almost lost, and added a delightful addition to the Canadiana library! KH

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I’ve finished reading your book. Fascinating; brings back long ago memories for me! It must have been a huge amount of work to track down and contact the many ex-residents and obtain their input.

My interest in this story dates from a summer spent camped near the mine. In the summer of 1954, I joined a small crew from the Geological Survey of Canada as camp cook (sort of under false pretences!). It had two senior geologists and two juniors, working in pairs, doing general geology in the southern part of the Crackingstone Peninsula. We were camped along the shore about 2.5 kilometres west of the open pit site from early May to late September. Looking at the map on page 29 of Sun Dogs, it appears that the west townsite eventually extended to within 1/2 km our campsite. We had an arrangement with the mine for our fresh meat and veggies, for which we canoed over to the mine about twice a week.

The memories of a lot of it still remain vivid. An adventure, a summer job after first year of engineering studies at the U of A. Excitement mixed with loneliness amongst a tiny five-person world. This was somewhat relieved by brief trips to the mine for supplies; the excitement of the monthly canoe trips into Bushell and U-City for canned and dry food supplies; deep disappointment at missing out on one such trip. Precious mail, received via the mine. The strange call of the loons, the ravens and foxes, all this new to a prairie boy. Regards, Des Williams

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P.S. It was a pleasant surprise to find that my teenage grandson was interested and has begun reading some sections of the book. Maybe I should do some sort of a write-up of what I still remember!

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What I’ve read in your book so far is fantastic reading from both a personal and historical perspective. Mining history is a particular passion of mine as I was a brought up in a small coal-mining village in Scotland. Saskatchewan mining in general has been a large part of my business in my current position for more than 25 years and our youngest son will soon graduate from the University of Saskatchewan as a geologist.

I will most certainly pass along your website to my colleagues and friends and recommend they read your book.

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It is interesting that in the process of your childhood you 'rubbed up against' one of the most crucial components of the twentieth century—specifically, the mineral that fueled so much of the Cold War.... The book is a vivid, compelling read, and even things that might have become mundane details are interesting—for example, when you get into the parts of how the government became involved in the search for, and in the ownership of, uranium. Very, very interesting. Neil

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Beautiful format, pictures, and artwork. Just an amazing telling of the history of Gunnar. — Laurie

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Truly, the heart and soul and love and time you invested was well worth it.
I’m enjoying each and every story you collected and wrote. — Sheila J