End-of-Earth People: The Arctic Sahtu Dene
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by Bern Will Brown
Dundurn Press, Toronto, 2014
184 pp., illus., $35 paperback
In End-of-Earth People, former Oblate priest Bern Will Brown offers first-hand observations of the life and culture of the Sahtu Dene. Brown lived among the Sahtu Dene of the Colville Lake, Northwest Territories, region for more than six decades. Seeing the Dene move from away from a traditional on-the-land lifestyle gave him deep experience from which to draw.
Historically, descriptions of these Arctic people have not been flattering. Known as Hareskins, for the rabbit skins they wore, the Sahtu Dene ware described by explorer Sir John Franklin as “indolent, untruthful, and dishonest.” They were generally seen as frightened, desperate nomads ruled by the law of self-preservation. Brown’s intent in writing his book was to balance the picture.
He treads carefully in explaining behaviour that puzzled outsiders. For instance, individuals usually didn’t store provisions for future use because others in the community would “borrow” the goods. This habit came from an earlier time when sharing was essential to survival.
Brown came to the North as a priest in 1948 and later disrobed, married, and took on many roles, including lay minister, community leader, artist, photographer, and writer. While he writes about the Sahtu Dene with respect and admiration, he doesn’t sugar-coat his writing. He observes that women were not treated well, a reality that has only recently begun to change.
Brown’s prose is straightforward and honest; the stories he relates of his encounters with his Dene friends are often amusing and come from the heart. As an added bonus, the book includes many of Brown’s own beautiful photographs. Well worth picking up for anyone interested in Arctic culture.
— Nelle Oosterom (Read bio)
Nelle Oosterom is the Senior Editor of Canada's History magazine.