Description
We Remember the Coming of the White Man is a collaborative work authored by Elizabeth Yakeleya, a Willow Lake Dene who was born in 1906 in Norman Wells and was educated at the convent in Fort Providence; Sarah Simon, Gwich’in, who was born in the Delta of the Mackenzie River in 1901; Mary Wilson; Joe Blondin; John Blondin; Isadore Yukon; Peter Thompson; Jim Sittichinli; Johnny Kaye; Andrew Kunnizzi; and other Sahtú and Gwich’in Dene Elders. We Remember the Coming of the White Man is edited by Sarah Stewart. The foreword is by Raymond Yakeleya, an award-winning documentary film maker; and the afterword is by Colette Poitras, who is Red River Métis. We Remember the Coming of the White Man has been a work in progress since the 1970s. This book chronicles the history of the Dene People in the extraordinary time of the early 20th century. Chapters are transcripts of oral histories of ten Elders and revolve around their recollections of the early days of fur trading, missionaries and the flu pandemic; dismay about the way oil and uranium discoveries and pipelines were handled on their land; and the emotional and economic fallout of the signing of Treaty 11. Bundled with the book is a version on DVD of Raymond Yakeleya’s stunning 1978 film We Remember, with director’s commentary. The book is rich with photographs, and Elders’ stories are in English and Dene Gwich’in language. Dene First Nation Elders in the book are Joe Blondin, John Blondin, Elizabeth Yakeleya, Mary Wilson, Isadore Yukon, Peter Thompson, Jim Edwards Sittichinli, Sarah Simon, Johnny Kaye, and Andrew Kunnizzi.