History Pre-confederation (to 1867)
The New Northwest
The Photographs of the Frank Crean Expeditions 1908-1909
- Publisher
- Fifth House Books
- Initial publish date
- Sep 1993
- Category
- Pre-Confederation (to 1867), Adventurers & Explorers
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781895618228
- Publish Date
- Sep 1993
- List Price
- $14.95
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Description
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, there was a wide-spread belief that Canada's northland comprised millions of acres just waiting to be exploited for settlement The New Northwest tells the fascinating and little-known history of the explorations of the northern reaches of the Prairie Provinces that began in the 1850s and culminated in the expeditions of Frank Crean, a civil engineer in the federal Department of the Interior
Early explorations of the area north of the North Saskatchewan River stirred the imaginations of politicians and ordinary Canadians, and resulted in glowing stories of the region's potential Following his first expedition in 1908, Crean reported enthusiastically about the successful farms and gardens he found at missions, fur trade posts, and at Indian and Metis settlements Newspapers raved about the expedition and its findings, and Crean's second expedition in 1909 seemed to confirm the great expectations for the region
The vision of a prosperous, settled northland was never realized - the boom years gave way to a recession, and subsequent surveys found little land of agricultural value - but the story of Frank Crean's explorations, the government's enthusiastic backing of his work, and the public's eager reception of his reports are representative of a period in Canadian history when there was unparalleled belief in the country and its people The photographs in this collection, coupled with Bill Waiser's lively writing, capture the final days of the Old Northwest and its unique way of life, and constitutes a wonderful visual portrait of a land and its people
About the author
Bill Waiser is one of Canada's foremost historians. For more than three decades, he was a history professor at the University of Saskatchewan. He is now a full-time writer and public speaker. Bill has published nineteen books, in addition to plying his trade in radio, television, and print media. He's known for an engaging, popular style that draws on the power of stories. His most recent book, In Search of Almighty Voice: Resistance and Reconciliation, was launched at the One Arrow First Nation's community powwow at the request of the Elders.
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In Search of Almighty Voice
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nouvelles perspectives
Reconsidering Confederation
Canada’s Founding Debates, 1864-1999
Reconsidering Confederation
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Saskatchewan Before 1905
