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WINISK TO THE BAY: BIBLIOGRAPHY
Recently two books called Winisk have appeared . They were written by two
different women who looked back many years to their stay on the river. The
town of Winisk was situated at the mouth of the river until a disastrous
spring flood in 1986 almost wiped it off the map. The village was relocated 20
miles up river and renamed Peawanuck. However the loss of two lives, homes
and possessions, and the sudden move into the 20th century, caused
confusion, emotional upheaval, and the loss of identity. A simple iron
cross is the only thing that indicates the location of the old settlement.
Winisk - A Cree Indian Settlement on Hudson Bay
By Vita Rordam
Published by Borealis Press 1998
$24.95 383 pages
ISBN 1-88887-181-3
This book deals in part with problems faced by a Cree Indian community at
the mouth of the Winisk River. In 1955 the Federal Government started
construction of Site 500 - a radar station and airport across the River
from the settlement, and the sudden arrival of some thousand construction
workers jolted the natives, whose contact with the outside world had so far
been minimal, into a different existence.
Vita Rordam joined her husband, Bill, in Winisk and was herself hired by
the main contractor, Carter Construction Ltd., for office work. As there
were no married quarters at the camp, they lived in a cabin in the native
community, travelling to work and back by dog sled in winter, by canoe in
summer. Vita, the sole female employee, and the only non-native woman in
the area, found her two-year stay in Winisk filled with hilarious,
dramatic, exciting, and wonderful experiences.
Her full-time job, the travel time to work and home, household duties,
entertaining unexpected visitors, and helping to care for the sick
(including Bill, who had a severe heart attack in 1956), left scant time
for personal interests. However, she got to know her native neighbours,
studied the wilderness, spoke to local missionaries, corresponded with
professionals, travelled when possible, and hunted and fished with the men,
keeping records of all she saw, heard, and learned. These records,
supplemented by later data, provided the basis for Winisk.
Winisk - On the Shore of Hudson Bay,
By Mildred Young Hubbert
Published by Natural Heritage Press 1997
$16.95 ISBN 1-896219-35-7
This book affers almost a sequel tgo the previous one dealing with a time
some 15 years later. The late Mildred Hubbert married a teacher who worked
in the original Winisk under what today would seem primative conditions.
This was long after the Mid-Canada Line's Site 500 radar installation had
been abandonned and forgotten. There were few ammenities back then and
Mildred Hubbert paints a vivid picture of life in a small and isolated
community. She and her husband George were there together for several years
in the early 1970s.
They played an active part in the community and came to know very well the
cycles of the season and how the natives lived their lives - and how to be
very resourceful.
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