Burnt Snow

Kieran Moore is an Irish immigrant who, at the age of twenty, faced impending layoffs at his construction job in Winnipeg. He was frustrated at the instability and purposelessness of his life at the time and decided to head into the Northwest Territories in the hope of finding that purpose there. Shortly after arrival, he was asked to build a church in the Dene community of Rae Lakes in the northern boreal region of Canada. That assignment led to his immersion in the world of the Dene throughout the 1970-1980s, the period covered in his book. It was at a time of dramatic change for Dene communities. He experienced both the richness of character of the people and shared in their traditional ways and also experienced the confusion and suffering the community underwent as the old ways came under threat from outside forces. The tradition of storytelling was an integral part of the Dene way and he learned a great deal by listening to their elders and working with them as they built structures, lived side by side, and hunted together. The stories he tells reflect his personal engagement with the Dene of the N. W. T. and they are told in the spirit of the storytelling tradition of the Dene and that of his Irish ancestors. The author presently lives in Peterborough Ontario, still clinging to the past with good connections with his friends in the North, some of which make the long journey to do talks at Trent University and stop in for visits. He owns two incredibly large Huskies that take up a great part of his time. He has done guiding for Mahoosuc Guide, operating adventure trips in Chibougamau Quebec. Trips such as week-long dog sled and canoe trips in the Quebec wilderness on Cree family trap-line.