Barkwell, Lawrence J. Veterans and Families of the 1885 Northwest Resistance. Saskatoon, SK: Gabriel Dumont Institute, 2011.

Summary: One hundred and twenty-six years ago, approximately 250 Métis men took up arms to fight for their rights against an oppressive political regime. In this timely monograph, Lawrence J. Barkwell documents the Métis resistance in 1885 and the South Branch Métis Settlement’s military and political structures. Besides methodically listing all the Métis participants in the 1885 Resistance, this useful genealogical resource also documents the Métis heroines of Batoche as well as the First Nations and Euro-Canadians who rallied to the Métis cause. Perhaps most importantly, this monograph provides a tangible link between contemporary Métis community people and their ancestors who desperately fought to preserve their way of life so long ago.

McKay, Sharon, Don Fuchs and Ivan Brown, editors. Passion for Action in Child and Family Services: Voices from the Prairies. Regina, SK: CPRC Press, 2009.

Summary: Passion for Action in Child and Family Services: Voices from the Prairies offers a fresh perspective on contemporary issues in child and family services in Canada. These authors passionately share their experiences with new and emerging policies, programs and initiatives--all of which hold promise for effectively meeting the needs of at-risk children, youth and families. Grounded in practice and arising out of the unique Prairie context, this book offers both information and inspiration for policy makers, practitioners, researchers, and students interested in child and family services.

Shaak, L. A Fireside Chat. [Saskatchewan]: [Larry Shaak], 2011.

Summary: A collection of personal true short stories to warm your heart, provide a chuckle, shed a tear and reflect on the beauty of life, friendships, family, careers, travel, teaching, learning and raising Saint Bernard dogs.

Tingley, Ken. The Last Best West: Glimpses of the Prairie Provinces from the Golden Age of Postcards. [Edmonton], AB: University of Alberta Libraries, [2011].

Summary: Settlement and urbanization of the Canadian Northwest coincided with the greatest popularity of the postcard. Settlement, along with the building of a transcontinental railway and the industrialization of central Canada, were the three pillars of the National Policy in the years following Confederation. These themes also were the subject of thousands of images preserved in postcards. By the first decade of the 20th century, many cities, towns, and villages were home to photographers who produced a mass of these fascinating and informative images. Many were personalized views of first houses, home farms or family groups and events. Others documented important events, disasters or buildings with broader importance. Together they comprise a valuable resource that presents a unique impression of a significant period in the history of the Canadian West.

Fuchs, Don, Sharon McKay and Ivan Brown, editors. Awakening the Spirit: Moving Forward in Child Welfare: Voices From the Prairies. Regina, SK: CPRC Press, 2012.

Summary: This is the third book in an exciting series of child welfare books that features voices from the prairies. Child welfare is ultimately about the well-being of vulnerable children and families, and this book challenges us to re-examine -- and sometimes to reconstruct -- the core values of our profession and the methods we use. This book urges us to awaken our own spirits to uncover the truth of our motives, and to move forward in ways that honour the values and experiences of vulnerable children and families.

Karpan, Robin and Arlene. The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List. Saskatoon, SK: Parkland Pub., c2012.

Summary: With over 170 stunning colour photographs, plus maps and coordinates, The Great Saskatchewan Bucket List not only shows you 50 top natural wonders, but also helps you get there. Each place is even rated as to how difficult it is to visit. A surprising number are fairly easy, but some will take more effort. After all, any quest worth its salt should have a few challenges. Now is the perfect time to start checking things off your bucket list.

Préfontaine, Darren R. Gabriel Dumont: Li Chef Michif in Images and In Words. Saskatoon, SK: Gabriel Dumont Institute, 2011.

Summary: Gabriel Dumont is an iconic figure in Métis and Canadian history. In the popular imagination, he is well known for leading the Métis forces during the 1885 Resistance, and for being a renowned bison hunt leader, a Wild West show performer, and a husband to his beloved Madeleine. But outside of printed history and a fragmented oral history what do we really know about him? How has he been imagined over time? This book answers these questions by focusing on visual and journalistic representations of Gabriel Dumont through time and space. Compiled together for the first time, these eclectic sources provide poignant vignettes of Gabriel Dumont’s life, which will greatly contribute to our knowledge about him, and will further contribute to his legend.

Wilson, Garrett. In The Temple of the Rain God: The Life and Times of "Irish" Charlie Wilson. Regina, SK: Canadian Plains Research Centre Press, 2012.

Summary: “Irish Charlie” Wilson arrived in the West in 1905, the year of Saskatchewan's birth, and experienced all the hardship, success, and suffering that the province enjoyed and endured on its path to where it stands today as one of the most favoured in Canada. Charles Wilson did it all, from farm labourer to grain buyer to homesteader to business to politics. He established himself as the pre-eminent farm loan agent in Saskatchewan and then converted to spokesman for the farmers who had become deeply indebted because of the failure of crops and prices in the 1930s. Charles served from 1936 to 1943 as farmer/debtor commissioner on the Board of Review established under the Farmers' Creditors Arrangement Act, an almost forgotten agency that sliced away nearly half of Saskatchewan farm debt. Much of Charles' story is told in his own words with unusual authenticity and colour. Through his close association with Victoria Trust & Savings Company, the rise, fall and recovery of Saskatchewan's agricultural sector is seen through the vantage point of an Ontario based farm lender.

Brown, Ron. Rails Across the Prairies: The Railway Heritage of Canada's Prairie Provinces. Toronto, ON: Dundurn, 2012.

Summary: Rails Across the Prairies traces the evolution of Canada's rail network, including the appearance of the first steam engine on the back of a barge. The book looks at the arrival of European settlers before the railway and examines how they coped by using ferry services on the Assiniboine and North Saskatchewan Rivers. The work then follows the building of the railways, the rivalries of their owners, and the unusual irrigation works of Canadian Pacific Railway. The towns were nearly all the creation of the railways from their layout to their often unusual names. Eventually, the rail lines declined, though many are experiencing a limited revival. Learn what the heritage lover can still see of the Prairies' railway legacy, including existing rail operations and the stories the railways brought with them. Many landmarks lie vacant, including ghost towns and elevators, while many others survive as museums or interpretative sites.

Kaye, Frances W. Goodlands: a Meditation and History on the Great Plains. Edmonton, AB: AU Press, 2011.

Summary: Drawing on history, literature, art, and economic theory, Frances W. Kaye counters the argument of deficiency, pointing out that, in its original ecological state, no region can possibly be incomplete. Goodlands examines the settlers' misguided theory, discussing the ideas that shaped its implementation, the forces that resisted it, and Indigenous ideologies about what it meant to make good use of the land. By suggesting methods for redeveloping the Great Plains that are based on native cultural values, Kaye points the way to a balanced and sustainable future for the region in the context of a changing globe.

Kelm, Mary-Ellen. A Wilder West: Rodeo in Western Canada. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press, c2011.

Summary: A controversial sport, rodeo is often seen as emblematic of the West's reputation as a 'white man's country.' A Wilder West complicates this view, showing how rodeo has been an important contact zone -- a chaotic and unpredictable place of encounter that challenged expected social hierarchies. Rodeo has brought people together across racial and gender divides, creating friendships, rivalries, and unexpected intimacies. Fans made hometown cowboys, cowgirls, and Aboriginal riders local heroes. Lavishly illustrated and based on cowboy/cowgirl biographies and memoirs, press coverage, archival records, and dozens of interviews with former and current rodeo contestants, promoters, and audience members, this creative history returns to rodeo's small-town roots to shed light on the history of social relations in Canada's western frontier.

Munholland, Lois Kundson. Bread to Share...:Stories About Saskatchewan's Early Lutheran Pastors and Their Wives. Strasbourg, SK: Three West Two South Books, c2006.

Summary: Bread to Share is a tribute to Lutheran pastors and their wives who shared the 'bread of life' and broke bread with the people of Saskatchewan in the early years. They shared in the joys and hardships of the time, often traveling many miles to bring the comfort and hope of their Gospel.

Munholland, Lois Knudson. Pulpits of The Past: a Record of Closed Lutheran Churches in Saskatchewan, Up to 2003. Strasbourg, SK: Three West Two South Books, 2004.

Summary: More than 700 communities of Lutherans which at one time existed in Saskatchewan eventually disbanded over the course of the last century or so. Pulpits of the Past provides a record of the life of those churches, the character members and early leaders, and the pastors who served them.