University of Regina Press

Surviving for over five hundred years, the Hutterites have created the world's most successful communal society. In the past, the colony was an "ark," isolated from the secular world. Today, Hutterite colonies face challenges from globalization and the advent of new technologies. A recent reality TV show and an inflammatory book by former members have brought an unwelcome spotlight to the community.

Inside the Ark presents quite a different picture from these sensational offerings. As the authors note in this new edition, "it is easy to find fault with any social organization, less easy to analyze it from a dispassionate standpoint." In this award-winning book, they offer a thoughtful and thorough analysis of Hutterite society and seek to understand a complex and often misunderstood community.

"Outstanding. Its combination of historical material, maps, photos, and travelogue brings the fur trade era alive. Seldom has the past and the present been brought together so successfully."

An invaluable resource for paddlers preparing to face the challenges of Canada’s old fur trade highway, Canoeing the Churchill is also an exhilarating trek into the past for the "armchair voyageur." With routes for both beginners and experts, Canoeing the Churchill provides practical "on the water advice" for the entire 1,100 km route--from Methy Portage to Cumberland House.

Idle No More bewildered many Canadians. Launched by four women in Saskatchewan in reaction to a federal omnibus budget bill, the protest became the most powerful demonstration of Aboriginal identity in Canadian history. Thousands of Aboriginal people and their supporters took to the streets, shopping malls, and other venues, drumming, dancing, and singing in a collective voice.



It was a protest against generations of injustice, a rallying cry for cultural survival, and a reassertion of Aboriginal identity.



Idle No More lasted for almost a year, and then the rallies dissipated. Many observers described it as a spent force. It was anything but. Idle No More was the most profound declaration of Indigenous identity and confidence in Canadian history, sparked by Aboriginal women and their supporters, sustained by young Indigenous peoples, filled with pride and determination. When the drums slowed, a new and different Canada was left in its wake. Partially stunned by the peaceful celebrations, but perplexed by a movement that seemed to have no centre and no leaders, most Canadians missed the point.



Through Idle No More Aboriginal people have declared that they are a vital and necessary part of Canada's future. The spirit of the drumming, singing, and dancing lives on in empowered and confident young Aboriginal people who will shape the future of this country for decades to come.

In his 2001 volume on politics in Saskatchewan, Howard Leeson observed that vast changes were underway in the Saskatchewan polity, and he predicted that the familiar politics of the past would soon look jarringly antiquated.

The contributors to this new volume—Saskatchewan Politics: Crowding the Centre—come to the conclusion that this process of change is now largely complete. As its subtitle makes clear, this new study suggests that political parties in the province have crowded closer and closer to the ideological centre. Without the fulcrum of ideological division, politics in the province appears to be more and more about personal and administrative clashes and less and less about substantive differences as to how the economy and society should be organized. In short, left and right are increasingly being left out of provincial politics.

In Saskatchewan, politics and potash are continuously, inextricably intertwined. The province is the largest single producer of potash on earth, accounting for about a quarter of the world’s total production. The industry has played a significant role in the provincial economy for over 40 years and continues to contribute to Saskatchewan’s growth. Recoverable reserves of potash are well over 100 billion tons.

With global markets currently in upheaval, Potash explores the interface between politics and the industry, the question of returns to the people of the province, and considers new developments that portend changes to the existing state of affairs. Written by an insider who helped nationalize the industry in the 1970s, John Burton expertly integrates behind-the-scenes accounts of the major players, archival material, and interview sources to produce a book that “cuts through the bull” and adds to our understanding of the world’s greatest fertilizer.

Sighting/Citing/Siting is a broad contextualization of an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural performance entitled Crossfiring/Mama Wetotan. Produced by Knowhere Productions Inc. at the Claybank Brick Plant National Historic Site (Saskatchewan, Canada) in 2006, this site-specific event explored the significance of the Dirt Hills to pre-contact aboriginal culture and to the non-aboriginals who have proliferated there since the mid-nineteenth century. The negotiation between practise and theory, in particular the desire to privilege neither, is represented in the book’s design; its collection of critical articles, full-colour catalogue, and dvd of artist interviews and performances describe the interaction of a range of site-specific practises focusing on collaboration and interdisciplinarity.

This book is pertinent to those interested in non-conventional performance, site-specific practise, postcolonial history, labour history, cultural geography and eco-tourism—and to all who understand the beauty of the Canadian prairies.

The introduction of medicare in Saskatchewan marks a dividing point in the history of the province and Canada. Before 1962, access to medical care was predicated on ability to pay and private health insurance.  After 1962, access to needed medical care became a right in Saskatchewan, later extended to the rest of Canada.  The battle to establish medicare was hard fought and in the front lines were the community clinics.  Stan Rands was one of the key individuals who established and managed community clinics in Saskatchewan. 

Here is his story of how the medicare battle was fought by those who not only wanted to eliminate money as a barrier to care but also wanted to change the way health care was delivered. Privilege and Policy: A History of Community Clinics in Saskatchewan is the inside story of a more radical vision of medicare, one that has still not been achieved in Canada.

This book is the first comprehensive study of the theatre of contemporary Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta to appear in thirty years. It raises the curtain on western theatre and the accomplishments of the many facets of theatre: educators, writers, performers, and more.

West-words gives the reader a bird’s-eye view of the contemporary theatre scene across the prairies. Eighteen essays written by scholars, educators, dramaturges, publishers, designers, directors and playwrights -- all actively involved in the Canadian prairie theatre – explore the professional, cultural, and aesthetic complexities of creating, producing, performing, and publishing dramatic “words” in the Canadian “west.”

While acknowledging the role of older, established theatres -- like Prairie Theatre Exchange in Manitoba, The Globe and Persephone in Saskatchewan, and Alberta Theatre Projects, Theatre Network, Workshop West and the Citadel in Alberta in generating new work as part of their mandate -- the book also focuses on the role of alternative structures (such as festivals, and dramaturgical centres) and genres (such as radio drama, physical theatre, and children’s theatre) in creating new work outside conventional theatre spaces. Finally the collection also looks at how smaller theatres like Saràsvati, La Troupe du Jour, and the Saskatchewan Native Theatre Company give women, francophones, and aboriginals their own dramatic voice.

Located within about a two hours’ drive of roughly 70% of the province’s population, Lake Diefenbaker is a remarkable recreational jewel. The lake itself offers outstanding opportunities for boating, sailing and other recreational activities, as well as some of the finest sport fishing in the province. Parks and campsites around the lake offer challenging golf courses, excellent trails for hiking and bird-watching, and stunning scenery. Surrounding communities host annual rodeos, festivals, craft fairs, fishing derbies, and ball tournaments; their many museums and theatres celebrate our rich cultural and historical heritage.

A new edition to the Discover Saskatchewan series, Lake Diefenbaker: Yours to Discover is an accessible guide book with unique navigational tools. Authors Michael and Anna Clancy visited over thirty communities, as well as seven regional and four provincial parks (with over 1,000 campsites!) located near Lake Diefenbaker. With maps, photographs and detailed descriptions of the attractions and services available at each location, Lake Diefenbaker is the ultimate guide to one of Saskatchewan’s premier tourist destinations.

This handy field guide is designed for use by both amateur and professional botanists, biologists, gardeners, and naturalists. The full colour field guide includes over 400 species of water and wetland plants found across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and the northern United States.
Since many of the northern wetland plants are circumpolar in distribution, Water and Wetland Plants of the Prairie Provinces will also be useful in other parts of Canada, the United States, and Eurasia.

Walter Scott was a populist with a vision for the new province. A newspaperman, entrepreneur, and land speculator before being elected to the House of Commons in 1900, by 1905, Scott had become leader of the Saskatchewan Liberal party and premier of the new province. After the 1905 election, Scott embarked on a program to build the province's infrastructure, including the Legislative Building and the University of Saskatchewan. He believed that agriculture was a vital component in the fabric of Saskatchewan life, and by including farm leadership in cabinet, he created a political climate founded on agriculture. Scott's government was also instrumental in enacting prohibition and establishing female suffrage. The fruits of Walter Scott's labours in education, agriculture and public policy continue to be harvested in Saskatchewan today, but few remember who planted the original seeds.

In his day, Scott was respected for his leadership in the growth and development of Saskatchewan. With the publication of this landmark biography by Gordon L. Barnhart, Scott's pivotal role will be recognized anew by the generations who now live in the province he was instrumental in founding.

Between 1869 and 1877 the government of Canada negotiated Treaties One through Seven with the Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains. Many historians argue that the negotiations suffered from cultural misunderstandings between the treaty commissioners and Indigenous chiefs, but newly uncovered eyewitness accounts show that the Canadian government had a strategic plan to deceive over the “surrender clause” and land sharing.

According to Sheldon Krasowski’s research, Canada understood that the Cree, Anishnabeg, Saulteaux, Assiniboine, Siksika, Piikani, Kainaa, Stoney and Tsuu T’ina nations wanted to share the land with newcomers—with conditions—but were misled over governance, reserved lands, and resource sharing. Exposing the government chicanery at the heart of the negotiations, No Surrender demonstrates that the land remains Indigenous.

Harry Abley was a nightmare of a father: depressive, self-absorbed, unpredictable, emotionally unstable. He was also a dream of a father: gentle, courageous, artistically gifted. Mark Abley, his only child, grew up in the shadow of music and mental illness. How he came to terms with this divided legacy, and how he learned to be a man in the absence of a traditional masculine role model, are central to this beautifully written memoir.

This extraordinary story will speak to all those who love music, who struggle with depression, or who wrestle with the difficult bonds of love between a parent and a child.

Praise for The Organist:

"A wise and haunting book." —Martha Baillie, author of The Search for Heinrich Schlögel

"The Organist is a rich and wonderful book, a deeply insightful and moving story of a family’s journey through the 20th century….Abley’s tale is fearless in its revelations, yet also loving, funny, and beautifully told.” —Ronald Wright, author of A Scientific Romance and A Short History of Progress

“'What does a life add up to?' This question is central to Mark Abley’s haunting family memoir, The Organist. Both expansive in the themes it raises and intimate in details required to bring those themes to life, it’s a question that draws on Abley’s talents as a remarkably clear and thoughtful writer. In The Organist, he ventures bravely into territory that is, for almost everyone, mysterious: what our parents were like before we, their children, became (so we like to imagine) central to their lives. What this compelling book makes clear is that what we don’t know about them is often what we don’t know about ourselves." —David Macfarlane, author of The Danger Tree

“Beautiful, tender, and raging, The Organist comes from where the best writing usually does—deep emotion affirmed by hard-won experience of how humans are in their relationships, and in their own hearts. It has taken Mark Abley nearly a lifetime to produce the book of his life. Not a moment too late, or too soon” —Charles Foran, author of Mordecai: The Life & Times

How Newfoundlanders became Canadians

Where Once They Stood challenges popular notions that those who voted against Confederation in 1869 and for union in 1948 were uninformed and gullible. Raymond Blake and Melvin Baker demonstrate that voters fully understood the issues at stake in both cases, and women became instrumental in determining the final outcome, voting for Canada in 1948, believing it provided the best opportunities for their children.

"A lively history of Newfoundland politics from the 1860s to the 1940s, with vigorous and persuasive arguments as to why Newfoundlanders were right to reject Confederation in 1869, and right to embrace it in 1949." —Christopher Moore, author of 1867: How the Fathers Made a Deal

"Blake and Baker vigorously bring the exciting fight of ideas in Newfoundland to life. We forget how great the stakes were--nothing less than the survival, security, belonging and recognition of a people. Readers will discover how Newfoundlanders debated for four generations whether Canada was a beau risque." —Patrice Dutil, author of Prime Ministerial Power in Canada