You made me cry,” and a cultural sojourn in Saskatoon

Hello Flatlanders, 

I had the pleasure of attending the Saskatchewan Independent Film Awards in Regina the other week, where our very own Flatlander documentary on Prairie seniors, “Looking Forward at 100,” touched hearts — and clinched the Audience Choice Award.

“That is a beautiful film. You made me cry,” Dustan, one of the audience members, told me. “There’s something about when all the pretense is stripped away, and there’s just these beautiful people sharing their stories and hearts.”

The awards venue, The Royal Saskatchewan Museum, is one of Regina’s gems. If you haven’t been, you’re missing out, especially if you’re a dinosaur enthusiast like me. The T.rex Gallery is world-class, and the Earth Sciences gallery, which I’ve visited too many times to count, grew my appreciation for the Prairies’ geographic and natural history over the last eon.

Being at one of my favourite places, surrounded by the incredible film talent from Saskatchewan, reminded me of the untapped potential we have right here in our backyard. 

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Winter solstice and El Nino weather

Winter solstice is a few weeks away. It’s one of my favourite days of the year, not because I usually mark it in any way. It just means that the days will begin to get longer once again.

I was running some errands in Winnipeg on a particularly cloudy day this week, and it was dark by 4:30 p.m.

I know I’m not alone in preferring long sunny days over dark winter mornings. However, El Nino has made the winter more bearable temperature-wise.

And since there hasn’t been much in the way of precipitation yet, I’ve only had to shovel my driveway twice this year. (Although if I had waited long enough, the snow would have melted on its own).

El Nino winters are usually warmer and drier than usual throughout the Prairie. However, I don’t remember a year being this mild since 1997, another El Nino year. I lived in Regina then, and as I recall, there was no snow until around Christmas.

Of course, a winter with relatively good weather is enjoyable… for now. There are consequences though. The lack of precipitation means the soil will be drier in the spring, which could lead to more wildfires in 2024. Less snow isn’t good for farmers either because it could mean another drought year. Snow cover protects the soil from moisture evaporation.

I wrote about the importance of snow to the Prairie economy in the very first issue of The Flatlander in 2021.

Looking back to summer

There are still a few more months of winter left, so the weather will do whatever it will do between now and then.

But while we’re headed into the darkest part of the winter, I thought it would be nice to look back to the summer.

In September, I asked readers for their summer stories, and Winnipeg travel writer Steve Lyons delivered by sharing his experience of taking his 15-year-old stepson on his first journey out of Manitoba on a road trip to Saskatoon to check out some of the museums. And, as he notes, one of the big challenges of travelling with young people these days is keeping them off their phones so they can take in some of the scenery.

Steve says in his story we should be understanding of youth not initially being thrilled by the Prairie landscape since it took him most of his life “to appreciate the majesty of the flatlands.” 

On his trip, he takes his stepson to the art gallery Remai Modern, the heritage site Wanuskewin, the Saskatchewan Railway Museum and the Ukrainian Museum of Canada.

His story makes me want to go to Saskatoon again sometime soon. I get there about once or twice a year, but I haven’t been to Wanuskewin in over 20 years, and I wasn’t even aware of the Railway Museum or the Ukrainian Museum. And I am a big museum person, so I will have to go now that I know they are there. 

You can read about Steve’s journey here. 

International Peace Garden, a must-go (as early as this weekend)

Another Flatlander reader Connie highly recommends people find time to visit the International Peace Garden in southern Manitoba, just a 20-minute drive from Boissevain. The garden extends over the American side of the border, so if you go, bring your passport. 

Connie calls the International Peace Garden the Butchart Gardens of the prairies. “But it is so much more,” she wrote. 

For reference, the Butchart Gardens are near Victoria. There are about 55 acres of display gardens, and Butchart is a national historic site, as the gardens have been around for more than 100 years. 

The Peace Garden is much bigger and has 2,400 acres of indoor and outdoor gardens. 

It hasn’t been around as long as the Butchart Gardens. The Peace Garden is 91 years old, having been founded in 1932 as a symbol of peace between the United States and Canada.

Some of the main features include the Carillon Bell Tower, the Floral Clock, the Peace Chapel, and the Sunken Garden. 

They are working on two major capital improvement projects. One is the expansion of the Conservatory, which included creating a world-class garden of cacti and succulents.

The conservatory temporarily reopens to the public this weekend on Dec. 9 for people to get a sneak peek at some of the changes. It is also their Santa at the Garden day.

The other improvement project is the addition of a Children’s Nature Play Area, which opened last year.

They are planning to unveil a new 10-year strategic plan this month, so more changes are to come.

I was there nine or 10 years ago when it still had the peace tower, which was demolished in 2017 after it began to show signs of deterioration. 

The 120-foot concrete monument was erected to mark the 50th anniversary of the Peace Garden in 1982, but unfortunately it wasn’t built to last as it didn’t prove to be repairable and could have become a safety hazard if left to stand.  

There are plans to build a new one eventually. Early estimates in 2016 put the cost of a new tower at $8 million, so it might take some time for the Peace Garden to have the funds to do so, because, as a non-profit, it relies on government funding and donations.

Connie says the International Peace Garden should be a bucket list destination for everyone, as it’s only about an hour south of Brandon.

“You don’t have to travel all over the world to find some stunning scenery,” wrote Connie.

And I agree. 

Holidaying at home

A friend of mine recently asked me where in the world I would like to travel, and instead of listing some faraway country like Greece or Italy, my response was that I’d like to get to some of the places I haven’t been to in Manitoba and Saskatchewan yet, like the Narcisse Snake Dens.

I am much more of a backyard explorer than an international globetrotter. I’ve had just as much fun seeing the Eiffel Tower in Montmarte, Saskatchewan or getting attacked by mayflies in Gimli as I’ve had in China or Australia.

I’m more interested in the adventures you can have at home, like climbing the 153 wooden steps to the lighthouse in Cochin, Saskatchewan. It was just as pleasurable as climbing the Great Wall of China but with way fewer people there. And the trip was much more affordable. 

Although some Flatlander readers prefer the beauty of their own yards, as one reader, Paul wrote:

“Vacations are something for others to enjoy. I prefer to be at home. My wife’s yard is 10 acres of paradise in itself.”

He also says he is way too busy most of the year for holidays.

“In the winter, things are less intense. Though I am often crossing the continental divide (Hudson Bay/Gulf of Mexico divide) three times per day, hauling grain to the elevator in the winter. Usually on nasty winter roads. 80 km trip one way. The first 24 kilometres is fairly even. The next 32 kilometres, one has to climb 1,500 feet in elevation. Makes the truck work very hard. Then, the final 24 kms the elevation drop is 2,500 feet. Hard to keep the speed in control, especially on ice.”    

For those who might not make it to the Peace Garden, you can check out this video. It gives viewers both an aerial view of the International Peace Garden and a walking tour. If you are interested in looking at the flowers in detail, I would recommend looking at the International Peace Garden’s pictures on Facebook. 

What to do when you’ve missed a museum travelling exhibit

Speaking of virtual travel, several weeks ago, the Flatlander ran the story ‘Community copy’ of Treaty 3 on display at CMHR

One reader Violet wrote in to ask if it is possible to view Treaty 3 online as not everyone was able to go to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg.

The exhibit, which was a travelling one, has now left the museum, unfortunately, so no one can see it, especially since Winnipeg was its last stop. 

When I miss an exhibit I wanted to see at a gallery, I look for any media about it. 

The CBC did a video piece on the exhibit, so I’ll watch the video once through to get the information and then I will rewatch it and pause on the images I want to take a closer look at. I also looked at their Treaty 3 story for photos. 

CTV has a Treaty 3 video and story as well.

Generally, galleries and museums will have a write-up about the exhibition. In this case, there is a press release that includes a nice photo of one of the treaty pages. And there is an article about the treaty written by a member of Obishikokaang (Lac Seul First Nation), which is in Dryden, Ont. There are more images there, including a photo of one of the pages from Treaty 3 from the Library and Archives Canada. You can click on the photo to enlarge it. 

There are also photos of Shoal Lake, which is in Treaty 3, that extends into Manitoba.

The author shares all her references, so the reader can visit them for further reading.

Then because it’s historic artifacts I’m after, I hopped over to the Library and Archives Canada website and searched “Treaty 3” in quotation marks to make the search exact.

Then I filtered my search for digital objects online starting with the oldest ones. So I began with the 1870 to 1879 filter and it brought up some interesting digitized versions of the original documents that you can look at, including all the pages of Western Treaty 3 or this old map of the Treaty 3 area.

I also visited the Grand Council Treaty #3 website and read their press release about the 150th anniversary of Treaty 3. 

They provide the full text of Treaty 3, which is helpful because the original documents are faded and difficult to read. The full text is also available on the Government Canada website as well.  And the Grand Council has a contemporary detailed map of the Treaty area online. 

So that’s the best I can do in terms of providing a virtual discovery tour of the Treaty 3 documents. 

Five stories from Manitoba you may have missed

1. Soldier and family of six left homeless in battle with RM
2. Manitoba scientists using sophisticated technology to find out how much greenhouse gas comes from wetlands
3. Fast action needed on zebra mussels, lake expert warns 
4. University of Manitoba nursing student suspended, accused of antisemitic posts 
5. Stray dog injures child on Sioux Valley Dakota Nation

Five stories from Saskatchewan you may have missed

1. Saskatchewan NDP questions mammogram plan over company’s party donations, lobbying
2. $95,000 needed for rural school board to meet new provincial flag requirement
3. Saskatchewan’s electricity utility to pay into nuclear fund, clean electricity costs
4. Disruptions in health care coincide with effects of climate change: former Sask cancer patient
5. Saskatchewan government hires chief for marshals service