The Frog Lake Reader

by Myrna Kostash (Editor)

Non-fiction authority Myrna Kostash merges the past and the present in The Frog Lake Reader, which offers a startlingly objective perspective on the tragic events surrounding the Frog Lake Massacre of 1885. By bringing together eyewitness accounts and journal excerpts, memoirs and contemporary fiction, and excerpts from interviews with historians, Kostash provides a panoramic perspective on a tragedy often overshadowed by Louis Riel's rebellion during the same year. The history is contentious and its interpretation unresolved, but The Frog Lake Reader, with its broad survey of vital historical accounts and points of view, offers the most comprehensive and informative narrative on the Frog Lake Massacre to date.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

258 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2009

About the author

Born and raised in Edmonton, AB, award-winning non-fiction writer Myrna Kostash is the author of nine books, including All of Baba’s Children and The Doomed Bridegroom. In addition to contributing articles to various magazines, such as Geist, Canadian Geographic, and Legacy, Kostash has written radio documentaries and theatre playscripts. Her creative non-fiction has appeared in numerous Canadian and international anthologies, such as The Thinking Heart: Best Canadian Essays, Edmonton on Location, Literatura na swiecie (Warsaw), and Mostovi (Belgrade).

A founder of the Creative Non-Fiction Collective, Kostash has taught creative writing workshops across Canada and in the US. She has served on several award juries, including those of the Governor General’s Awards, the CBC Literary Non-fiction competition, and the Writers’ Development Trust’s Pearson Award for Literary Non-fiction. In 2008 the Writers Guild of Alberta presented her with the Golden Pen Award for lifetime achievement, and in 2009 she was inducted into the City of Edmonton’s Arts and Culture Hall of Fame. Her upcoming book, Prodigal Daughter: A Journey into Byzantium, will be released in 2010.

Reviews

[Gail Amendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Albertan, and a history nerd, I am ashamed to say that I knew very little about the Frog Lake Massacre before reading this book. Thanks to Myrna Kostash, I now know a lot. In this very easy to read book, she pulls together writings from many different sources...eyewitnesses, family members, law enforcement, newspaper articles, and historians from both past and present. She also provides her own analysis of the events. She does an excellent job of showing how perspectives on this event have changed over the years, and suggests that the term "massacre" is probably not appropriate in this case. This is a very sad story of a group of First Nations people in a desperate situation, who lashed out against their oppressors and paid a big price. It is often lumped in with the North-West Rebellion, which happened nearby at the same time, but is not really related, and everything that I had previously read about the incident at Frog Lake was in the context of the rebellion. This event led to the largest mass hanging in Canadian history, and one would think it should warrant a little more attention is history class.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful book compiled from archival documents accounting the events leading up to the climax at Frog Lake. Especialy touching is the account of one kidnapped family's understanding of the place in history they are now a part of and their work at making the kidknappings and journey as mutually respectfull, helpful and less difficult to all involved. This is a story more Canadians should be aware of as an explaination of the sad acceptance of the hegemony in the Canadian West.

[Rodney97 · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thorough recounting of the events. I loved the braiding together of accounts from all the various persons and points-of-view. This is as fair and objective a book on Frog Lake as we can hope for.

[Marilyn Vermeulen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very thought provoking!! The government and media, some government employees treated the First Nations wrongly. If only time could go backwards and change the government’s attitude and approach, and see First Nations as they were, not as people who were to be taken advantage of to get land.
It is very well researched and asks many hard questions that we as white people need to take seriously.

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across the title of this book through a reading list in Alberta Views. Myrna Kostash (an Albertan) provided newspaper articles concerning the events around the 1885 Frog Lake Rebellion. This event was precipitated by by the horrible conditions endured by First Nations people after they had been removed from their traditional land and had been forced to relocate to reserves following the signing of treaties.
The bias of the majority of news reports was extreme and there was no recognition generally of how dehumanizing the living conditions were. Having read this, I was very much on alert for any information concerning events in the Canadian west during and following the arrival of European and some American settlers and the roles of the Canadian government, the Hudson Bay Company and business interests.
When I heard the discussion CBC radio about Clearing the Plains, I knew that this work would add immensely to the information I had found in the Frog Lake Reader -- an extremely fortuitous coincidence.