Turnor Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada (2008-2009)

Turnor Lake is the name of a First Nations community in northwestern Saskatchewan. The community is on the shore of Turnor Lake at the end of a dirt and gravel highway. The only traffic stop sign in the community was placed at the end of the highway in an effort to stop road weary tourists from driving into the lake.

Politically Turnor Lake consists of the Northern Hamlet of Turnor Lake and the Birch Narrows Dene Nation (the Turnor Lake Indian Reserve). Unless you are a politician or a road maintenance worker you probably will not notice the boundary between the two communities. Most of the population of Turnor Lake are members of the Birch Narrows Dene Nation, although the hamlet is probably considered to be a Metis community.

During the 2008-2009 school year the Birch Ridge Community School was a Nursery (age 4 years) to grade 11 school. Grade 10 courses had just been offered for the first time at the school the previous year. I was hired as the new grade 11 teacher. The high school students were given the choice of riding in a school bus for an hour each way to take classes at the big high school in La Loche or staying within the community and spending much of the day in my classroom. Students wanting to take grade 12 courses in their final year of high school had to leave the community or ride the school bus to La Loche.

The Birch Ridge Community School was an old school at the end of its service life. All of the students in grades 5 to 11 had to take classes in portable classrooms as there was not enough space in the main building to accomodate them. The high school students (grades 10 and 11) did have one of their two classrooms inside the building and the other classroom was a long, thin, mobile trailer. The school had a gymnasium, computer lab and library that had been designed for use by the younger elementary students. The school did not have any of the specialized classrooms that Canadian schools normally have for students in grades 7 to 12.

There were many obstacles to challenge anyone who tried to teach or learn in the school. We frequently experienced problems with the heating and plumbing systems. At various times of the year there was flooding in the front doorway from rain and melting snow flowing down the hill toward the building. There were an insufficient number of toilets. The only sink in the high school area had been out of service for an unknown number of years leaving us with no source of running water for science or art anywhere near the high school classrooms. There was no place for the high school students or teachers to hang up their coats, hats, mits and winter overalls. Life was full of surprises of what could go wrong next when trying to teach or learn in that old building, the portables, and the long, thin, mobile trailer.

The Birch Narrows Dene Nation had been trying to negotiate with the federal government to construct a new school building for at least a dozen years. Finally, in the spring of 2009, just before I left the community, the federal government provided funding for the construction of a new school. As always happens whenever the government builds a new school in the north they also promised to build some new teacherages for the teachers to live in.

Here is a list of the pages containing my collection of photographs of Turnor Lake.

Outdoor Autumn Photos of Turnor Lake

1. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Station and neighbourhood.
2. Birch Narrows Dene Nation Administration Office, Nursing Station and neighbourhood.
3. Northern Hamlet of Turnor Lake.
4. Birch Ridge Community School and schoolyard.
5. The dogs of Turnor Lake.
6. Roman Catholic Church, Birch Ridge Education Office and neighbourhood.
7. General Store, gasoline station, daycare and neighbourhood.
8. Turnor Lake Cemetery.
9. Turnor Lake shoreline, boats and docks.

Birch Ridge Community School Fall and Winter Photos

1. High school students participating in Outdoor Education fieldwork.
2. Some high school students.
3. More high school students.
4. Students decorating the gym and some classroom photos.
5. A community interagency meeting held in the school gymnasium.

Winter Photos of Turnor Lake

1. The main highway and photos taken in front of Birch Ridge Community School.
2. Northern Hamlet of Turnor Lake.
3. The new subdivision and the hockey arena.
4. The Nursing Station and neighbourhood.

Birch Ridge Community School Outdoor Spring Photos

1. Students fishing from the bridge at the narrows - Part 1.
2. Students fishing from the bridge at the narrows - Part 2.
3. Students fishing from the bridge at the narrows - Part 3.
4. Sod Turning Ceremony for the new school.