Lawrence Delisle Interview

Lawrence Delisle was interviewed at Duck Lake. Lawrence grew up in Jackfish Lake, in a family of eight. His parents started a homestead but the penultimate son became seriously ill. Medical treatment was expensive. Unfortunately, the child died and they lost the homestead. Later, they bought a farm nearby. Delisle describes various farm activities, prices, products, and gardening. As a child, Delisle and his brothers tamed free horses in the Prairies. Lawrence attended school at Jackfish Lake, in the one room school his father built in the early 1910s. There was also a convent in Jackfish Lake, which was a day school for Métis, First Nations, and French children. Later, Delisle describes having trouble finding employment due to discrimination. As a young man, Lawrence’s father worked in the tobacco industry in the United States. Afterwards, his parents with his older sister moved to Chilliwack, BC. His brother Emmanuel inherited the farm at Jackfish Lake, which he then sold. Lawrence describes fishing operations with nets. In the past, fish was abundant and healthy. Delisle states that over time pollution has made the fish weak and sick; hunting resources were diminished, farmed meat has a plain taste, because it is full of carcinogenic chemicals, such as hormones, medicines, and artificial feed. Additionally, Lawrence was concerned about over-trapping. Delisle recounts the difficulties in receiving medical care from the government, for example, his experience in the hospital. In his family, herbalists and healers used traditional medicine. Lawrence explains the parental relationships of brothers and sisters, nephews and nieces, telling their dispersion between Saskatchewan, Alberta, and BC. Together with his brothers Leo and Ed, he joined the army. Lawrence and his brother Leo were medically unfit. During the war, Ed was wounded in his eye, losing his sight. Delisle discusses some of his political theories about elections, CCF, NDP, Pierre Trudeau, Joe Clark, the conservative attitude towards the church, and Anderson's conservative government in Saskatchewan. --------------------- Keywords: Land use (Subsistence Patterns), Integration & Mobility, Community Breaking/Fracture, Warfare, Racism, Employment, Resource Degradation, Healthcare, Elections, Government Funding, Religion