Toil and Peaceful Life

Book excerpt: The Doukhobors, a persecuted and impoverished Russian sect, came to Canada in 1899 as one of the largest cohesive groups in the government's campaign to draw experienced farmers to unoccupied western land. This book provides a detailed examination of the Doukhobors' unique cultural landscapes, with the geographical focus on the three blocks of land set aside for them by the government in Saskatchewan. It considers the factors influencing the location of the original village sites and describes the form and pattern of the villages and fields. It also traces inter-village, inter-reserve, and interprovincial movement, and village consolidation as it became clear that direct conflict with government was unavoidable. The book identifies and analyzes the values which prevented Doukhobor/government compromise and ends with the final dispersal of the government-held village lands in the original reserves in 1918.