Local author brings pre-contact Indigenous history of ‘The Turn’ to life in new novel – SaskToday.ca
July 14, 2025
“I hope people enjoy the mystery and the magic in the book, but I also hope they get a sense of the history and the significance of the land and its people,” author Ron Farnel said.
MOOSE JAW — A summer of magic, mystery, and bravery has come to an end, as the Sand Hills People witness the rise of one remarkable man and the decline of another in Ron Farnel’s first book, “Before the Yellow Fields: Mysteries and Memories at the Turn,” an historical fiction novel that delves into Indigenous life in Southern Saskatchewan before European contact.
The novel, released May 29, transports readers to the rugged terrain of the Moose Jaw River, a site of historical significance for Indigenous communities. Farnel, a retired farmer now living in Moose Jaw who grew up surrounded by Indigenous artifacts, said the area’s history has always fascinated him.
