Sask. woman teaches her heritage through one-of-a-kind dugout house

A Saskatchewan woman opens her family farm to the public every Saturday in July to share her Doukhobor culture and help people connect with their own heritage.

Brenda Cheveldayoff has made it her life’s mission to preserve the only known remaining Doukhobor dugout house in the country. Russian Doukhobors built the temporary shelter when they started their new life in the Canadian Prairies in 1899.

“My great-grandfather was 11 years old when he immigrated to Canada, and he lived at this site for five years,” Cheveldayoff told CTV News.

The University of Saskatchewan’s archeology department did an excavation of the site in 2004. It determined about 300 Doukhobors settled in the area, and in one home 40 people lived in the approximately 424 square-foot dugout.

“This one was built in the sides of the hills, like how they built their homes in Russia in the sides of a mountain,” she said.

The homes had sod roofs with three walls made of wood, while the hillside formed the back wall. The community moved out of the dugout houses to the nearby village of Oopsenie around 1905.

The land became Cheveldayoff’s family’s homestead in 1925 and has been in her family since. She realized the significance of the dugout houses when she came across an old National Geographic magazine.

“I actually tried to put it in the garbage,” she said, “It somehow kept showing up that day,” she added.

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An article in the magazine featured her grandfather who explained the value of the site. She realized the dugouts were a significant piece of history and decided to continue the legacy.

“I just decided to take it to the next level. Let’s do an actual investigation,” she said.

Cheveldayoff said she involved experts from various fields to learn more about the site and then opened it to the public nearly 20 years ago.

Jeanette Stringer, a Doukhobor elder, told CTV News being on the land helps her connect to her ancestors.

“It touches my heart when I walk around here,” Stringer said.

“When I go down to the spring or to the ruins, I can feel their presence.”

The dugout was designated as a National Historic Site in 2008.

“It’s important to preserve history so people can never forget where they come from,” Cheveldayoff said.

This year Cheveldayoff encourages visitors to represent their own heritage with clothing from their culture for free admission.