Why did the Beothuks become extinct? What is the cultural importance of sealing in Newfoundland? Why were provincial parks privatized? How can we allow people traditional access to the outdoors? How can we understand conflicts over Atlantic salmon in Labrador between Metis people and fishing camp outfitters? How and why did the cod crisis happen? What impact has the cod crisis had on women in small fishing villages? Are the benefits of resource developments like the Terra Nova offshore oil project being maximized?
From Red Ochre to Black Gold contains ten essays on various aspects of Newfoundland and Labrador’s history and culture. The book covers the broad sweep of history, from the stone arrowheads and wooden carvings of the Beothuks to the highly advanced technology employed today to pump oil from beneath the ocean floor.

Darrin Michael McGrath was born in St. John’s in 1966, son of Mary McGrath (Smart) and the late Patrick McGrath. He attended St. Bonaventure’s College and Brother Rice High School, before earning a B.A. and an M.A. from Memorial University of Newfoundland. His Master’s degree was partially funded through an Orville Erickson Memorial Scholarship from the Canadian Wildlife Federation and from a research grant from the Institute of Social and Economic Research at Memorial University.Since 1992 he has taught sociology at Memorial University of Newfoundland and at Sir Wilfred Grenfell College in Corner Brook. He has published several academic papers on environmental issues such as poaching, wildlife laws, and privatization of the outdoors. Darrin has been active in a number of environmental and community groups, and he is an avid outdoorsman, who enjoys canoeing, angling, and hunting.

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