Keith Olsen was born in Big River, Saskatchewan to Scandinavian and Cree parents. He has lived all his life in Northern Saskatchewan and it was there he got his education, sold furs and fish, and ventured out into the bush. There have been summers and winters commercial fishing on Lac La Ronge Lake, and seasons spent trapping and running a hunting lodge at Mahigan Lake. He has enjoyed a few wonderful years, just plain living life to the fullest as you can when you have hundreds of square miles at your disposal. Keith has worked in a variety of jobs: line cutting, staking, prospecting, geophysical surveying, camp construction and commercial fishing. Growing up as he did, perhaps it's not a surprise that the North became his playground.