Panoramic View of the Grand Pré Historic Overlook, Unesco World Heritage site and famous for being the site where thousands of Acadians were deported by the colonial British Government in Halifax, just a short drive away from Acadia University. Taken by Rachel Bryant.
Welcome back to Unwritten Histories, everyone! Lee is out of the hospital, Andrea and I are no longer sick, and to celebrate, we’re giving you some comprehensive coverage of this year’s Atlantic Canada Studies Conference which took place in the beautiful and historic Wolfville, Nova Scotia. Located just steps away from the Grand-Pré UNESCO World Heritage site, it seemed a very apropos location to be discussing the state of Atlantic Canada studies. Acadia did a great job hosting, and pulled off a fantastic conference.
Before I start my coverage of this spectacular event, a caveat: there were so many great panels, many of them happening concurrently, and it was physically impossible to attend all of them. Therefore, I can only include details of the ones I went to personally (although in a few cases my good friend and University of Saskatchewan PhD Candidate Michelle Desveaux went to other panels to take some notes for me; but even then, we still missed most of the conference due to the impossibility of attending everything). For those of you who wanted to hear more about panels that I did not attend, I apologize. If I could split myself into four people and attend every single concurrent panel I absolutely would have, because everything sounded amazing. I particularly regret missing panels that featured Rachel Bryant, Chantal Richard, Natasha Simon, Nicole O’Byrne, Sarah Spike, and Tina Loo, to name only a few.
Day One
On to the panels I was able to attend! The first featured Patrick Callaway of the University of Maine, whose paper was titled “Restrictions, Selective Enforcement and Obedience: Commerce in the Northwestern Atlantic, 1807-1814.” His research focuses on trade relationships between the United States and Nova Scotia during times of war, and the highly regulated sanctioning of these continued relationships in order to bring very specific trade goods into Halifax, such as grain, in order to relieve Nova Scotia’s lack of domestically-grown goods. Zachary Tingley of the University of New Brunswick followed, with “Littoral Space, the Lighthouse and its Imperial Meaning in New Brunswick, 1793-1867.” This paper was based on Tingley’s MA research on inter-provincial lighthouse cooperation between maritime provinces. He also spoke about how the building of lighthouses was the empire’s way to tame wild spaces, making them safe. You can read more about Tingley’s work on his recent post on Borealia.
Panelist Michelle Desveaux, PhD Candidate at the University of Saskatchewan, with Del Muise, panel chair, in the foreground.
The second panel focused on the development of public history projects in Cape Breton since the 1960s. As the chair of the panel, Del Muise, pointed out, Cape Breton went from having zero museums in the 1950s, to over fifty today along with three national historic sites. The panelists all spoke about different aspects of this process, from the pre-WWI era to today. Michelle Desveaux kicked off the panel with the hilarious case of Captain David Kennelly, a Louisbourg resident who, in 1906, tried to use his last will and testament to coerce the existence of a statue of Edward VII on horseback to commemorate the site of the Fortress of Louisbourg. Not only is the story fascinating for its absurdity, it’s also interesting to see how early interest in commemoration of the site began – long before the creation of the Dominion Parks Branch. William Langford of Dalhousie University presented a paper entitled “’Getting to know a Special Kind of Place:’ The Cape Breton Development Corporation and Tourism Promotion along the Leisure Periphery in the 1970s,” which spoke to the financial encouragement offered by DEVCO to develop the tourism industry on the island from the 1970s to the mid 1980s. From offering loans to help home owners renovate their homes and turn them into Bed & Breakfasts, to sponsoring tourist attractions such as the Dundee golf course, DEVCO recognized that tourism was Cape Breton’s fastest growing economy, and it should be developed. Ken Donovan of Parks Canada (retired) spoke of the work that has been done, and continues to be done, by the Old Sydney Society. To date, the society has saved a number of historic buildings, including St. Patrick’s Church, built in 1823, which they successfully rehabilitated from near-ruin to a functioning museum and community space. They’ve also successfully bought and flipped historic houses in the area and resold them with a historical covenant, thereby preserving the historic nature of Sydney’s north end. Recently they’ve acquired the old Bank of Montreal building by donation, which they have converted into a museum and community space and which will be opening in the next few months. Finally, Lachlan MacKinnon of the Gorsebrook Institute at St Mary’s University presented a paper entitled, “Visibility and Invisibility in Working-Class Public History: Heritage Professionalism and the Sydney Steel Museum, 2001-2017,” which spoke of the deep connections formed by the working class to the landscapes on which they worked, and the impact of the continued erasure of those landscape as we move into the post-industrial age.
Next came the Women’s 19th and Early 20th Century Influence and Action panel, featuring Gail Campbell of the University of New Brunswick, Hannah Lane of Mount Allison University, Heidi MacDonald of the University of Lethbridge, and Sharon MacDonald (Independent Scholar). If you’re familiar with Gail Campbell’s most recent publication, this paper may not surprise you. Entitled “Political Wives in Mid-Nineteenth Century Charlotte County: A View from the Correspondence,” it was a fascinating glimpse into the personal correspondence between New Brunswick MLA’s and their wives; the news they shared, the counsel given by wives, even the impact of being so far away from home had on both the wives and their husbands. Hannah Lane spoke of the students who attended the Wesleyan Academy and College, considering census data on students, their ties to the local community, and how students who came from far away places like California were connected to the Sackville area (or the greater maritime
Heidi MacDonald presents data on bills presented to the Nova Scotia Legislative Assembly and the resulting votes.
area). Heidi MacDonald’s paper, entitled “Late 19th century Women’s Suffrage Agitation in the Maritimes and Newfoundland,” studies the suffrage movements of the four Atlantic provinces that took place in the 1890s. These movements were robust in all four provinces, despite many historiographic sources stating that the maritime provinces were staid and conservative in terms of feminism. MacDonald posits that this early 20th century conservatism was actually a reaction to the suffrage movements of the late 19th century, rather than the normal state of affairs. Sharon MacDonald gave further details of some of the earliest and most persistent agitators in the Nova Scotia suffragette movement, in her paper “The Radical Chelseys: Early Nova Scotia Suffrage and Peace Activists.” Her paper highlighted the commonalities shared by many of these radical activists, the most prominent being that agitating for the franchise was rarely the only thing they agitated for – better prison conditions and peace were also on the list.
Rebecca Dunham presents an image of historical siege map overlaid on satellite imagery.
The final panel I attended for the day was “Collaborations with Communities: New Research in Practice at Parks Canada,” featuring Rebecca Dunham, Parks Canada archaeologist, and Anne Marie Lane Jonah, Parks Canada historian. Keith Mercer was slated to participate as well but not able to attend, due to a new arrival to the family (congratulations, Keith!). Dunham’s presentation was a fascinating look at the siege structures still remaining around the Fortress of Louisbourg national historic sites, and how new technologies such as satellite imagining and lidar can be used to find these structures beneath the forest floor. Last summer Parks Canada partnered with the Department of National Defence to access these structures, and Dunham reported on the outcome of this partnership; not only was Parks Canada able to uncover and document far more siege structures than they would otherwise have been able to (“It really is amazing what you can do with a small army,” to quote Dunham), but the soldiers involved were able to learn about Canada’s military history in a location where it actually took place. It was a positive experience for both agencies and those who directly participated. It also gave a further, unanticipated glimpse into life at the fortress in the eighteenth century; while speaking of the soldiers going about their work, Dunham recalled listening to them in the forest, chatting and carrying on, and wondered how that would have sounded when it was the British Army setting up siege structures in 1745.
Anne Marie Lane Jonah’s paper was just as fascinating. Entitled “The Missaguash: A River Both Linking and Dividing,” it focused on the Chignecto isthmus and how such a tiny piece of land has caused so much conflict. A focal point for trade and connections since the beginning of time, the Mi’kmaq, the Acadians, the French, and the English all saw it as an important strategic point. If this at all sounds familiar, it’s because I spoke of a presentation given by Sarah Beanlands back in October, who is working with Lane-Jonah on this project. Lane-Jonah also directed the audience to several key resources which I will definitely be bookmarking, such as the SMU Mi’kmaq Digital Atlas and Native-land.ca. She concluded that our colonial history took place in a native space, and we need to reshape our narratives to reflect this and reorient our history to fit the situation. Because Keith Mercer could not be in attendance, Sarah Hollett spoke in his place. A newly-minted public historian, she spoke of the work she is doing with the Naval Museum of Halifax.
Day 2
Leah Grandy presents a breakdown of names found in the book of Negroes by type.
Day two began with a panel on Black refugees in Atlantic Canada. Two of the papers, those by Martin Hubley of the Nova Scotia Museum, and Robert Shears of the Cultural Resources Management Group, spoke of the archaeology projects currently being undertaken at Beechville, a black refugee site just outside of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Shears even brought some example artifacts along with him (very cool!) Both papers stressed the engagement they have had with the local Black community to produce not only a basic history of Beechville, but various micro-histories of its former residents to really bring to life what life in Beechville would have been like. Thomas Malcolmson could not be in attendance, so his paper was read by Martin Hubley. His paper, entitled “Tracing the Course to Freedom from Slavery: Out of America, through the British Navy and into the Colonies,” was a succinct and informative paper which tied all three together quite nicely. It focused on why there were black refugees in Nova Scotia in the first place – how they got there, why the British encouraged black slaves to flee slavery in America and then how they helped them to do so. The final paper of the panel was Leah Grandy of the University of New Brunswick, “What a Name can Say: Black Loyalist Names of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia,” which was an examination of names from the Book of Negroes and what they can tell us about the cultural values of Black Loyalists in the Maritimes.
Ian Jesse presents mapped data on private lots given to white owners in New Brunswick who were given exclusive hunting rights.
The next panel was “Environmental Knowledge,” featuring Ian Jesse of the University of Maine (although he’s joined us at the University of New Brunswick for a time thanks to a Fulbright Scholarship), and Ron Rudin of Concordia. Jesse’s paper, entitled “The Work of the Woods Guide: Presenting Wilderness and Navigating Urban/Rural Tensions in the Late-Nineteenth and Early-Twentieth Centuries,” spoke of the transition from primarily hiring indigenous guides for moose and caribou hunts in mid nineteenth century New Brunswick, to hiring almost entirely white hunting guides by the end of the same century, with indigenous huntsmen being relegated to what basically amounted to a sideshow at hunting conventions. He did an excellent job of conveying the changing attitudes and perspectives of huntsmen who came to New Brunswick. While huntsmen who hired guides in the mid century were willing, even expecting, to undergo a hard journey through the forest for several days that involved hiking, canoeing, and portaging, expectations changed drastically by the turn of the century. Instead of being led through the woods, huntsmen arriving to the province expected a more relaxed experience, where they could lounge in a resort environment, go out on an easy trip to the woods, and be guaranteed a moose to kill. Hunting became about catering to those who had the money to spend on leisure activities and holidays.
Rudin’s paper, “Marsh Bodies: Knowledge, Environment, and Community in the Maritime Marshlands,” discussed the problem of dyke maintenance in the mid twentieth century – a problem we are still facing today. The 1950s saw a shift from individual farmers maintaining dykes on their lands with a community-based strategy (the Marsh Body), to a government strategy which would erase community input in how the dykes were maintained. This led to the creation of the Maritime Marshland Rehabilitation Administration (or MMRA), which elevated scientific knowledge above local knowledge, and lasted until the 1970s, just enough time to do a significant amount of damage.
The British North America Legislative Database Panel, from left to right: Zachary Tingley, Katherine MacDonald, Stephanie Pettigrew (author), Elizabeth Mancke. Back: Mark McLaughlin, David Bent. (Image credit Leah Grandy.)
After lunch, it was my turn to present. We had organized a panel to launch the British North America Legislative Database into the world at large, with Elizabeth Mancke starting with a quick introduction, myself showing off the database and its functionality, and then several panelists talking about their research which had involved using the database. Mark McLaughlin of the University of Maine and David Bent of the University of New Brunswick not only wrote an article based on legislative acts they found in the database, they also worked on the project in the early days. Zachary Tingley of the University of New Brunswick based his research on imperial lighthouses in the Maritimes on database research. And Katherine MacDonald of the University of New Brunswick is currently working on a project exploring roads and industries surrounding the Grand Lake Meadows area of New Brunswick using the database. If you’d like to find out more about the project, you can read this blog post I wrote about it last year. Ok that’s enough of my shameless plug.
Concurrent with our own panel was another panel I really wanted to attend, so I sent Michelle to take notes for me. “Indigenous Persistence” featured Adrian Downey and Natasha Simon of the University of New Brunswick, and Vicki Hallett of Memorial University. Downey’s paper, “Stories of Qualipu Mi’kmaw Erasure, Resistance, and Resurgence,” focused on understanding assimilation as survival; an act of resistance, an informed act to ensure continuance of next generation. Hallett’s paper, “Narratives of Decolonization: the Stories of Doris Saunders and Them Days Magazine,” and Natasha Simon, “Etagte’geieg: Evoking a Mi’kmaw Vocation,” both spoke of the intensely personal nature of their work.
I’ll admit to playing hooky after my own session; I was wiped out from answering a barrage of questions (not that I’m complaining! It was a great session. I just wasn’t confident I could do any panel any justice after that!) So the conference ended for me at the panel discussion of “The Life of a Historian of Atlantic Canada,” featuring Bill Parenteau of the University of New Brunswick, Claire Campbell of Bucknell University, and Jeff Webb from Memorial University. The panelists discussed their experiences teaching and researching Atlantic Canadian history, the challenges they had experienced and see in the future, and where they see the discipline going. What followed was an interesting and dynamic conversation concerning not only the future of the field of Atlantic Canadian History, but the future of the field of History, which involved everything from recruitment to marking student papers more fairly.
And that’s it! Acadia did a great job hosting, and we all look forward to 2020, when the University of Maine will be taking the reigns. Another fantastic Atlantic Canada Studies Conference came to a close, and we’re all a bit sad that we need to wait another two years before seeing it (and a great, supportive community) again.
We hope you enjoyed our coverage of this year’s Atlantic Canada Studies Conference! Please share on your social media platform of choice. And of course, next week we’ll be back with everybody’s favourite, CHA Reads! See you then!
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