Invasion Review at the Canadian Army Show. DND. June 1944. Library and Archives Canada, e010786198. CC by 2.0
The latest in blog posts, news, and podcasts from the world of Canadian history.
- On Borealia this week, Kathryn Magee Labelle gives us an absolutely amazing resource for teaching Canadian History! Not only does she provide biographical information on three Indigenous individuals who are often left out of Canadian history (Chief Aenon, Chief White Cap, and Sara Riel), but she also gives us an excerpt from her Pre-Confed syllabus showing how she integrates biographies into the larger narrative of Canadian history. All I can say is, more please!
- Thomas Peace alerted us to the closing of his favourite archives, Le Centre de référence de l’Amérique francophone, a UNESCO recognized collection due to budgetary issues at its hosting institutions, Quebec’s Museum of Civilization. In addition to drawing attention to some of the documents available at this particular archive, Peace also discusses the cutting of federal funds for libraries, archives, and museums over the past decade.
- NICHE provides us with the opportunity to listen to a ten-minute video by the Wildlife Conservation Society, which was shown during the CHESS 2016 conference. The video looks at the initiative to reintroduce bison in collaboration with the Blackfoot Confederacy.
- Also on NICHE, Alan MacEachern commemorates the 200 anniversary of the “Year Without a Summer,” caused by the eruption of an Indonesian volcano, Tambora. MacEachern discusses the larger historical context for the “Year Without a Summer,” by looking at the precarious position of settlements in Lower Canada at the time using surveys conducted by the Bishop of Quebec.
- This week at Unwritten Histories, I’ve come to the rescue of all those historians that want to catch up on the latest publications in Canadian history, but don’t have time to read all those journal articles! Starting with May, I’ll be discussing my favourites from the previous month, every month. You’re welcome. 😉
- In the latest edition of Active History’s series, “Canada’s First World War: A Centennial Series on ActiveHistory.ca,” Mike Bechthold looks at loss and death notices in WW1 through a case study of the Trapp family of New Westminister. Three out of four Trapp brothers died during the war, and Bechthold takes us through the repercussions for families back home in Canada as well as family members who were serving abroad.
- Active History has also posted the latest episode of the History Slam podcast, which featured an interview with Tracey Neumann. Host Sean Graham and Neumann discuss their shared history as well as Neumann’s new book, Remaking the Rust Belt: The Postindustrial Transformation of North America, exploring urban development in Pittsburgh and Hamilton.
- Andrew Watson and Jim Clifford report on their presentation for the “The Stories Staples Tell” panel, organized by Colin Coates for the CHA. Watson and Clifford describe their work with visualization tools to explore Canadian export data. Not only can they consider the staples trade from national and provincial perspective, but this technique also allows them to easily put Canada’s exports into an international context. You can view some of this data and subsequent stories by going to their GIS Map, available here. Super cool!
- Most people who listen to history podcasts are familiar with Liz Covart’s “Ben Franklin’s World,” a podcast that deals with early American history. In the latest episode, Covart interviews Bonnie Huskins, the coordinator of Loyalist Studies at UNB. They discuss the experiences of the United Empire Loyalists and Black Loyalists, particularly after they arrived in Canada.
- Sean Carleton gives us a preview/review of a newish film on the pass system in Canada, The Pass System. Directed by Alex Williams and narrated by Tantoo Cardinal, this film uses historical research and testimony from Elders to highlight the brutality and cruelty of Canada’s colonial regime. The pass system, which required Indigenous peoples in Western Canada have “official permission” to leave their reserves, had no basis in Canadian law, and yet endured for more than sixty years. The trailer for the film can be seen here.
- Stephen Archibald talks about a family photograph of men standing in the Bay of Fundy in 1916, and describes how he learned the larger context behind the picture. The photograph was originally taken as part of a proposed project to use the tidal power in the Bay of Fundy to generate power that ultimately did not go ahead. I wonder what kind of hidden histories can be found in my family’s old pictures…
- Paul Watson, editor at BuzzFeedCanada, has won a silver medal from the National Magazine Awards for his story on the contested history of the wreck of the HMS Erebus, a timely and tangible reminder that history is as much about the present as it is the past. Congrats!
- In a new-to-me blog, M.E. Bond interviews Heather Beattie, archivist with the HBC archives. Not only does Beattie gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the HBC archives, but she also highlights some of her favourites of the collection!
- On Histoire Engagée (Active History’s French sister-site), Louise Bienvenue writes about Soeur Ghislaine Roquet, nun who played an instrumental role in the reform and secularization of the educational system in Quebec during the Quiet Revolution. She was an outspoken advocate for girls’ education, and was adamant that girls be give the same opportunities and education as boys. She passed away May 31st, at the age of 90. Sounds like an incredible woman. And, as a direct beneficiary of her work, I am profoundly grateful for her advocacy.
- Histoire Engagée also posted a public letter written by Martin Pâquet, Karine Hébert, and Sophie Imbeault, as well as the accompanying 645 individual signatories and 21 institutional signatories. This letter was directed to the Musées de la civilisation de Québec in response to the closing of Le Centre de référence de l’Amérique francophone, described by Thomas Peace over on Active History.
- The Boston 1775 blog, which usually deal with the start of the American Revolution, wrote this week about the failure of the anti-Stamp movement in Nova Scotia. There are effigies, poetry, name-calling, and some very polite Canadians!
- And in Canadian History news this week!
- Viola Desmond’s sister, Wanda Robson, has donated her collection of documents about Desmond to the Beaton Institute of Cape Breton University.
- This past Tuesday, a ceremony was held in Winnipeg to mark the closing of the Independent Assessment Process hearing room, where more than 1,200 residential school survivors shared their stories as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement.
- The Canadian War Museum has a new exhibit, “Deadly Skies – Air Ways, 1914-1918,” that opens this Saturday.
- The WW2 Tweets from 1944 Twitter account, which, for that past five years had been recreating WW2, marked the 72nd anniversary of D-Day on Monday! Incidentally, D-Day is also my parent’s wedding anniversary. Make of that what you will…
- Oh Canada will now be gender-neutral, thanks to MP Mauril Bélanger. Bélanger suffers from ALS, but was able to live long enough to see the bill pass! A proud moment for Canada.
- And don’t miss this piece by Nahlah Ayed on the history of Queen Elizabeth’s diplomatic fashion. A superb reminder of the importance of fashion history.
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