Canadian History Roundup – Week of July 23, 2017

Two travellers – one man and one woman – consult a road map before the trans-Canada highway sign at the intersection of highways 15 and 17, Ottawa, Ontario (July 1952). Chris Lund. National Film Board. Library and Archives Canada 4292880. Copyright expired.

The latest in blog posts, news, and podcasts from the world of Canadian history.

Missed last week’s roundup? Check it out here.

• Robyn Lacy is back with week 3 of her excavation at Ferryland! She talks about this week’s revelations, the information we can learn from the absence of finds, and the beautiful gold bead one of her volunteers found!
• Elizabeth Jewett has new blog posts on Borealia and NiCHE this week!
  • On Borealia she reviews Time and a Place: An Environmental History of Prince Edward Island, edited by Edward MacDonald, Joshua MacFayden, and Irené Novaczek.
  • And on NiCHE she has written the latest CHESS reflection, and how it connects to her current research on maple syrup.
• Adam Gaudry and Darryl Leroux were interviewed this week on the Media Indigena podcast, about their recent article, “White Settler Revisionism and Making Métis Everywhere,” which was also profiled in last week’s Best New Articles post. This is part 1.
  • And part 2 is available here!
• Cuteness alert: Olivar Asselin drew a picture of a dog for his son!!!
• Christopher Moore tells us about the latest issue of Canada’s History.
• The Vancouver as It Was Blog solves the mystery of a flea market photo find!
• This week’s most popular words in #envhist, according to Jessica DeWitt are: “plastic,” “Horne,” and “new.”
• Christopher Ryan wrote a series of really cool blog posts this week:
  • One about a particular plot of land in Toronto, and the many changes it has seen over the years, including a protest against the opening of the Kingsway Pacific Bingo hall in Toronto in 1986.
  • Another about the story of a battle on Danford Street in Toronto in 1934 over who was allowed to use the sidewalk. Yep. No making that up.
  • And one on the history of the former Woolworth’s store on Rideau Street in Ottawa.
• Research guides for the International Committee of the Red Cross Archives are now available to researchers!
• Three new diaries are now available from the Rural Diary Archive for you to transcribe, if that’s your jam.
• Anne Janhunen has created a great chart about the kinds of blame-free euphemisms for stealing Indigenous lands that frequently appear in Canadian history textbooks.
• More cool finds from Bob Muckle this week: glass bottle tops, a tea or sake cup, and an Orange Crush bottle.
• You need to read this Twitter essay by Max FineDay about his encounter with two Indigenous men, the resiliency and strength of Indigenous peoples, and how their histories are still very much a part of their present.
• Brodie Waddell has put together a reading list about work by scholars of colour on slavery and colonialism in the Early Modern World. Just in time for syllabus writing!
• This week on Unwritten Histories, my friend Elizabeth Della Zazzerra talks about her recent visit to the new Canadian History Hall at the Canadian Museum of History, and what it says about how we see the history of our nation.
• LAC has a new Flickr album this week, featuring images of geese. They aren’t goosing around…. Get it? Hehehe Check out the images here.
• Katie Biittner reflects on Week 3 of her 6 week course (LOL totally typed ‘curse’ there by accident… oh Freudian slip) on archaeological field methods. It looks like they’ve made some amazing finds!
• The Historical Climatology blog considers how history can provide important stories about the potential for conflict in the Arctic caused by climate change, particularly through a consideration of whaling.
• Matthew Barlow talks about the history and future of never-ending construction in Montreal. No joke, there was one intersection that always developed a pothole in the same place every year when I was growing up.
• Sheila Andrews remembers the late W.A. “Bill” Spray on the Acadiensis blog this week.
• Acquisitions librarian Louise Tousignant talks about LAC’s collection of documents and materials published internationally by or about Canadian authors or subjects.
• In honour of Justin Trudeau’s visit to the Lac-Saint-Jean boating competition that happened last week, the Instantanés blog posted some images of Pierre Trudeau at the same event in 1969. The last picture is my favourite!
• The Provincial Archives of Alberta takes us behind the scenes as they collaborate with local comic artist Chad Huculak to tell the story of Alberta’s history since Confederation.
• Krista McCracken shares her experience seeing Sesqui’s film Horizon. This is a 360 degree film that showcases the wonders of Canada.
• Russell Potter shares the news that an Arctic medal at the Stromness Museum in Orkney has just been identified as Sir John Franklin’s personal medal. Franklin gave the medal to his godson as a gift, and his family would eventually donate it to the museum.
• Also from Instantanés this week is a look at their collections relating to the building of Quebec’s Parliamentary buildings.
• The latest biography from the DCB this week is for Robert Alexander Ross, who is known for his work professionalizing the field of engineering.
• Joanne Hammond is back this week with another must read Twitter essay on the long history of Indigenous resistance against land pre-emption in BC and Canada.
• Over on Active History, Owen Griffiths has written the introduction to a new series on Big History as an alternative to world history. And I see what you did there with the blog post title. 😉
• It’s not specifically Canadian, but Justin Gomer and Christopher Petrella have written a new piece for Black Perspectives this week about white fragility and anti-racist pedagogy. As they note, the way in which we teach history is fundamentally about power.
• Retroactive is also on a geese-theme this week (do I detect another conspiracy???). They have a new post about the ancient and more recent Indigenous use of waterfowl.
• Nathan Sentance (Wiradjuri) has written a fantastic post about re-centering Indigenous peoples in GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, museums)., particularly with regards to artefacts labeled as “maker unknown.” While he is speaking specifically in reference to Australia, his insights are equally applicable to other settler colonies, including Canada.
• Again from LAC this week is their quarterly update on new acquisitions! One highlight includes the Tom Lavin and the Legendary Power Blues fonds.
• The District of Coquitlam was created 125 years ago this week.
• This week the Convergence blog profiles the historical society of Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts.
• The St. Catharines Museum and Archives has posted a new podcast episode, which focuses on the workers who lost their lives during the construction of the Welland Ship Canal.
• Forrest Pass has a fascinating new blog post from the Canadian Museum of History on the history of bale seals. While unassuming, they tell us a great deal about the history of standardization and consumption.
• The ROM’s #TBT post for this week is all about horse blankets.
• Lauren Markewicz has a new report from her Canada150 road trip. This time, she stops at the Fort Saskatchewan Heritage Precinct and learns about the history of the RCMP.
• Rabble.ca has reprinted an excerpt from Shannon Stettner’s edited collection, Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada. This excerpt is from a chapter by the Radical Handmaids group and their 2012 protests.
• Melanie Lefebvre shared this image from her research of a “half-breed scrip.” And Brian (@watching_crows) shared some images of his research in response!
• NiCHE shared this cool video of Saskatchewan Smoke Jumpers!
• The Canadian Encyclopedia has updated their entry on Prince Charles, who is officially on my $#&% list for his behaviour during Canada150.
  • And they also have a new entry on Lost Canadians, those who have either lost their Canadian citizenship or have been denied citizenship that is theirs by right.
• The latest Virtual Museum of Canada Community story is for Hamilton’s Nine-Hour League and the Nine-Hour League Parade of 1872!
• This week was the 2017 Day of Archaeology. Here are some of the blog posts dealing with Canadian archaeology:
  • ASI Heritage put together a photo essay showcasing the kind of work they do on a daily basis.
  • Stephanie Halmhofer has posted about her fieldwork along the southern cost of BC, and what happens when the fieldwork is over! (hint: cleaning!)
  • James Dixon interviewed William Moss, who is the Chief Archaeologist for Quebec City.
  • Robyn Lacy wrote about her excavations at Ferryland in Newfoundland, and the importance of negative results.
  • The Archaeological Research Associates firm wrote about the less glamorous side of archaeology, including the realities of doing archaeology in Canada during the winter.
  • And Alvina Tam took us along to the 40^th season of the Boyd Archaeological Field School, the only high school credit course in archaeology in Canada!
• Meg Fairfax Field wrote about a visit to the Osler Library at McGill, which just so happens to be one of my favourite libraries. This blog post explains why that is pretty clearly.
• This week the Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto tackles the subject of Esperanto, and the 1932 Catholic Esperanto Movement in Toronto.
• This week Eve Lazarus shares the story of Navvy House. First built between 1868 and 1873, parts were built from the remains of real ships and boats. It still exists today, but is in need of restoration.
• This week marks 50 years since the first Canada Games.
  • The Canadian Museum for Human Rights has a new blog post comparing the 1967 Pan Am Games torch lighting with the lighting of the Centennial Flame in Winnipeg for the 2017 Canada Summer Games, and how this comparison sheds light on what has and hasn’t changed about Indigenous representation and participation in sports.
  • LAC also had a post about the Canada Games and the organization of the first Canada Winter Games, held in Quebec in 1967, as a way to bring Canadians together.
• Trycia Bazinet wrote a really important Twitter essay about the importance of knowing the true history of where we come from as doing the work of decolonization.
  • Anne Janhunen added to this, echoing the point while providing some additional recommendations on how to do this.
• Angie Wong and Travis Hay have written a new blog post for Active History on the history of race in boxing, particularly in connection with the upcoming fight between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor.
• Stephanie Bellissimo has a new blog post this week about the Neutral People. This is the term that has been given to a group of Indigenous peoples who lived between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Little is known about this group of people, because after contact with the French during the first half of the 17^th century, they were decimated by disease and then defeated by the Iroquois.
• The St. Catharines Museum has also posted ‘Walk L’ this week, which focuses on the theme of poverty and affluence.
• Heritage Winnipeg is riffing on Joni Mitchell this week with a look at the St. Regis Hotel, with a post called “Paradise Lost to a Parkade.”
• Whistorical has a new blog post all about the Woollard/Clarke/Bellamy family home in Alta Lake, which has been owned by the same family for five generations.
• Canadian History in the News
  • The Star takes a look back at the history of four iconic Toronto families and what it’s like for their descendants today. The four familes are the Smyths, the Masseys, the Steeles, and the Cummers.
  • Thanks to my husband for this one: find out about a new project to digitally recreate Vancouver’s Japantown!
  • This week was the 50^th anniversary of Charles De Gaulle’s “Vive Le Québec Libre” speech.
    • And the Archives of Montreal also reflected on this occasion by sharing some photographs of de Gaulle’s speech.
  • Bill Waiser has written a must-read op-ed for CBC on the state of the field of history in Saskatchewan. I think the same could be said for many other parts of this country as well.
  • The Citizenship Guide, especially the parts dealing with Canadian history, has just been revised. The War of 1812 is out, and respecting treaties with Indigenous peoples is in. The draft version includes this statement in particular: “Today, Canadians, for example, can own their own homes and buy land thanks to treaties that the government negotiated. Every Canadian has responsibilities under those treaties as well. They are agreements of honour.” (Insert joke about the Canadian government following their own advice here).
  • Adam Gaudry has published part 2 of his review of the Louis Riel Opera with The Theatre Times.
  • The New York Times and Dan Levin look at the history of treaty payments in Canada, why they continue to be important, and how they will never be sufficient.
  • The 1892 Great Fire of St. John’s is being memorialized with a new mural by artist Julie Lewis.
  • Thrift store worker Kathleen Palm found a letter from her late mother (who wrote it 50 years ago and has been gone for the last 10 years) in a donated book! Nope, I’m not crying.
  • I’m not sure if this counts as history, but hey, it involves pirates!
  • More tearjerkers: this Calgary veteran who survived Dunkirk went to go and see the movie, all dressed up in his uniform.
    • And the Mallon family also went to see the movie, which brought back memories of their ancestor who fought at Dunkirk
  • Earlier in the week, the CBC published a story about a mysterious white box that was found in the Moncton area back in 1962. The box weighed 181 kg and had two cameras. It was eventually confiscated by the military. Well, just after they published this story, the mystery was solved! The strange white box was actually a CIA spy camera that had been attached to a high-altitude balloon. You can even see a video of a similar device at the link above. The more you know….
  • Browyn Jaques is in the midst of an oral history project on Kingston Penitentiary called “In Our Own Words: The Links Between Kingston’s Heritage and Its Penitentiaries.”
  • A lack of federal funding has meant that 45,000 Canadian war graves both in Canada and abroad are not being maintained.
  • CTV tells the little-known story of Canada’s Dominion Sculptors and why there have only ever been five people who have held this official position. The architect who designed Canada’s Parliament buildings actually left thousands of uncarved blocks to be sculpted by future generations.
  • This week marks the 100^th anniversary of the 1917 Cape Breton mine explosion at no. 12 Colliery in New Waterford.
  • Somebody is stealing historical plaques again, this time in Edmonton.
  • So the Royal Canadian Mint just released a new coin commemorating the “Battle of Dieppe.” And now they’re apologizing for it because a veterans’ group says that the coin should say the “Dieppe Raid” instead.
  • Atlas Obscura looks at the abandoned fishing villages left behind during the forced relocation of individuals from isolated communities in Newfoundland and Labrador.
  • This isn’t really history, but it’s super important: Raymond Blake talks about the problem with the new Canada 150 research chairs that are only open to researchers from outside of Canada.
    • And here’s the response, which is pretty much what you’d expect.
  • Following the release of a new report on the coerced and forced sterilization of Indigenous women in Saskatoon, the Saskatoon Health Region has apologized. But they have not released any information about how they plan to prevent this from happening again.
    • And as Ian Mobsy pointed out, no one has lost their job over this.
  • Lynn Gehl has written another must-read piece about why simply acknowledging Indigenous territory is not enough. Words without intention and action are meaningless.
  • Find out about the Canadian Broadcast Museum Foundation and their work to preserve Canada’s broadcasting history.
  • The BC Sports Hall of Fame has just received a new donation of items from the early history of baseball, basketball, rugby, and lacrosse, from the Jackson family.
  • A new donation has enabled UBC to launch the Okanagan Region Historical Digitization Project. Which is great news! They are still in the process of collecting materials, and will start to post their digitized documents online in the fall.
  • The Regina Indian Industrial School Cemetery has just received a heritage designation from the Saskatchewan provincial government.
  • The search is on to find the WW1 soldier in this photograph addressed to Mrs. M.J. Nicols in Digby, Nova Scotia.
  • Remember those film reels from the early 1900s found in Dawson City? Well, the film featuring these reels is premiering this week!
  • It’s Archaeology Season! (summer = Canadian excavation season)
    • Nobody does irony quite like history: construction workers have unearthed Indigenous artefacts during the construction of a new roundabout in Windsor that will feature life-sized statues of Isaac Brock and Tecumseh. Construction has been halted while an archaeological investigation is ongoing.
    • UNB students are busy excavating around 1,000 18^th century graves located near the Fortress of Louisbourg because they are in danger of being washed into the ocean. Along the way they’ve made some fascinating finds!
    • Archaeologists are trying to solve the mystery of an unnamed military officer, as well as many other unnamed individuals who were buried in Montreal during the 19^th century. Their remains were rediscovered during routine roadwork last year. These remains could shed light on the early Protestant history of the city.
    • The remains of eleven people have been found during the ongoing work at Prince George’s Lheidli T’enneh Memorial Park. The remains will be reburied when an appropriate place has been found.
    • Members of the public have been invited to dig at the Fort Macleod townsite in Alberta.
    • And the latest Dig It column is out. In the column, Pheobe Murphy and focuses on the importance of cultural depressions. Which refers to depressions in the ground, not ennui. 😉
  • Michael Welch argues that the Manitoba Métis Federation and other local Indigenous groups should have been consulted prior to the beginning of construction on the Parker Land Site, in Manitoba.
  • Doug Cuthand writes about the history of his community, the Little Pine First Nation and the Canadian Cree and Assiniboine diaspora.
  • Ruth Goldbloom, co-founder of the Pier 21 museum is being honoured with a virtual statue. This is the first statue released as part of “The Whole Story Project,” honouring the contributions of women.
  • Find out more about the ongoing efforts to find the Avro Arrow model planes.
  • A number of individuals from the Algonquin Nation, including Christine Luckasavitch of the Ondjitigewyaa, Stephen Hunter of the Kijicho Manitou Madaouskairini and Chuck Commanda of the Kitigan Zibi Anishnabeg in Quebec, have put together an interpretive tour that tells the local Indigenous history of the Madaouskairini Algonquin territory/Bancroft area, in order to better represent the true history of the region. This is so cool!
  • Crystal Fraser has challenged settler Canadians to undertake 150 acts of reconciliation in what’s left of 2017. She and Sarah Komarnisky will be publishing a list of recommendations on August 4^th. I highly recommend this and can’t wait for the list to come out.
  • When I lived in Victoria, I lived in Oak Bay. Now the District of Oak Bay has partnered with the Songhees Nation and the Robert Bateman Centre to put together a new exhibit on the history of the Lekwungen/Songhees People and their traditional territory, which includes Oak Bay.
    • You can find out more about the exhibit here.
  • Billy Two Rivers is suing Van Morrison for using an image of him from his wrestling days on an album cover without Two Rivers’ permission.
  • The Toronto Star , with Gaetan Heroux and Bryan D. Palmer, look back on how Toronto treated unemployed, single men during the Great Depression, particularly with respect to shoddy appalling shelter conditions. This post is a response to the recent decision to close Seaton House, one of the city’s oldest shelters.
  • Ted’s Wrecking Yard, a Toronto music scene landmark, might be gone, but it will never be forgotten.
  • Le Devoir remembers James Campbell Clouston, who inspired Kenneth Branagh’s character in Dunkirk but was actually born and raised in Montreal.
  • A man from Brampton is recreating his 5^th-great-grandfather’s voyage from France to Quebec on a tall ship in honour of Canada150. Only, he’s going in the opposite direction.
  • Mike Commito has written a new blog post for Sudbury.com this week all about the deadliest fire in Canadian history, the 1916 Matheson fire in Northern Ontario.
  • David Pugliese goes behind the scenes at the Canadian War Museum and looks at Paul Franklin’s Hula girl. This is a neat story, but those “hula girls” are horrifyingly racist and sexist.
  • Parks Canada has just unveiled a new plaque in PEI honouring Captain John MacDonald, who settled the first community of Catholic Scots in PEI in the late 18^th century. Because that’s what we need, more glorifying of settler history. Sigh.
  • Lauren Ross is calling on Canadian millenials to make reconciliation and the recognition of historical injustices the defining feature of our generation.
• Better Late than Never
  • The Calgary Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archives has a new blog post about their collection of playing cards. Omg, so cool!
  • The Guardian has put together a really great collection of photographs from Vancouver’s history.
  • Find out about some of the artefacts being found during the excavation of the 19^th century Canadian parliamentary buildings in Montreal.
  • Find out about the upcoming Virtual Museum of Canada Community Stories exhibit about the Cradle Club of Women’s College Hospital in Toronto.
• Calls for Papers
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So much fun with archaeology this week! I’m totally having fun living vicariously through blog posts and articles by and about archaeologists. I hope you enjoyed this week’s roundup. If you did, please consider sharing it on the social media platform of your choice! And don’t forget to check back on Tuesday for a brand new blog post about a really cool new digitization project. See you then!

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