Floral buggy in the Labour Day parade, Front St. (September 1913) William James Topley. Library and Archives Canada, PA-010537 CC BY 2.0
The latest in blog posts, news, and podcasts from the world of Canadian history.
(Read last week’s roundup here.)
- Borealia is back this week with a list of new and upcoming releases in early Canadian history. Want. All. Of. Them.
- This week on Unwritten Histories, we have a brand new edition of What’s in My Bag! This time we take a look at what students would have carried to one-room schoolhouses in Saskatchewan in the early 1940s. The contents of this bag speak to changes in pedagogy and curriculum, and ideas about gender, race, and nationalism.
- And on a related note, check out this neat collection of vintage Canadian exercise books.
- The Canadian Encyclopaedia has a new article, this one on the Alaskan Boundary dispute.
- Active History is still on hiatus, so here are the articles they are revisiting this week:
- Karen Dubinsky and Franca Iacovetta on Canada’s long history of pity and contempt for immigrant women who are “oppressed” and refusing to let them speak for themselves.
- Sean Kheraj talks about the teaching of digital history in Canada.
- Adam Gaudry talks about how the concrete action that is needed to actually “Indigenize the academy.”
- Sonya Roy and Steve Hewitt argue that R.B. Bennett doesn’t deserve to have a statue on Parliament Hill because of the damage he did to the people of Canada during the Great Depression.
- And finally, a farewell to outgoing editor, Kaleigh Bradley, and a reposting of her fantastic article on being an ally in the classroom.
- Janis Thiessen is seeking to interview descendants of people involved in the Winnipeg General Strike.
- Krista McCracken has a great blog post about her experiences of teaching in the archives as an archivist.
- Bill Waiser talks about Saskatchewan’s Year of the Ukrainian, and how much has changed in 100 years.
- This week, Histoire Engagée interviewed the incomparable Magda Fahrni for the Question sociale et citoyenneté conference. She talks about why and how she got into doing the social history of Quebec and her latest work on truancy officers after World War Two.
- The Canadian History Bits Blog spotlights Dr. Norman Bethune.
- Jessa Gamble writing for Hakai Magazine, talks about recently published research on how the Indigenous peoples living on BC’s West coast fertilized and cultivated forests for thousands of years.
- Frances Reilly has a fascinating piece on NiCHE this week, all about the fight against rats in Alberta, and how government officials used Cold War Tactics in their mission. I never saw a rat until I moved to BC, and now I see them all the time. 😮
- Russell Potter, one of the leaders of the search for Franklin’s ships, has an update on what to expect from this year’s search, including a description of protocols and agreements made between Parks Canada and local Inuit communities.
- BC Studies and Alex Lausanne look at Wells, BC and the ArtsWells Music Festival.
- BC Studies also has a new book review this week, Coded Territories: Tracing Indigenous Pathways In New Media Art, reviewed by Rob McMahon.
- Viveka Hanson looks at the history and traditions of textiles in North America, including Canada. She features several amazing artefacts from some of the museums she visited on her trip down the East Coast of North America.
- Did you know that veterinarians did veterinary surgery on household pets as an exhibit at the CNE in 1962 and 1963? Oy.
- The Great War Centre looks at battlefield trophies taken by Canadians during WW1. Many of them survive to this day.
- Canada’s Military History blog has part 3 of a 3-part series on the Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross during WW1. This last part talks about what happened to some of these recipients after the war.
- UBC Library takes a behind-the-scenes look at its collection of Japanese Canadian Photograph Collection.
- The Journal of the American Revolution takes a fascinating look at the life of loyalist Sir John Johnson, the so-called “Hard Luck Baronet,” who fought for the British in the American Revolution, served in a series of political appointments in Canada, and oddly seems to have been constantly in search of a silver plate service…
- Mlle Canadienne, a new bilingual blog devoted to the history of fashion and living history, takes a look the 18th century fascination with (human) calves. Apparently, French-Canadian women were known for their shorts skirts. Ooh la la 😉
- Canadian History in the News
- On September 6th at 7pm EST, APTN will air a 13-part documentary series on Mohawk ironworkers.
- Buzzfeed has created a listicle of 13 Canadian historical sites that “will bring out your inner Indiana Jones.” I’m not really sure I get the reference, since you can’t excavate these sites, but they are pretty cool.
- Some seriously idiotic teachers in Montreal decided to wear Indigenous headdresses made out of construction paper to the first day of class. Seriously, wtf people? If you still don’t understand why this is a HUGE problem, check out this article.
- Orenda Boucher-Curotte, co-ordinator of the First Peoples’ Centre at Dawson College spoke to CBC about this problem and what it means about awareness about Indigenous peoples in Quebec’s education system.
- And later in the week, CBC spoke to Charlene Bernard, education lead for the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation, who argued that more Indigenous education should be taught in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary institutions. Hear Hear.
- Live in Montreal? A company called ArchitecTours will take you on a tour of the Montreal metro and talk about how different stations embody the times in which they were built.
- The surviving members of the 1972 Team Canada have reconnected and are trying to preserve their legacy through business.
- Stats Can is calling this year’s census the best once since 1666. Was the 1666 census really all that great? 😉
- A massive mural painting on the ceiling of the Ontario Legislative Chamber by Gustav Hahn has been unveiled for the first time since 1912.
- CBC interviewed Karen Stote, professor of women and gender studies at Wilfrid Laurier University about her latest book, An Act of Genocide, Colonialism and the Sterilization of Aboriginal Women.
- There is discussion in PEI about how to preserve an 18th century North Shore estate, the Glenaladale Estate.
- The Montreal Gazette talks about a new exhibit on the history of logging, explorers, and steamboats on the Lachine Rapids.
- Alexandra Pope and Canadian Geographic look at historical depictions of Lake Superior.
- Quebec is insisting its new history class is in the “pilot project” stage and could still be revised minimally.…
- Efforts are underway to create a new oral history of Mississippi Mills, in Ontario, through the Tale of a Town project, a nation-wide theatre and media initiative for the 150th anniversary of confederation.
- Le Devoir is clearing out its archives….. uh oh.
- And in similar news, the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux, which offers health services in Laval, has chosen to abolish 20 years of archives and instead use a private archiving firm. While most people are concerned about the impact that this will have on clinical trials, I’m sad to see this happen to case files from medical institutions, since they are such great sources of information. Incidentally, the newspaper covering this is the one my mother works for…
- The Wanuskewin Heritage Park in Saskatoon is trying to become a UNESCO world heritage site.
- Mississauga is being offered $150K in grants for projects celebrating the 150th anniversary of Confederation. So that’s where all the history funding is going….
- The National Post has a hilarious article about an attempt by a decorated war hero to establish a “second Canada” on top of the old one, to be called “Mid-Canada.” I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry.
- Ottawa Magazine has a pretty neat look at Canada’s Crown collection, formerly known as “The Stuff Inside Rideau Hall.”
- Some good archival news! The archives of the Musée de l’Amérique francophone have reopened to the public!
- TVO interviewed anthropologist Summer Ann Herring about 19th century Hamilton and how malaria killed so many of the builders of the Rideau Canal.
- Heritage Toronto is now offering tours of Graffiti Alley (of Rick Mercer fame) on Instagram.
- A 116-year old notebook was stolen from a museum in Chilliwack.
- The National Post examines the 84 years of newly digitized parliamentary records from the House of Commons, looking for swear words. Again, I’m not sure if I should laugh or cry.
- Dennis Duffy, at The Torontoist, writes about the hype around Don Valley Parkway.
- Efforts are underway to have the Salish Sea declared a world heritage site.
- The Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in First Nation has proclaimed a its own Heritage Act, a move that is unprecedented for Yukon First Nations.
- A new commemorative park has been created in in Alberta in honour of the 100th anniversary of the Frank Mine Disaster, the deadliest in Canadian history. 189 men were killed following a methane explosion.
- CBC Calgary takes a great look at the history of urban design in Calgary, asking the question, why are all the streets in downtown Calgary crooked?
- And, I include this only because it’s Canadian history and some people consider it news: Barbara Kay on “How Progressives Perverted the Study of History.”
That’s all for this week! Don’t forget to check back on Tuesday for a brand new blog post. This week we have a new edition of Best New Articles. And it’s a doozy.
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