Man, Woman and Young Girl Playing with a Beach Ball in the Water at the Beach (circa 1950). Canada. National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque. Library and Archives Canada, e010955762 CC by 2.0
The latest in blog posts, news, and podcasts from the world of Canadian history.
- It’s not strictly Canadian history related, but if you do any kind of scholarship online, you’ll want to read up on the current discussion prompted by an editorial that appeared in The Guardian, by an anonymous PhD student, “I’m a serious academic, not a professional Instagrammer.” As you can probably imagine, the response was swift. Here are some of my favourite responses:
- “I’ve Got a Serious Problem with “Serious Academics,” by Kevin Gannon of The Tattooed Professor.
- “I’m a Non-Serious Academic. I Make No Apologies for This,” by Dean Burnett, writing on The Guardian
- “Serious Academic: Why I Engage Online,” by Rachel Moss of Meny Snoweballes.
- You can also check out the discussion on Twitter through #seriousacademic
- And on a related note, check out this great article on live-tweeting during conferences.
- Listen to an interview on CBC’s The Sunday Edition with Maureen Lux about “Indian Hospitals.” Starting in the 1920s, these hospitals were designed to racially segregate and isolate Indigenous peoples with tuberculosis and prevent them from gaining access to the latest innovations in medicine.
- Library and Archives Canada has a new blog post out this week on researching Ghost Towns. I have to admit, I am completely fascinated and creeped out by Ghost Towns. I love how they often seem to preserve a lost moment in time.
- Histoire Engagée has posted its latest interview from the Question sociale et citoyenneté conference. This week, the interview is with Marie-Claude Thifault, who researches the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric care in Canada.
- Over at the blog for the Laurier Centre for Military Strategic and Disarmament Studies at Wildrid Laurier, Jean Michel Turcotte reviews Ernest Robert Zimmerman, The Little Third Reich on Lake Superior: A History of Canadian Internment Camp R. Unbeknownst to many, Canada operated massive POW internment camps on behalf of the UK. Zimmerman focuses on one camp, in operation from 1940 to 1941, which held 1,150 German POWs. For an American example, you can also check out this great podcast episode from Radiolab, which aired last summer.
- National Geographic profiled a Black polar explorer, Matthew Henson, who may have been the first [non-Indigenous] person to reach the North Pole. US Navy Engineer Robert E. Peary had hired Henson as a valet for his planned Polar expedition. Though it appears that Henson reached the pole first, his achievements were downplayed due to his race.
- The CHA has just posted a recording of the panel from this year’s conference on Access to Information. I think we need more recorded panels!
- This week on Unwritten Histories, we tackled the topic of how to write syllabuses for Canadian History survey courses! Don’t forget to add your suggestions to our crowd-sourced syllabus as well!
- A new issue of the Canadian Journal of History is out! However, since none of the articles deal with Canadian history, it won’t be featured in the next best new articles post.
- Like many of you, I was extremely disappointed by JK Rowling’s misappropriation of Indigenous histories and culture for her History of Magic in North America. Allis Mills has just published a critique of Rowling’s work, entitled “Colonialism in Wizarding America: J. K. Rowling’s History of Magic in North America through an Indigenous Lens.” Though well worth a read on its own, don’t miss Maddie Knickerbocker’s live-tweeting her read of the article. Incidentally, this was so cool and I think we need more article-live-tweeting!
- Fort Edmonton Park is partnering with the Confederacy of Treaty 6 First Nations and the Métis Nation of Alberta to build The Indigenous People’s Experience, an interpretive centre/living history attraction dedicated to educating visitors about the experiences of Indigenous peoples in the area now known as Edmonton. I’m just sad it won’t open before 2020.
- Over on Active History, Paul David Aikenhead discusses the Tragically Hip. Using the Hip as an example, Aikenhead looks at the relationship between the performer and the audience and how it serves to create a transcendent and liberating experience for both.
- Find out about military uniforms and male fashion from the War of 1812 over on the Canadian History Bits Blog. The images are just amazing!
- Once again, Jessica deWitt takes us through her top five articles from the world of environmental history. The list includes articles about national park maps, Banff, “nameless” lakes in Manitoba, birds communicating with humans, and Pablo Escobar’s hippos. I heard about the hippos in a podcast a while back, and I was rather surprised. Incidentally, there was also a scheme in the US to farm hippos for their meat.
- In a continuation from last week’s post on Naay I’waans, The Council of the Haida Nation blog looks at the design of the 40-foot-tall Past-Present-Future Pole that will eventually join Naay I’waans. They are hoping to raise the pole before the rededication of the longhouse on September 3.
- A new study is out in Nature that looks at the Bering Land Bridge theory. Evidence from lakes and bison DNA suggests the earliest humans to reach North American likely did not use the fabled land bridge, though later groups might have. Though the original article requires a subscription, you can read about the findings through CBC and the NY Times.
- Stacey Nation-Knapper has a new article just out on fur trade ledgers and account books. Though economic documents, these ledgers can be used to reveal important information about the daily lives of Indigenous people employed in the fur trade.
- Will Straw has just updated his online collection of 20th century print media focused on “urban sensationalism.” Several Canadian publications are included as well. These images were just amazing!
- Olivier Guimond has a new article over at Histoire Engagée looking at Louis Joseph Papineau’s republican ideals. A great admirer of Thomas Jefferson, he believed that while unfortunate, the pesky problem of slavery should not get in the way of republican ideals.
- Over the past few years, LAC has been trying to release more classified documents from their government records. In a new blog post, they report that they are up to 20 million pages that are now available for consultation! This includes government discussion on Expo 67!
- Richie Allen, writing for the LAC blog, discusses how we can still find new information on known historical figures. He focuses on his accidental discovery of the Mohawk name, Oronhyatekha, in the register of the School of Military Instruction for Upper Canada from 1865-1867. Also known as Peter Martin, Oronhyatekha, was an important figure in late 19th century Ontario with an entry in the Dictionary of Canadian Biography, though his time at the School for Military Instruction is not mentioned.
- Sean Purdy talks about the political history of Brazil and the use of the term “coup d’état” over on Active History this week.
- Brian Pascas, again on the Laurier Centre blog, has the first in a new series that looks at Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross during WW1. Whether or not a Victoria Cross recipient should be counted as Canadian is a matter of some debate. Pascas proposes there be two categories: “Canadian” and “dual-allegiance.”
- Laura Brown has a new post on LAC’s blog honouring the 75th anniversary of the Canadian Women’s Army Corp. She also provides some helpful resources for those who are interested consulting archival sources about CWAC. Accompanying the post is a new album of CWAC images on Flickr Commons.
- Check out Adam Gaudry’s comments on the latest (and stupid) commercial from HBC about Canada being a “country of adventurers.”
- The Canadian Centre for the Great War blog has a new blog post up this week. This time, they are profiling artist Frances Loring. Loring was a sculptor who was best known for her work on war memorials.
- Margôt Maddison-MacFadyen looks at the wood used to build Province House, and what it can teach us about environmental and imperial history.
- In his weekly feature with the Torontoist, David Wencer looks at the CNE. He focuses on the art galleries, which proved controversial due to the inclusion of nude paintings. Oh my…
- Canadian History in the News
- This month, lucky visitors to Stanley Park will have the opportunity to participate in a walking tour that spotlights the Indigenous history of the area. These tours, led by Lauraleigh Paul (Yuxweluptun’ aat) will focus particularly on the traditional use of native plants by the local Indigenous peoples.
- Read about the accidental discovery of one of the original log cabins built in Charlottetown. Someone call Antiques Roadshow!
- A new plaque was unveiled this past Sunday in Coal Harbour, Vancouver at the Komagata Maru monument.
- Walking tours seems to be a bit of a thing this week. The Manitoba Historical Society has created an interactive map of the province, with 6,000 historical sites. An app is in development!
- Vancouver is also getting in on the action. Andrew Farris has released a new app, On This Spot, which works as a digital walking tour for Vancouver. While in the real world environment, you can see overlays of historical photographs from the same location. There are over 600 locations so far, with more to follow.
- This weekend marks the 100th anniversary of the forced relocation of the Simpcw First Nation from their traditional territory in Tête Jaune Cache, near Prince George. The Simpcw were forced to walk 300 kilometers to relocate themselves south to what was then known as North Thompson Indian Reserve in Thompson County, BC. The Simpcw will return on the 13th to commemorate this forced removal.
- Articles at Clearwater Times and The Rocky Mountain Goat provide great background on the forced removal.
- Two teachers from the Waterloo Region District School Board spent time participating in a workshop on residential schools. The workshop was facilitated by the Facing History and Ourselves group, and was designed to teach teachers how to sensitively address the topic to elementary and high school students.
- The Mi’kmaq of New Brunswick are arguing that Indigenous and treaty rights need to be considered as the debate about the Energy East pipeline goes forward.
- Check on this new editorial that argues that high school history classes in Ontario are poorly taught. Rather than talking about historical perspectives or narratives, the courses focus simply on memorization of facts. The author argues that we need to update the courses to reflect our current reality. Where have I heard this before…. 😉
- Sheema Khan has a wonderful article in The Globe and Mail about having the courage to challenge official histories. And as someone else who did history in Quebec in high school, I feel very much the same way.
- Former Tamil refugees found adrift off the coast of Newfoundland in 1986 return to reunite with their rescuers. A documentary about the rescue is currently in the works as well. Someone give me some Kleenex.
- Newfoundland is commemorating the 1941 summit between Winston Churchill and Franklin Delano Roosevelt that ultimately led to the Atlantic Charter.
- The Vancouver Sun looks at the first Vancouver Exhibition, opened in 1910 by none other than Wilfred Laurier.
- Clearly we need history classes just like this one offered at the University of Saskatchewan, where an Indigenous educator, Tasha Spillett, used the land as text in an outdoor course.
- In October, Justin Trudeau plans to make an official apology for gay, lesbian, bi, transgender, queer, non-binary individuals. The apology will come with a list of recommendations to correct current and past injustices against LGTBQQIA people as well.
- Xavier Kataquapit talks about his great-grandfather, John Chookomolin, who served in WW1. Chookomolin, buried in Surrey, England, was recently honoured by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission engraved his tombstone with a Cree inscription. This is the first time that a WW1 headstone in England has been engraved in Cree. Kataquapit reflects on his journey to visit his great-grandfather’s grave and the legacy he left behind. The inscription is as follows: “Ki-na-ka-ta-o Ta-ni-s Ne-s-ta Ni-wi-ka-ma-ka-n Na-meh-ko-si-pi-k O-ma Ma-shi-keh-wi-ni-k O-chi.” The English translation is: “I left my daughter and my wife at Nahmehkoo Seepee (Trout River) for this war.”
- A new memorial project for Hill 70’s 99th anniversary will launch on Monday in Ottawa.
That’s it for this week! Apparently the roundup gods decided to make up for last week. Don’t forget to check back on Tuesday for a brand new blog post. This week, we have a new Historian’s Toolkit!
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