An employee of the Maple Leaf Plastics, is shown using an automatic plate finishing machine. Toronto, Ontario. Chris Lund. February 1961. Library and Archives Canada. 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.
Environmental History
- The most common-used words in #envhist last week were: “Environmental,” “History,” and “Place.”
- Sinead Earley shared her experiences traversing the Canol Road and Pipeline in July 2017 with four other women in this amazing photo essay on NiCHE.
- Here is yet another scholar, a paleoclimatologist, providing crucial additional information in response to the report about the impact of the decimation of Indigenous peoples on climate change.
- And Dagomar Degroot turned his Twitter thread into a blog post for the Whitehorse Press blog.
Military History
- An antique shop owner discovered a 102-year-old letter sent to Manitoba from a soldier who fought at Vimy Ridge, Earl Sorel.
- The mystery of the identity of two sisters who exchanged wartime letters, discovered inside an old book, has been solved!
- No one is really sure where or when this antique drum from the Royal Newfoundland Regiment comes from, but it’s still pretty cool.
Archaeology
- Construction on the LNG pipeline that is going through Wet’suwet’en Territory has been halted, due to the discovery of archaeological artifacts. Which is great, but it is profoundly problematic that construction will halt for research, but not for human rights.
- The Canadian Museum of History shared an image of an ancient Indigenous spearhead.
History Education
- Some lucky students in Brian Leech’s class got to participate in their very own Twitter conference! And some presentations will even be of interest to Canadian historians!
- The Elementary Teacher’s Federation of Ontario posted this great resource about how to incorporate Black history into the classroom all year round!
- Check out this awesome profile of Catherine Murton Stoehr’s fabulous work teaching Upper Canadian history.
- Both Sarah Fox and Adele Perry have won history. That is all.
- This week for Valentine’s Day, I wrote a love letter to my teaching self.
Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration History
- The story of this photo taken on Toronto’s Corso Italia in 1970 is just lovely.😍
- Check out this amazing book, R is for Reparations, created by African Nova Scotian students about their thoughts on the Atlantic Slave Trade.
- All month long, David Shepherd is sharing the stories of exceptional Black Canadians. The first video is here, and the latest two are here.
- Bashir Mohamed shared another important story on Twitter this week, one that connected Payne County, Oklahoma and Edmonton, Alberta and involved Lorena Matthews and James Chapman.
- And another one, on segregation in Edmonton in the first half of the twentieth century.
- And speaking of Bashir Mohamed, he was profiled on Global News for his fantastic Twitter threads on Black history.
- The Nova Scotia Archives put together a thread on Gabriel Hall, a formerly enslaved man who escaped from Chesapeake Bay between 1815 and 1816.
- Philip Dwight Morgan reviewed David Austin’s book, Moving Against the System: The 1968 Congress of Black Writers and the Making of Global Consciousness for Rabble.ca.
- This week Retroactive profiled the documentary film created by the Shiloh Centre for Multicultural Roots, “We Are the Roots.” This project was also the winner of the 2018 Governor Generals’ History Awards for Excellence in Community Programming, and I was lucky enough to be on the award jury. Seriously, go watch the film. It’s free, and online. You will not regret it.
- I mentioned Malinda Smith’s fantastic work on the Trailblazers project last week. She’s also compiled a list of trailblazing Black women into this Twitter thread!
- The Ontario NDP is also celebrating Black history month with a Twitter thread, highlighting exceptional Black Canadians both past and present.
- Dana Campbell has written the latest blog post from the Acadiensis blog, on being an insider studying Cape Breton out-migration.
- Global News profiled John Ware for Black history month.
- Warren Clarke and Nadine Powell have written a new piece for the Conversation on the role that Canada played in the establishment of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, even though there was no mention of Black Canadians at their first meeting.
- Find out about the cool work being done by fellow UVic alumna, Karina Vernon, on Black experience on the Canadian prairies, including oral cultural practices.
- CBC Manitoba profiled five notable Black Manitobans: George Brooks, Lee Williams, June James, Wade “Kojo” Williams, and Monica Stothers.
- Stanley Grizzle was interviewed on TVO’s The Agenda about his work as a civil rights activist and his research on Black train porters. Warning: smarmy host.
Indigenous History
- Tim Bowman reviewed Brenden W. Rensink’s new book, Native but Foreign: Indigenous Immigrants and Refugees in the North American Borderlands for Borderlands History.
- And one of the editors of Erstwhile, Kerri Clement, also spoke with Rensink about the book.
- Zoe Todd (Métis) explained why the transfer of infectious diseases absolutely counts as genocide with respect to the decimation of Indigenous peoples in the Americas.
- Find out about the amazing work being done by Hannah Tait Neufeld (who identifies as being of mixed heritage), Brittany Luby (Anishinaabe), and Kim Anderson (Métis) at the University of Guelph, on the Wisaktowinowak gardens and the manomin/wild rice project. Based on the principles of land-based education and in collaboration with Indigenous community partners (including the Grand River Métis Council, White Owl Native Ancestry Association, and the Global Youth Volunteer Network), these projects strengthen inter-generational and inter-regional relations while providing hope for the future and promoting local food sovereignty.
- I’m not going to get into the news this week about Jody Wilson-Raybould, but I would draw your attention to Maddie Knickerbocker’s thread about the long history of the Wilson family talking back to the Prime Minister.
- Chisasibi Radio is celebrating its thirty-fifth anniversary this year!
- This week LAC posted a new blog post about the relationship between Inuit qimmiit, or sled dogs, in both past and present.
- I love this thread about onomatopoeia in Indigenous languages, started by Rebekah Ingram. 100% worth reading the entire thing.
- Raven Sinclair (Cree/Assiniboine/Saulteaux) spoke with She Does the City about her experiences as a Sixties Scoop survivor and her involvement in a new film, Trouble in the Garden.
Political History
- You may remember that a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned an upcoming workshop on labour and the Canadian carceral state being organized at Brock and Brandon Universities. This week, Kassandra Luciuk wrote about the workshop, particularly with respect to unrest in the Fort Henry internment camps in 1917, for Active History.
- This week, we celebrate Flag Day, when the Maple Leaf (or Stanley) flag became the official flag of Canada.
- Canadian Geographic profiled four of the top contenders for our official flag.
- LAC published a neat infographic on Flag Day.
- The Peel Archives collected together all of the Canadian archive posts about Flag Day in a Twitter moment (Thank you!)
- Of course, the Beatles one will always be my favourite.
Social History
- I strongly recommend this thread by Emily Kaliel on why it is so important to vaccinate, and the creation of Canadian public services in the wake of the Spanish Flu epidemic. I feel particularly strongly on this subject, not only because I am a historian and I’ve seen what happens when vaccines are not available, but also because my husband is forced to take immunosuppressants, and is at terrible risk from the loss of herd immunity.
- Google Doodle profiled Jacques Plante this week! If you’d like to know more about Plante and his famous mask, check out my conversation with Jenny Ellison on the Hockey Exhibit at the Canadian Museum of History.
- Stephanie Bellissimo explained the history of Arbor Day in Canada!
- The Canadian Encyclopedia published a new entry on Nanaimo bars this week. I must confess, I actually don’t like Nanaimo bars. Don’t hate me!
- Lauren Markewicz shared some excerpts from an 1831 cookbook, amusingly titled The Cook Not Mad, or Rational Cookery.”
Valentine’s Day
(which gets its own section, because it basically exploded all over the online world of Canadian history)
- The Toronto Reference Library blog was all over Valentine’s Day this year, with three different posts, including:
- The UBC Digitizer’s blog shared some images of Valentine’s Day dinner menus and concert programs from their collection.
- Boston 1775 shared a letter from the British merchants in Quebec City to Lt. Col. Valentine Jones, who was stationed there with the British army.
- I’m feeling rather uncomfortable with this one. LAC shared a list of Inuit words for “love,” compiled by Albert Peter Low. I wish the piece had focused more on the Inuit language, and less on a white geologist, so I include it here with strong reservations.
- They also shared some fascinating and slightly disturbing personal ads from 1918-1919.
- Laura Fraser at CBC published a feature on love letters written by Reg Roome to Helen Hones during WW1.
- Archival Moments also discussed Vinegar Valentines.
- Check out this profile of a traveling exhibition of love letters by Ukrainian immigrants from the early 20th century
- Murray D. Maisie explained his love for a particular photograph of Vancouver.
- Peel Archives also created a Twitter moment of Canadian archive postings on Valentine’s Day.
- The South Peace Regional Archives shared this collection of wooden Valentines.
- While it’s not historical, I really loved these Valentine’s Day Cards in Indigenous languages, prepared by the North West Territories Indigenous Languages and Education Secretariat. The cards are available in Chipewyan, Cree, Dene Zatié, Gwich’in, Inuvialuktun, North Slavey, and Tłı̨chǫ
- The latest entry from The Dictionary of Canadian Biography is for journalist Constance Fairbanks.
- The Canadian Museum of History shared this gorgeous Valentine card.
Local History
- Nova Scotia’s provincial legislature building is celebrating its 200 anniversary this year.
- The Vancouver As It Was blog looked at the history of public drinking fountains in Vancouver. Which, trust me, is much more interesting than it sounds. If you want to know more, check out this podcast episode from 99% Invisible.
- Heritage Winnipeg profiled the Vital Library.
- Kinda random, but also kinda cool: check out these pictures of historic Toronto shoe stores.
- The latest entry from Historic Nova Scotia is by Lisa Pasolli, and is on the Maud Lewis House.
- The Chilliwack Museum and Archives blog remembered the great snow storm of Christmas 1996.
- Eve Lazarus shared the story of Muriel Lindsay’s murder. Content warning: violence, violence against women.
Digital and Public History
- Turns out that Merle Massie was involved in the production of First Man, for a scene that involved one of the first cancer radiation machines, the cobalt bomb, designed and developed in Canada. See: Canadian history is super exciting! For real! <- totally not sarcasm
- Steph Halmhofer has published the preliminary results of her study of Canadian beliefs on the supernatural, paranormal, cryptozoological, and pseudoarchaeological! The results are fascinating.
- Our Digital World announced the launch of the Waterloo Public Library digital newspaper collection! Issues dating back to 1893 (and in some cases back to 1868) of the Waterloo Chronicle, the Chronicle Telegraph, and the County Chronicle are all now available online. Check it out for yourself here.
- The latest exhibit from the Virtual Museum of Canada is on Villa Les Rochers, the summer home of Sir JAM and his wife, Lady Agnes Macdonald.
- Spread the news: JSTOR now has a text analyzer.
- Allana Mayer wrote a fascinating piece on digital archives, takedown requests, and racism, particularly in light of the recent blackface scandals.
- LAC has digitized another Indigenous newspaper, The Turtle Island News, including issues from 2001 to 2013.
Doing History
- Jennifer Evans reflected on her latest research, including a profile of Edward Sapir, onetime head of the anthropological division of the Geological Survey of Canada.
- Megan Breault discussed the realities of archival research and the need for historians to have a flexible approach.
- Find out about the history of the University of Toronto’s Ethnography Lab, and its focus on collaborative and inclusive research.
- Gillian Leitch is reporting that LAC will no longer permit researchers to view restricted documents outside of reference hours.
- The Members of the Canadian Foreign Intelligence History Project have initiated a petition to ensure the proper archiving of historical records.
- All this week, Krista McCracken has been curating the @TWkLGBTQ Twitter account. As part of their week, Krista published a list of their favourite queer archives, including several Canadian archives!
- Jean-Vincent Bergeron-Gaudin reflected on his experiences visiting the archives as a non-historian this week on Histoire Engagée.
- The Archives of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Toronto blog discussed what we can learn from family bibles.
- Super important announcement: The Freedom on the Move project has just been launched.This is an online project asking members of the public to assist in creating a database of stories about fugitives from slavery in North America. Volunteers are invited to transcribe newspaper advertisements to start. Check it out for yourself here. It may sound strange, but these “runaway ads” are extremely important sources of information on the lives of individuals who were enslaved.
- Niigan Sinclair has a great new piece in the Winnipeg Free Press on graphic storytelling in Indigenous communities in the past and present.
- Check out this neat feature on the archives of a Fransaskois community in Saint-Isidore de Bellevue, Saskatchewan.
- Find out how particle accelerators are being used to preserve daguerreotypes. Now that sounds like something straight of a science fiction novel.
- Le Devoir remembered the contributions of photojournalist Conrad Poirier, though I wish they hadn’t used the word “pioneer” to describe him.
- I highly recommend that everyone read this beautiful piece by Mike Commito on language, love, and the historical profession.
Miscellaneous
- This piece barely counts as history, but I couldn’t not include it.
- Once upon a time, Marilyn Monroe came to Bow Valley in Alberta to film a movie, and she twisted her ankle. There are deep discussions to be had about the male gaze here, but here are some pictures from a photoshoot she did at the same time.
- I haven’t seen the tv show Russian Doll, but apparently Emily of New Moon is an important part of the story.
Podcasts
- The latest episode of the Living Heritage Podcast is all about immigrant merchants in Newfoundland’s history.
- Histoire Engagée posted a clip of Jade Almeida speaking on the Eurocentric nature of the field of history, and how it serves to obscure Black history in Quebec and Canada.
- The latest episode of the Witness to Yesterday podcast features an interview with Robert Vipond on his book, Making a Global City: How One Toronto School Embraced Diversity.
- I accidentally forgot to mention that the Dig podcast published a new episode on The Ancient One, phrenology, and the pseudoscience of race. Content warning: discussion of Ancestors from a settler perspective, racism.
Wow, Twitter was the happening place to be this week for Canadian history. Also there always tends to be more content around holidays, and this week we had both Valentine’s Day and Flag Day (if you consider that a holiday). 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 the latest edition of Best New Articles! See you then! And for those of you on vacation for reading break: trying not to hate you! I’m just kidding, as long as you bring me with you next time! 😉
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