Canadian History Roundup – Week of July 22, 2018

On the rocks along the shore of Lake Nipissing. July 1950. Frank Royal. Credit: National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque / 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 commonly-used words in #envhist last week, according to Jessica DeWitt, were: “Environmental,” “History,” and “Places.” 
• On NiCHE this week, Karim Tiro explored the decline of the Lake Ontario Atlantic salmon fishery, which began as early as 1807, and various hopeful attempts to revive it.
• As part of their ongoing Premiere series, this week LAC profiled their recently acquired Canada Lands Survey Records collection, with more than 1.5km of archival material.They particularly emphasized material in this collection relating to the Klondike Gold Rush.
• The Canadian Encylopedia launched a new entry this week for Rouge National Urban Park.
• Two British researchers have discovered that evidence of colonialism in the Americas can be found even in the air and the soil. 

Military History

• During WW2, Dr. Raymond Boyer, a McGill professor and researcher, was charged and convicted of being a Soviet spy. But was he, or was he just sharing knowledge with colleagues? You decide.
• The Laurier Centre republished Brad St. Croix’s review of Marc Milner’s book, Stopping the Panzers: The Untold Story of D-Day.
• The final part of Terry Copp’s digital monograph, Montreal At War, 1914-1918, is now available.
• The Globe and Mail published a number of stories from readers about their family members who fought in WW1.
• There’s just something about wartime letters…
• Check out this really wonderful video showing what a WW1 VAD nurse would have had to wear to work. Though it’s not mentioned in the video, Canadian women also served in the VAD.

Archaeology

• This week, Retroactive explained just what archaeologists can learn from studying pollen.
• If you happen to live in Montreal, you can get the chance to check out the findings from the latest archaeological excavation now showing at Pointe-à-Callière of the first French settlement on the island, Ville Marie. The added twist: the museum sits on the site of the location of the settlement.
• I really love the image that Bob Muckle shared of a shawl pin that likely belonged to a Japanese woman who lived at a logging camp in the BC interior.
• The Canadian Museum of History shared an image of a beautiful copper bracelet that was found near Lake Nipigon. The bracelet is between 3,000 and 4,000 years old, and was made, traded, and worn, by the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island.
• There is a new archaeological excavation going on at the logging camp in Quebec where nine men died during the 1918 Flu Epidemic. And now, like a jerk, I have the lumberjack song stuck in my head.
• There is also a new archaeological dig going on the site of the former Fort Saint-Louis. What’s unusual in this case is that the excavation is being conducted from a Mi’kmaw perspective, to correct existing narratives of the history of the area known to the Mi’kmaq as Kespukwitk, or “the Land Ends.” A number of the volunteers are from local Mi’kmaw communities, including L’sitkuk First Nation.
  • More here.
• Thanks to imaging technology, archaeologists at Binghamton University and State University at New York have located several new mounds and shell rings that were built by ancient Indigenous peoples in the area currently known as South Carolina.
• Check out this awesome ring that was found at the Fortress of Louisbourg. 
• Efforts are ongoing to save an armchair that is believed to have been made with an anchor that was preserved from the Halifax  Explosion.
• This past June, Kimberly Monk organized a maritime archaeology field school, accompanied by a website. The website has just been updated with blogs from the students about their experiences at Discovery Harbour.

Transnational History

• Also on NiCHE this week, Jim Clifford explored the legacy of the Canadian timber trade on Liverpool’s and London’s landscapes, with a focus on their so-called ‘Canada Docks.’
• In 1912, Antoine Dubuc went on a Grand Tour of Europe. Luckily for us, he kept a journal.
• Check out this neat new TED-ed animated video on Harriet Tubman.

Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration History

• Tamotsu Nakazawa shared his experiences about what it was like being sent to a Japanese-Canadian internment camp in 1942.
• Bashir Mohamed has another great Twitter essay this week on racism in Canada. In this Twitter essay, he focuses on the role that the KKK played in elections in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Indigenous History

• As part of their efforts to revitalize the Gwich’in language, the Gwich’in Tribal Council is digitizing thirty years of archival material.
• A recent Hakai magazine article on ancient footprints that have been preserved mentions some of the footprints that were located on Calvert Island. But, as William Housty pointed out, they failed to mention that these footprints were made by the Haíłzaqv people. 
• Joanne Hammond has written the latest Dig It column, where she discussed what life was like 5,000 years ago where the North and South Thompson rivers come together at Tk’emlups (currently known as Kamloops).
  • And here is the accompanying Twitter thread, with more pictures!
• And also by Joanne Hammond is another Twitter essay where she discusses what archaeologists can learn from sites that have been cleared due to last year’s forest fires. 
• The City of Vancouver park board has initiated a ‘colonial audit’ of its policies in preparation for a possible formal apology to the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. However, First Nations leaders like Khelsilem (Squamish Nation councillor) argue that practical action is needed, rather than simply apologies.
• Archdeacon Larry Beardy (Cree) explained why the Anglican General Synod archives and family research are such important parts of the process of healing from the damage done by residential schools. 
• The Canadian Museum of History also shared an image of this beautiful Anishinabe regalia saddle.
• More on the Dorset/Thule knitting discovery!

New France/British North America

• In a new blog post for Yale University Press, Ruma Chopra explores the liminal space that was occupied by the Trelawney Town Maroons, and why we need to rethink the meaning of terms like freedom and heroism in light of more complex histories.

Political History

• The Toronto Star takes a look back at the history of trade wars between Canada and the US.
• Over on Active History, Ray Blake looks back on the 1948 referendum on whether or not Newfoundland should join Canadian confederation, which took place seventy years ago this week.
• Patrick Lacroix is back with part two of his new series on Ulysses S. Grant’s visit to Quebec City, where he discusses why everyone was very concerned about what was happening in Mexico. 
• LAC remembered Louis St.-Laurent on the forty-fifth anniversary of his death, with a particular focus on his work on the international stage.
• The various official residences scattered across Ottawa are home to countless historical artifacts. Find out about some of them in this interview with Rebecca Bunch, Canada’s conservation and Crown Collection specialist. 
• The Dictionary of Canadian Biography has updated their entry for early Canadian politician, William McDougall. 
• The Graphic History Collective has published their latest Remember/Resist/Redraw poster! This poster, by Adèle Clapperton-Richard and Andrée Lévesque, looks at radical bookshops in 1930s Montreal. The GHC is also challenging everyone to go and visit some radical bookshops in their area, using the list included with the poster at the link above!

Food History (because there was a lot this week!)

• This week marked the final review of CBC’s Back in Time for Dinner. Find out what Kesia and I thought of their depiction of the 1990s, and some general thoughts on the series!
• Christopher Moore also shared some of his thoughts on the series. 
• This week, Ken Albala published an article on the history of ketchup.  In doing so, he made a number of controversial statements about Canada’s love for the condiment, particularly around something called ‘ketchup cake,’ and launched Ian Mosby’s quest to figure out what on earth he is talking about. 
  • More on Ian’s quest here. 
• The University of Guelph Archival and Special Collections shared an image of this awesome ice cream book published in 1936. 
• Paula Arasaki explored some Canadian food history on the UBC Digitizer’s blog this week, looking at why the CPR tried to develop a “French-shame-free” menu for their hotels and what people in the 1950s considered to be ‘classic’ Canadian dishes.
• Michelle Desveaux wins for most awesome roundup entry ever for this amazing recipe from the February 1977 edition of Micmac News. 
• University Affairs profiled the Manitoba Food History Project!

Social History

• In a new blog post on Active History, Ann Walton reflected on the legacy of Stan Rogers, and why sometimes it is important to just see what happens. 
• The Toronto Public Library shared three stories from Ontario’s aviation history. 
• The latest entry from the Dictionary of Canadian Biography is for Terry Fox!
• I’m including this piece from Maclean’s on hitchhiking history in Canada only for the sake of completeness. The article ignores the fact that for many people, particularly Indigenous women, hitchhiking remains an important mode of transportation, due largely to the lack of public transit services outside of major cities, leaving them vulnerable to predators.
• The latest Buzzfeed Unsolved featured the story of Toronto’s Eight Day Bride. If you can’t stand for the mispronunciation of Ontario place names or the sensationalism, you can find out more about the story here.

The History of Gender and Sexuality

•  The Canadian Lesbian and Gay Archive shared stories about Jim Egan’s early life this week, with a particular emphasis on his activism. 
• And they also discussed the contents of a recently-donated collection from feminist lesbian, Gay Bell. 

Local History

•  This week on the Acadiensis blog, Vicki S. Hallett discussed Doris Saunders, the founding editor of Them Days magazine, her struggle to reconcile her European and Indigenous ancestry, and the complex meaning of a distinctly Labradorian identity. 
• Alberta Heritage continued its look at Alberta music history this week, including:
  • The King Edward Hotel. 
  • The Record Industry
• On June 16, 1913, a cow went on an adventure through downtown Toronto. Check out this adorable map, then read the story here.
• Lukas Neville provided some important context regarding the closing of Portage and Main in Winnipeg. 
• Heritage Winnipeg took us on a tour of Dalnavert House, home to the son of John A. Macdonald. 
• Check out some of the Toronto baseball history that is found within the Toronto Reference Library Special Collections Department.
• Eve Lazarus took us on a tour of Vancouver’s Royal Crown Soap Company!
• Daniel Francis took us back to the Vancouver Culture Wars of the 1930s, though the eyes of artist Maude Sherman. 

Digital and Public History

• There may be a new film based on Jack London’s Call of the Wild. Sigh.
• Chilliwack Museum and Archives is looking for help identifying the people in their digitized photograph collections. 
• The latest Virtual Museum of Canada community stories online exhibit looks back at the history of the Coast Mountain Gothic Arc Huts in Whistler. 
• Bashir Mohamed shared a wonderful example of why public history is so important. 
• BC has declared July 27 Ginger Goodwin Day. At least it’s more memorable than BC Day, I guess.
• Halifax has unveiled a ten-member special committee that will study how to commemorate Edward Cornwallis. What’s super cool is that the committee is co-chaired by We’koqma’q Chief Roderick Googoo and Monica MacDonald, of the Canadian Museum of Immigration. Also on the committee are an additional four Mi’kmaq members and historian John Reid.
• Turns out that the Canadian Museum of History is hiding some shady stuff, including brass plates used to forge stamps!

Doing History

• Anyone interested in some Hydro Quebec artifacts?
• Emily Lonie explored the idea of archivists as curators in this fantastic blog post. 
• Find out about the latest acquisitions in the Summer 2018 edition of LAC’s What’s New!
• Find out what it’s like to be an archivist at the Whistler Museum and Archives. 
• This week I was back with a new instalment of Best New Articles, featuring my favourite articles published in April and May 2018! June and July are coming up shortly, I promise!
• And Stephanie put together our regular list of upcoming publications, for August and September 2018!

Miscellaneous

• Check out this neat look at the work of Indian-Canadian animator Ishu Patel, who created six beautifully animated films for the NFB from the 1970s to the 1990s. 

Podcasts

• Only one new podcast this week, on the history of soda water in St. Catharines!

Better Late Than Never

• Find out about these adorable and furry Canadian interlopers.
• Check out some of the love letters written by Ukrainian immigrants that were on display at the recent Capital Ukrainian Festival. 

Calls for Papers

• I know it feels like the CHA just ended, but the CFP for Congress 2019 has just been posted!

As I write this blog post, there is a bog fire a couple of blocks down that is giving Richmond quite the post-apocalyptic atmosphere…. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this week’s Canadian history 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 special guest post, since we’re working on something kinda special. See you then!

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