A woman looking through a microscope during one of the science classes at Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario. 1961. Gar Lunney. National Film Board of Canada. Photothèque. Library and Archives Canada, e010975918. 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: ‘Women,’ ‘Cycling,’ and ‘Bike.’
- Over on the Environment and Society Portal, Chris Gismondi discussed how and why settler explorers framed the Arctic as “barren lands,” when this couldn’t be further from the truth.
- Check out this cool map of mining history in Canada created by Donna Beneteau.
Military History
- War medals are a rare commodity, but research is needed before purchasing them.
- The remains of Private George Alfred Newburn, a soldier from Esquimalt that fought in WW1, have just been identified.
- History Extra covered the Canadians’ role on D-Day in a special piece this week.
- Check out this neat story about how a Canadian soldier, in rare footage from D-Day, was just identified as Private George Baker.
- More on the Juno Beach Centre postcard project is available here, including a talk with veteran Fred Barnard.
- The latest biography from the Dictionary of Canadian Biography is for WW1 army officer, Charles Johnstone Armstrong.
- Omg. This is too much.
- The remains of WW2 solider, Sergeant John Albert Collis, of Brampton, Ontario, have just been identified.
- CBC spoke with Margaret MacMillian and Tim Cook on the importance of D-Day and ensuring that young people know its history.
- A DC-3 plane from WW2 is being restored in Montreal, and it has quite the history.
New D-Day Heritage Minute
- Check out the new Heritage Minute, showcasing Archie MacNaughton, just released by Historica. It is narrated by his daughter, Margie.
- Jen Sguigna worked on the new Heritage Minute, and shared MacNaughton’s story on Active History, and discussed the research behind the Minute.
- Mary Chaktsiris published a great Twitter thread on the voices of women and the theme of family in the new Heritage Minute.
- CBC spoke with MacNaughton’s family, including daughter Margie MacNaughton. Bring Kleenex.
- More here.
- MacNaughton also now has his own entry in the Canadian Encyclopedia.
Archaeology
- Catch up on the Seymour Valley Archaeology Project, including
- Robyn Lacy was back with another blog post about how to restore gravestones with existing base supports.
- Retroactive was back with a new blog post on what archaeology can tell us about the history of ancient Indigenous peoples at the Pebble Chert Quarries in east-central Alberta.
- Check out the cool stuff turning up at archaeological investigations at Jack Long Park in Calgary, including evidence of the historical Indigenous occupation of the site dating back 3,000 years.
- More here.
History Education
- Check out this feature of Danielle Lorenz’ research on the lack of confidence many educators feel about teaching Indigenous history and other content in their classrooms.
- Niigaan Sinclair (Anishinaabe (St. Peter’s/Little Peguis) ) commented on the Ford government’s decision to make courses on Indigenous history and culture optional.
Transnational History
- Jessica Lenora Whitehead has written a new blog post for the University of Toronto Press Journals on the making of the Captain of the Clouds Hollywood production in 1942 in Canada.
- Over on Histoire Engagée, Laurence Bordeleau has written a new blog post on Quebec missionaries to Haiti, specifically regarding the publication, Le Courrier le Bon-Pasteur.
Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration History
- Steve Schwinghamer has written a new blog post for Pier 21 about the memoirs of Immigration Officer Fenton Crosman and what they can teach us about Canadian immigration policy.
- Check out the new entry in the Canadian Encyclopedia by Natasha Henry, on the racial segregation of Black people in Canada.
- In honour of Asian Heritage Month, Eve Lazarus republished an excerpt from Sensational Vancouver about heritage advocate, Mary Chan, who worked tirelessly to preserve Vancouver’s Chinatown.
- Velma Demerson and Harry Yip’s story is just so amazing.
Indigenous History
- Check out these pictures of historic Tuscarora beadwork dating back to 1821, and what Grant Jonathan is doing to keep the tradition alive and repatriate the objects he has found.
- The Canadian Encyclopedia has published a new entry on Métis journalist and historian, Olive Dickason.
- Steve Paikin continues to annoy me, but you might want to check out this talk with Susanne Stewart (Yellowknife Dene First Nation), DouglasSanderson (Opaskwayak Cree Nation),Russ Diabo (Kahnawake Mohawk), and Bob Joseph (Gwawa’enuxw Nation) on the Indian Act and what should happen with it. I wish they hadn’t started with a JAM quote. ::shaking my head:: Content warning: settler stupidity, discussions of the Indian Act.
- CBC has obtained a copy of The National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls Final Report, which states unequivocally that the murder and disappearance of Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit folk was genocide, and the Canadian nation-state, colonialism, and colonial idealities were/are directly responsible for it. Content warning: discussion of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit folk, discussion of genocide.
- CBC also spoke with Naomi Sayers (Garden River First Nation, Ontario) about the final report and what the Canadian government might do in response, specifically in response to labeling what happened as genocide. Content warning: discussion of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit folk, discussion of genocide.
- I mentioned last week that the Royal BC Museum has initiated a new policy of repatriating Indigenous ancestors and cultural artifacts. They are starting with two First Nations monumental poles/posts: a replica Kwakwaka’wakw house post that has stood in Thunderbird Park since 1954, and a replica Haida mortuary pole that was placed nearby in 1955. Both were carved by Mungo Martin. His great-grandson, Chief David Mungo Knox of the Kwakiutl First Nation, is helping to determine the next steps for these poles, as both have reached the end of their life cycles. The Kwakwaka’wakw house post was ceremonially taken down this week, and is being returned Quatsino First Nation, who will determine where to lay it to rest. The Haida mortuary pole will be taken down this coming week, and will remain in Prince Rupert as Knox consults with the Haida clan it originated from.
- Find out about the super cool research that Riley Kucheran, a member of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg, is doing on the impact of colonialism on Indigenous clothing.
- Unreserved looked back on the impact of fifty years of Alanis Obomsawin’s work on Indigenous cinema.
New France/British North America
- Brian de Ruiter has written the latest post for Findings/Trouvailles, on Laura Secord’s run, and whether or not she was alone. And I will never be able to think about Laura Secord without also thinking “Take me to Fitzgibbon!”
- This week on the Junto, Carla Cevasco reviewed Christopher Parsons’ A-Not-So-New World: Empire and Environment in French Colonial North America.
- And Rachel Hermann interviewed Parsons about his work later on the Junto as well.
- Colin Coates spoke to Radio Canada about his research on the politics of New France.
Political History
- Also on Active History this week, David Blocker looked back at another Trudeau re-election campaign: the 1972 election.
- On the Beyond Borders blog, Ian McKay published a longer version of his previously published piece on liberal democracy, mentioned in last week’s roundup.
- Just two pieces on the Winnipeg General Strike this week!
- First, CBC published a News Interactive on Helen Armstrong, a pivotal and often overlooked figure in the Strike.
- And one from Heritage Winnipeg, exploring the role that WW1 veterans played in the Strike.
Social History
- The women who were incarcerated at Andrew Mercer Reformatory, and their children, are seeking an official apology for the abuse and medical experimentation that they endured while there. Many of the women who were sent there were incarcerated for things like being “incorrigible,” and one of the notable inmates was Velma Demerson, whose story is discussed above.
- While this story is mostly about using DNA to find lost relatives, it does contain an important story about the price that unmarried mothers, like Kitty Flatrock, and their children had to pay.
- The Toronto Public Library shared an overview video and some images on their recent exhibit about historical visions of the future! I’m still waiting for my flying car, thank you very much.
- CBC spoke with Christabelle Sethna this week about the history of Canadian women who traveled internationally in order to obtain abortions.
- The latest Flickr album from LAC featured images of microscopes and telescopes.See the images themselves here. And of course, I had to use one of them for the roundup picture.
Local History
- The Archival Moments blog looked back at what happened with 8,500 Americans came to Trespassey Harbour in May 1919.
- Historic Nova Scotia published a new virtual tour, around the theme of urban renewal.
- They also published two new entries, on:
- Thomas Isaac Spidell II, by the Parkdale-Maplewood Community Museum
- The Sydney Steel Strike of 1923, by Matthew Jessome and the Beach Institute Archives.
- Did you know where the name of McGill’s McLennan Library comes from? The story is much cooler many people would think.
- The McLure Ferry, which crosses the North Thompson River, is now 100 years old.
- The Whyte Museum shared the story of Silver City, right at the foot of Castle Mountain.
- It’s graduation week at UBC, and the UBC Digitizer’s blog celebrated by sharing images of previous convocations.
- Whistorical looked back at the first Adventure Film Festival, held in 1986.
- I’m not really into basketball, but in honour of the Raptors’ recent successes, the Toronto Public Library shared some images of the team mascot from the 1990s.
- The South Peace Regional Archives is still looking for help identifying Indigenous peoples in historical photographs in their collection.
- After many years, Louis-Hippolyte-La Fontaine’s house has finally been restored. I’m glad to see it, since I remember walking past the building before the restoration, and feeling sad about how decrepit it looked.
- The Vancouver As It Was blog shared a cool photograph.
Digital and Public History
- The Toronto Public Library put together a guide to help individuals find historical pictures of Ontario online.
- The Birth House is being adapted for TV! Eeeeeee! This is one of my all-time favourite books.
- Haligonians are being asked for their input about how to represent the area’s Indigenous history and on what will happen to the Cornwallis Statue.
- More here.
- The National Trust for Canada regeneration project leader Robert Pajot spoke with CBC about why it matters that 9,000 churches will close in the next ten years.
- LAC is celebrating their 1000th blog post with a look back at some of their most popular pieces.
- The St. Catharines Museum is seeking local stories from LGTBQ+ folks.
- I’m just gonna say it: this is a dumb idea.
- While celebrating the partial decriminalization of homosexuality is problematic, there are some cool stories here about queer folks living in Whitehorse and in Yukon more generally.
CHA Annual Meeting 2019
- Active History published three more features of panels from this year’s CHA, including:
- NiCHE published a preview of environmental history papers and panels at the CHA this year.
- And so did Borealia, though they also included panels at other associations at Congress as well!
- Harold Bérubé shared a preview of his CHA Paper.
- Danielle Kinsey previewed panels on teaching and learning at the CHA.
- This week was CHA Reads 2019! You can catch up on all the blog posts and our social media discussion here:
- Series Introduction
- Dan Horner defending Valérie Lapointe-Gagnon’s Panser le Canada: Une histoire intellectuelle de la commission Laurendeau-Dunton
- Mary-Ann Shantz defending Jean-François Lozier’s Flesh Reborn: The Saint Lawrence Valley Mission Settlements through the Seventeenth Century
- Heather Green defending Shirley Tillotson’s Give and Take: The Citizen-Taxpayer and the Rise of Canadian Democracy.
- Jessica DeWitt defending Joshua MacFayden’s Flax Americana: A History of the Fibre and Oil that Covered a Continent
- Emma Battell Lowman and Adam Barker defending Denys Delâge and Jean-Philippe Warren’s Le Piège de la liberté: Les peuples autochtones dans l’engrenage des régimes coloniaux
- Social Media Discussion
Doing History
- Christopher Moore said some really lovely stuff about me and Unwritten Histories this week!
- The BAnQ team has finished restoring 607 documents that were discovered at Sainte- Anne-de-la-Pérade two years ago, documenting 271 years of history.
- NiCHE has announced that they will be serving as a sessional organizers for the 2020 American Society for Environmental History Annual Meeting.
- Find out why the Art Gallery of Ontario is selling artwork by the Group of Seven.
- The Peel Art Gallery, Museum, and Archives published a fascinating blog post about the use of “diplomatics” in a municipal archive.
- Check out the latest acquisitions at LAC.
- The Provincial Archives of New Brunswick have just launched the New Brunswick Great War Project, collecting and preserving material related to the province during WW1.
- Find out about this amazing newly donated collection of fur trade documents.
Podcasts
- LAC released part two of their podcast, “UFOs at LAC: the Falcon Lake Incident.”
- Sean Kheraj spoke with Justin Fisher about his research on pipelines this week.
- The latest episode of the Living Heritage podcast was all about Dark Tourism in Newfoundland.
- The latest episode of the Secret Life of Canada podcast is about the history of Chinatowns in Canada. Included in the podcast is a mention that the oldest Chinatown in Canada is in Victoria.
- This week on the Witness to Yesterday podcast, Patrice Dutil spoke with Tarah Brookfield about her new book, Our Voices Must Be Heard: Women and the Vote in Ontario.
Since it’s the CHA Annual Meeting this week, I’m taking the week off! I’ll be back on Tuesday June 11, 2019 with my annual reflection on the CHA! See you then!
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