Canadian History Roundup – Week of June 25, 2017

Chris Lund. “Betty Dixon (left) and Barbara Coutts select Indian souvenirs at St. David’s, Ontario. At left is Chief Sky of the Six National Indian Reserve, Brantford, Ontario. At right is Warrior Running Deer.” 1949. Office National du Film du Canada. 4312260. 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.

• Acccording to Jessica DeWitt, the most commonly used words in #envhist this past week were: “history,” “new,” and “week.”
• All week long, Active History has been running a fantastic mini-series on “Creating Dialogue between Archivists and Historians.” This series is the result of the many conversations that took place between archivist and historians following the news coverage of Dennis Molinaro’s revelations about the sheer volume of historical documents that were not being released to LAC.
  • Krista McCracken introduced the series and you can read her post here.
  • Danielle Robichaud discussed archival descriptions and how the nature of archives makes it difficult for anyone to know everything that a fonds contains.
  • Roger Gillis explained the core principles of archives as institutions: acquisitions, appraisal, arrangement and description, preservation, and access.
  • Sarah Janes explained how archival records are collected, and the particular challenges of “private records.”
  • Jennifer Weymark talked about the role that archives and archivists play in creating diverse and representative histories.
  • Anna St. Onge wrote about the need for “reciprocal collaboration” between historians and archivists, and the need to recognize that archival work is work.
  • And Krista McCracken concluded the series with a list of ten resources to help historians learn more about archives and archival work.
• Paula Dumas discussed the theme of travel and immigration with respect to the Gilchrist-Shearer letters. It turns out that transatlantic travel was much more common than many people believe.
• Olivar Asselin has been injured and is missing his wife.
• The Ontario Women’s History Network has relaunched their website!
• Emily Lonie explored some of the ways in which archives have inspired creative works of fiction. She also interviewed Chris Sanagan, the archivist who wrote a forthcoming graphic novel about the “Group of 7.” (Think the Avengers, but with real Canadian WW1 soldiers, led by John McCrae.)
  • And you can preorder the first issue here!
• LAC’s latest (and last?) provincial/territorial photo album has been posted! Check out images of Yukon Territory here.
• This week on Unwritten Histories, I wrote about my experiences taking the University of Alberta’s “Indigenous Canada” course, and what I am taking forward. The blog post seems to have struck a chord, because it broke the record for most views in one day and most shares overall!
• It’s really only borderline Canadian, but the amazing Stephanie McKellop has a new piece out on Common-Place, the blog of the Journal of Early American Life about gender and cartoons during the American revolution. Or, as she described it on Twitter, why the US and Great Britain punched each other in the boob.
• Boston 1775 explores the invention of the “Brown Bess,” also known as the standard musket used by British infantrymen in the 18^th and 19^th centuries
• You need to see this gorgeous a new film by Jessie Thistle, Martha Stiegman, and Anders Sandberg called “kiskisiwin | remembering,” a new Indigenous perspective on Toronto’s history.
• Find out about the history of the scholarly journal, Scientia Canadiensis.
• NiCHE has posted another reflection on CHESS, this time by Aaron Luedtke. Luedtke talks about his experiences as an American and an American historian learning about Indigenous history in Ontario.
• This week Instantanés profiled “father of confederation” Alexander Tilloch Galt, his career in business, and their collection of his documents.
• The latest blog post on Acadiensis is by Stefanie Mracic, one of Jerry Bannister’s students, writing about remembering her Yugoslavian heritage.
• Do you have any free time? Do you like transcribing? LAC has just launched a crowdsourcing initiative to transcribe Lady Susan Agnes Macdonald’s diary. Lady Macdonald, of course, was the second wife of Sir John A. Macdonald.
• Joanna Hammond posted a Twitter essay of #rethink150 greatest hits!
• The DCB’s latest biography is for Robert Rogers (that’s quite the name…), a politician and advocate for Western Canada.
• This week Retroactive remembers Wilfrid “Wop” May, an Alberta aviation pioneer who served in WW1.
• The Lesbian Testimony Podcast has released episode 6, featuring an interview with Valerie Korinek!
• Cuteness alert: can you resist a historical photograph of a tipi for puppies? OMG PUPPIES!!!!! Ahem. ::serious face::
• LAC remembers Carlyle Smith Beals, one of Canada’s “federal astronomers” and a major contributor to the field of astronomy in Canada.
• McGill Library has released a new set of digitized rare maps of the lands we now call Canada from the 16^th to the 18^th centuries.
• Stephanie Bellissimo has featured a beautiful collection of beaded items that was recently donated to the Atikokan Centennial Museum.
• Environment and Society has just premiered a new virtual exhibit titled “The Northwest Passage: Myth, Environment, and Resources.”
• Geist published an excerpt from Beth A. Robertson’s Science of the Seance! The excerpt focuses on the role that women played in the spiritualist community and on spiritualism investigator, Lillian Hamilton.
• This week on the Digitization Centre’s blog is a new post by Liz Otero on how to search UBC’s Open Collection!
• Matthew Hayday has written a new piece for Active History about the celebrations and controversies surrounding different Canada Days
  • He was also interviewed by the CBC about the “tradition of dissent” on Canada Day.
  • And wrote about the same subject for The Conversation.
• BC Heritage Fair’s June Blog of the Month is Eve Lazarus’ Every Place has a Story!
• The South Peace regional Archives has just released a newly digitized collection from the Hythe Homecoming Committee. The collection tells the story of the community of Hythe from 1927 to 2007.
• The Acadian Museum has posted a photo of this really cool quilted jacket bodice from the 1860s.
• Lindsey Flewelling described the visit of two Ulster Unionists to Canada in 1886.
• Stephanie Bangarth was recently interviewed by James Shelley for his podcast episode about the history of immigration in North America.
• This week on the blog of the Peel Art Gallery, Museum, and Archives is a new post about the William Perkins Bull fonds, and the information it contains on the history of Indigenous peoples in Peel County and North America more generally.
• The Official Blog of Heritage Winnipeg recounts the history of the HBC in and around Winnipeg.
• The City of Montreal Archives has a new post in its series about the day to day experience of Expo 67. This time, they look at what happened on July 1^st and 2^nd.
• The Laurier Centre blog tells the untold story of Dyer’s Battalion, a mutiny within its ranks, and the involvement of Canadians in the Russian Civil War following the end of WW1.
• LAC’s Discover Blog reflects on the first European settlers to establish themselves on the island now known as Montreal, and showcases a small collection of primary sources created for the 375^th anniversary of Montreal’s founding.
• The St. Catharine’s Museum has posted Walk J from “St. Catharines A-Z.”
• The Archives of Ontario have launched a new online exhibit, looking at Canada’s Centennial. The exhibit features some of the documents in their collection that cover many of the events held throughout Ontario in 1967.
• The Archives of Edmonton have also just launched a new online exhibit about Edmonton and the Centennial with documents from their collection.
• The ROM continues with its look at Canadian history through material objects this week. Their latest post features a hair memorial from Quebec. Yes, you read that correctly.
• The Canadian Centre for the Great War has a neat story about the 1936 Vimy Pilgrimage, the HMCS Saguenay, and a French flag.
• The York University ClaraThomas Archives and Special Collections looks the work of Allan Robb Fleming, noted logo designer who so happened to have created the logo for CN.
• You can now view some of George Brown’s speeches in favour of confederation at the Canadian Encyclopedia.
• Canada’s History Society and Krista McCracken have  been organizing a new summer webinar series on “Wikipedia, Outreach, and Activism in relation to Canada’s history.”  So tempting…
• Chad Gaffield has just been named an Officer of the Order of Canada and Bill Waiser, and Greg Kealey have been named Members of the Order of Canada! Many congratulations to all three! These are a well-deserved honours.
• There was some fantastic Indigenous reclaiming of Knox Mountain on the 29th!
• Check out these cool letters from correspondence between ten of the confederation delegates — including George Brown — to Bishop Charbonnel and Archbishop Lynch, from the Archdiocese of Toronto.
• Eve Lazarus explores the history of Vancouver’s Courthouse.
• Just in time for Canada Day, the Graphic History Collective has just released its latest poster in the Remember|Resist|Redraw series. This latest, by Sean Carleton and introduced by Crystal Gail Fraser, explores Sir John A. Macdonald’s role in creating the residential school system.
• Check out this great new website created by eleven undergraduates at the University of Alberta, which serves as a resource centre for Indigenous Course/Content Requirements across Canada.
• The Indian and Cowboy network has profiled Joanne Hammond and the fantastic work she is doing with her #rewriteBC campaign!
• Michel Duquet recounts the history of the Journal of the Canadian Historical Association.
• Canadian History in the News
  • Find out about what it was like to be a Canadian visa officer during the arrival of Vietnamese refugees in the late 1970s.
  • The Royal Newfoundland Regiment Museum has honoured Cam Eaton, a prominent WW2 veteran and one of only two Newfoundlanders to receive Military Crosses during the conflict.
  • The Quebec government is investing $2.8 million to restore historic churches.
  • Ducan McCue spoke with David Morrison about how the Canadian Museum of History worked with Indigenous artist Jay Odjick to honour and represent Indigenous creations stories in the new Canadian History Hall. It sounds beautiful.
  • So apparently the former site of Upper Canada’s first Parliament building is underneath a car wash. They paved parliament, and put up a car wash lot…
  • Are you in on the joke about Midgic Airport?
  • CBC explored the struggle that many Canadian actors have faced in Hollywood in concealing their accents. What accent, eh?
  • Vanessa Fells and Melissa Fells-Adams have created awesome shirts celebrating the history of Black Nova Scotians!
  • There is a great deal of resistance to changing the lyrics of “O Canada” to be gender-neutral, on the basis of “tradition.” Too bad the proposal actually changes the lyrics so that they more closely resemble the originals.
  • Find out about the radical history of Calixa Lavallée, the composer of “O Canada.”
    • And more about “O Canada” here.
  • Alaska is finally honouring the nearly 4,000 African-American soldiers who built the Alaska Highway during WW2. The Alaska Highway, despite the name, actually connects northern BC, Yukon, and Alaska and parts of it are still in operation today.
  • The latest Dig it column is out! This latest article, by Simon Kaltenrieder discusses the archaeological fascination with stone tools.
  • Not remotely Canadian, but I had to include it: Learn about the history of roasting marshmallows!
  • Some massive jerks have destroyed an ancient petroform and sacred site in Manitoba’s Whiteshell Provincial Park. The petroform used to consist of rocks in the form of a shape, but have been reshaped into an inukshuk. Seriously, WTF is wrong with people.
  • The origins of a stained-glass window of Sir John A. Macdonald are a mystery to museum staff. The bigger mystery for me is why anyone would want a stained-glass window of Macdonald.
  • Check out these images from a new exhibit by Anishinaabe artist Olivia Whetung, where she used traditional beading techniques and Google maps to symbolically reclaim Indigenous lands in Canada.
  • CBC has interviewed Sylvia McAdam’s about the letter she found among her late mother’s belongings that I mentioned in my last roundup!
  • Peter Russell spoke with CBC about his new book, Canada’s Odyssey: A Country Based on Incomplete Conquests, and his argument that Canada has three founding peoples.
  • You need to see these amazing fashions from Expo 67.
  • Benjamin Vachet reviews the history of Canada’s language laws.
  • This week Radio Canada interviewed a series of historians about various aspects of Canadian history
    • They spoke with Harold Bérubé and Greg Robinson about Canada’s history of welcoming immigrants.
    • And with Brian Gettler, Marquise Lepage and Serge Bouchard about the history of the relationship between the Canadian government and Indigenous peoples.
  • Find out why many Chinese-Canadians view July 1^st as “Humiliation Day.”
  • Robert Jago has put together this must-read piece about Canada’s national parks as colonial crime scenes.
  • Stephanie Chambers spoke with John Ibbitson about his work learning about the changing perception of homosexuals by examining the library of The Globe and Mail.
  • There is a new initiative launching next year to preserve Inuit knowledge through digital mapping and oral history. 
  • Find out how certain historical moments become Heritage Minutes.
  • Archaeologists are working with Penelakut First Nation and Tsawout First Nation to restore two ancient clam gardens.
  • Ever wonder why Canadian broadcasters from the earlier part of the 20th century sound so strange? Here’s why.
  • The Canadian History Hall has opened! Check out CTV’s preview here.
  • Andrew Cohen asks if “Canada is wasted on Canadians,” arguing that Canada at 150 has not lived up the ideals of Expo 67.
  • The Italian community of Sarnia, Ontario has preserved an ancient Italian dialect that is on the verge of extinction.
  • A poll of Canadians on Canada’s religious history has revealed that most Canadians consider residential schools to be a “major black mark.” This phrasing bothers me, since it makes residential school stand out as a singular experience, rather than as a symptom of a larger problem.
•  Better Late than Never
  • A 4,200 year-old biface knife has been found at Wanuskewin Heritage Park.
  • The ticket booth from the Queen’s Park fairground has just been rediscovered. Turns out it has been a tool shed this whole time.
  • Robyn Maynard looks at the history of the Ku Klux Klan in Canada.
  • Check out this cool interview with Philippa Ootoowak, the accidental archivist of Pond Inlet!
  • Nine Indigenous grandmothers and grandfathers were honoured for their work protecting and transmitting Indigenous knowledge.
  • Take yourself on a walking tour of  historical Queer Montreal.
  • Find out about the history of gold mining in Canada through the records of Arnold Hoffman, currently held at the York University ClaraThomas Archives and Special Collections.
  • Benoît Marsan interviewed Pierre Fournier about his fascination with the history of social and community music in Canada.
  • Can you solve the mystery of these PEI soldiers in a Dutch photograph?
  • I think this is just new to me rather than new, but check out this really cool online exhibit created by the Geological Survey of Canada, which uses 175 objects to tell its 175 years of history.
• Calls for Papers
  • The Wilson Institute is seeking proposals for an upcoming workshop on transnational feminism. Proposals are due on September 30.
  • The AAIHS is seeking proposals for a new anthology on Black intellectual history in the US and across the African Diaspora. The deadline to submit a proposal is August 1.
  • Notches is seeking submissions for a new series on transgender history! Submissions are due September 15.
  • The British Naval History blog has issued a call for blog posts looking at the study of the maritime world across disiplines.

Canada150 Mini-Roundup (for those of us who want to avoid this like the plague… or read everything you can!)

• Borealia had a fantastic mini-series this week, with three posts by three different scholars each exploring the historical context of confederation in connection with Canada150.
  • The first post was by Brian Gettler, and focused on the Indian Department’s increasing power in the 1850s and 1860s, BNA’s silence regarding Indigenous peoples and their lands, and confederation as a colonial projec
  • E. A. Heaman wrote the second post, about the need for a critical political history of confederation, and has one of my new favourite sentences: “Canadians are ill-served by political history that veils bullying, violence, greed, self-flattery, chauvinism, or any other elements of that crooked wood from which we are made, and from which nothing wholly straight can ever be fashioned. Certainly not a constitution.”
  • The final post was written by Bradley Miller, and examined the BNA Act as a legal document, it’s role (or lack thereof) in constitutional debates, originalism and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council’s insistence that the history of the BNA Act was irrelevant.
• Joanne Hammond is back with another fantastic thread about Canada150, and how we can feel proud as Canadians while also recognizing the need for redress and reparations for Indigenous peoples. And as she says: “I get it if you need to wave a flag & hug neighbours on Canada 150 But on Monday can we all get working to make the next 150 for EVERYONE?” Hear Hear!
• Kisha Supernant has written a new blog post for Canada150, from her personal perspective. It is an absolute must-read.
• The City of Richmond Archives looks back on the history of the city I currently call home. Well, the settler history anyways.
• The Rural Diaries Archive has put together a list of diaries that cover the year 1867.
• The University of Toronto has put together some of its library, archival, and special collections materials showcasing the last 150 years of UofT history.
• Explore 150 years of the Arnprior and McNab/Braesides history with this new online exhibit from the Ontario township’s archive.
• Check out all 150 biographies of Indigenous leaders profiled by Mary Grace Kostas in the lead up to Canada150.
• Adam Bunch has a great Twitter essay about how Canada150 is fundamentally exclusionary.
• Niigaan Sinclair wrote about Kanata 150+, and the need for Canadians to understand who they really are, instead of who they imagine themselves to be.
• Canadian History in the News
  • Maclean’s interviewed Kierta Ladner and Myra Tait about their new book, Surviving Canada in advance of Canada150, and how, despite its commitment to helping people in need around the world, Canada does a terrible job of helping Indigenous communities at home.
    • Ladner and Tait were also interviewed by Metro News about Indigenous perspectives on Canada150.
  • Find out about some of the crazy stuff that is being promoted as Canada150 merchandise… and then go here to see John Weier’s amazing and depressing collection.
  • As Don Pitts reminds us, Canada’s economic history goes back much further than 150 years, and Indigenous economic history even further than that.
  • The National Post had a series of articles this week looking at the history of Canadian confederation from the sidelines, by Randy Boswell.
    • The first post focused on John William Graham, the only baby in Ottawa born on July 1st, 1867, and who later became a fire chief of the city.
    • The second post focused on William Henry Lee, a public servant who was present during the taking of that famous photograph of the Fathers of Confederation in 1864, but only his arm made it into the frame.
    • The third post focuses on “Mrs. Trotter,” who witnessed D’Arcy McGee’s assassination, and her eventful life.
    • The fourth post looks at a couple of plays that were performed on Dominion Day that showcased horrific attitudes towards Indigenous peoples.
    • The fifth post looks at John Townsend, a disgraced British MP who committed himself to bringing “culture” to Ottawa.
    • And the sixth and final post focuses on an image that captures Parliament Hill as it existed in 1867.
  • Also from the National Post is an article about the question: “Why is it so hard for Canada150 to compete with Expo 67?”
  • On the evening of June 28^th, Indigeous protesters attempted (and eventually succeeded) to raise a tipi on Parliament Hill. They were arrested by RCMP Officers. Adam Gaudry wrote a great Twitter Essay about how this incident echoes a long history of Canadian efforts to silence Indigenous peoples.
    • You can see news coverage of the event here and here.
  • Ashifa Kassam writes for The Guardian about Indigenous resistance against Canada150.
  • Adam Carter asks: “is Canada150 a national party or a celebration of colonization?”
  • Would you like to make a #Canada150 cupcake? (I promise, it’s funny and critical).
  • Denise Balkissoon has written a new article for the Globe and Mail for Canada150 about the much older history of Black Nova Scotia.
  • CBC North has put together a series about Canada 150 from the perspective of northern families.
    • James Miller looks back at the history of his First Nation community — Yukon’s Ta’an Kwä​ch’än First Nation — and how it has endured.
    • Jimmy Thomson looks at the history of the former town of Rocher River and the fire that led to its final destruction.
    • Jane Sponagle spoke with Larry Audlluk, one of the 87 Inuit who were forcibly relocated from Inukjuak to Grise Fiord.
    • Hilary Bird spoke with Dene elder Muriel Betsina about the impact of the Giant Mine on her community and family.
  • Drew Brown wrote an article for Vice about his vision for a Canada that is worth celebrating.
  • See the differences between Toronto in 1867 and Toronto now.
  • Four Indigenous people, Jess Housty, Sylvia McAdam, Melaw Nakehk’o, and Ossie Michelin, spoke with the Globe and Mail about why they find it difficult to celebrate Canada150.
  • Gabrielle Scrimshaw wrote an editorial for the New York Times about Canada150 and the legacy of residential schools in her family.
  • CBC looks back at the Centennial Babies, three women who were all born on July 1, 1967.
  • Bill Waiser looks back at what the area were currently know as  Saskatchewan was like in 1867.
  • Romeo Saganash shares his thoughts on Canada150, as a residential school survivor and Indigenous MP.

That’s it for this week! And hopefully this is the end of the Canada150 madness, though I guess we’ll just wait and see… I hope you enjoyed the latest roundup! If you did, please considering sharing it on the social media platform of your choice! And don’t forget to check back on Tuesday for a special new guest post! (As a quick programming note, I will be starting a six-week summer course next week. In anticipation, I will primarily be posting guest-posts during this period, along with the regular roundups. I hope you understand that the nature of a six-week summer course makes it pretty much impossible for me to produce regular blog posts in addition to the roundups! Our regular schedule will resume in September.)

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