To learn more about Victoria’s work, visit the Saskatchewan Indian Institute of Technologies at this link: https://siit.ca/

Check out Ian’s new book here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/transformation-of-historical-research-in-the-digital-age/30DFBEAA3B753370946B7A98045CFEF4

For the full Year in Review (100 Years Later) series, follow this link: https://activehistory.ca/category/year-in-review-100-years-later/

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Robyn Schwarz to talk about the history of abortion in Canada. We discuss the legality of abortion in the late 19th century (6:06), how changes in medicine have influenced perceptions of abortion (20:10), and the history of family planning (27:10). We also chat about the lack of attention on this issue by historians (37:13) and the importance of putting abortion into its proper historical context.

For more information, you can visit Action Canada for Sexual Health & Rights’ project The 1970 Abortion Caravan: Celebrating 50 Years and Shannon Stettner’s edited collection Without Apology: Writings on Abortion in Canada.

Find them on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/Canadiana

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Back in the summer of 2017, a new web series was released on YouTube. Telling viewers that they were on the hunt for the “most incredible stories in Canadian history,” Canadiana was a new type of Youtube channel. A documentary-style series, Canadiana combines archival and secondary research with outstanding visual elements to provide audiences with wonderful storytelling. And while the first season was bootstrapped by its creators, through its success in finding a big audience they have been able to secure additional funding and partnerships to expand and improve what was already a quality show. This season, for instance, the series is partnering with Parks Canada to tell some little-known stories at various national parks and historic sites.

As I look forward to the premiere of Season 3, coming on Tuesday (June 28), its success is a reminder that there is an interest in history. Despite the regular claims of Canadian history being boring and the stark reality of declining enrolments in history departments across the country, when history is done well, people want to engage. Over the past five years, the word unprecedented has been used with alarming regularity in the press (seriously, Google ‘unprecedented’ and click news and you will inundated with stories), which is fair only if you ignore the precedents. The past isn’t always prologue and certainly the very idea of history is under attack in some places, but in this environment of uncertainty, there is an appetite to look to our past and it’s critical that quality historical content be there for people to consume.

One such location is Prince Edward Island, which welcomed 1.6 million tourists in 2019, contributing an estimated half billion dollars to the provincial economy. The two full years since have seen drastic decreases to those numbers, but there is some optimism that this summer will bring people back in big numbers, helping restore the Island’s tourist trade, which, from its humble beginnings in the 19th century, continually expanded through the 20th century to become a key driver of the Island’s economic and cultural life.

That transition is the subject of Alan MacEachern and Edward MacDonald’s new book The Summer Trade: A History of Tourism on Prince Edward Island. Ranging from the early days of the Island’s tourism trade through the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, the book explores how PEI has attracted tourists and how the growing tourist trade has come to influence the local culture. With seaside resorts, Anne of Green Gables attractions, and even the draw of the Confederation Bridge, MacEachern and MacDonald explore the evolution of the complicated relationship between Islanders and their visitors. In addition to the book, if you’re in Charlottetown this summer, be sure to check out the accompanying exhibition going on at the Confederation Centre of the Arts until October 9.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Alan and Edward about the book. We discuss the start of the Island’s tourist trade and the impact of Confederation (6:00), how 20th century changes in transportation influenced tourism (16:00), and the symbolism of the Confederation Bridge (18:45). We also chat about the tension between tourism and local culture (25:15), the importance of Anne of Green Gables (32:50), and attracting return visitors along with the challenges of rebounding from the pandemic (39:20).

In the Chilcotin Plateau, Sage Birchwater spent years gathering stories from those people who spent their lives building the community. With tales from their own lives as well as those that had been passed down through the generations, Birchwater preserved stories that were being lost to colonialization. And as modern technology changes how we communicate, in particular the ways people stay in touch, the opportunities to share stories have decreased – a problem further exacerbated by the pandemic.

The result of this work is Talking to the Story Keepers: Tales from the Chilcotin Plateau. In the book, Birchwater shares the stories from his decades living in the region and provides a spectacular window into the lives and cultures of its residents. The stories are wide ranging – from the trauma of residential schools on familial relationships to the seeming absurdity of a brass band playing in a church while it was being transported across a river – leaving the reader both moved and entertained. And while the book is a regional history, it speaks to issues of community building, identity, and colonialism that exist across the country.

In this episode of the History Slam, Sean Graham talks with Sage Birchwater about the book. They discuss his approach to the book and building trust with family members (6:01), the sense of community in Chilcotin (11:06), and how stories are lost to colonialization (13:29). They also chat about how stories disappear (17:31), moving a church across a river (27:26), and the national appeal of these stories (33:15).

A good source for that context comes in Susan Boyd’s new book Heroin: An Illustrated History. In tracing the history of heroin from a prescription medication to an illegal substance, Boyd explores the failure to address overdoses, arguing that criminalization and resistance to harm-reduction policies, including safe consumption sites, prevent the implementation of viable solutions. While exploring how issues of race, gender, and class create further legal and cultural inequalities, Boyd provides an outstanding overview of how the past influences contemporary perceptions of such a pressing national issue.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Susan about the book. We discuss the introduction and medicinal use of heroin (10:17), prescription v. elicit heroin (14:26), and prejudice within heroin legislation (24:01). We also chat about how HIV changed public perception of heroin use (29:38), efforts to punish drug manufacturers (36:25), and supervised consumption sites (52:33).

In the past two years, 7 provinces and territories have held elections, with Quebec and Ontario holding campaigns this year. And if that wasn’t enough, Jason Kenney’s resignation earliere this week further thrust provincial politics into the news. While campaigns and leadership changes generate plenty of interest, the pandemic has served as an important reminder of just how influential provincial/territorial governments are in our daily lives. At the same time, following provincial politics outside where you live, in particular during election campaigns, offers a great lens into local priorities and cultural differences across the country.

A particularly interesting trend in provincial politics has been Saskatchewan’s shift from left to right through the second half of the 20th century. The province of Tommy Douglas, who served as Premier from 1944 to 1961, had CCF and NDP premiers for the majority of the time between 1944 and 2007, with Grant Devine (1982-1991) the only Progressive Conservative premier in that era. That changed in 2007, however, when Brad Wall won the first of his three majority governments leading the Saskatchewan Party. The party won a comfortable majority again in 2020. This transition has been mirrored at the federal level, as the Conservative Party won all 14 of the province’s ridings in the 2021 election.

That shift in Saskatchewan’s political outlook is the subject of Dale Eisler’s new book From Left to Right: Saskatchewan’s Political and Economic Transformation. As the title suggests, Eisler, a long-time journalist who has also worked in the federal government, examines the causes of the province’s shift to the right of the political spectrum. From demographic changes to the transformation of agricultural industries to the economic power of energy production, the policy priorities of Saskatchewan voters have changed significantly over the last 70 years. Eisler not only traces these changes but also effectively engages with what these provincial shifts can tell us about political trends across the country.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Dale Eisler about the book. We discuss Tommy Douglas’ rise to power and the generational shift that followed (10:17), the rise of rural populism in the 20th century (14:53), and how rural economic changes shaped the provincial political landscape (22:46). We also chat about the rise of the Saskatchewan Party and what has made it effective (30:15) and whether Saskatchewan politics foreshadows what happens at the federal level (36:40).You can find Dale’s other book, False Expectations, here plus more on his novel Anton and the subsequent film adaption here.

One such resource for teachers is Resurgence, a new volume edited by Christine M’Lot and Katya Adamov Ferguson. Organized using the 4-Rs – Resistance, Resilience, Restoring, and Reconnecting – it includes poetry, art, and narratives from a diverse group of Indigenous artists and writers. The book also includes resources for teachers that range from discussion questions to strategies for introducing Indigenous learning into classrooms. With material that can be used across provincial and territorial curricula and implemented in classrooms from elementary through high school, Resurgence is a terrific addition to the available educational material. Even if you’re not in an educational environment, though, you’re very likely to find plenty in the book to not only keep you interested, but to also learn/discover something new.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Christine M’Lot about the book. We discuss her education background and how that influenced the project (3:45), the 4-R framework and how the book is organized (8:15), and its ability to be used across educational systems (14:14). We also chat about the editors’ learning process (22:31), how audiences can approach the material and Indigenous learning (29:03), and the benefits of meaningfully incorporating Indigenous voices into classrooms (34:42).

Canadian mythology reinforces the idea that Canada was, and is, a ‘peaceable kingdom.’ Louie Sam’s case leads to the question of ‘peaceable for who?’ In 2006, Washington State legislators passed a motion expressing regret and their “deepest sympathies” to Sam’s descendants over the incident, which the CBC reported as being started by two white Americans “who stirred up the mob.”  Framing it as an American event ignores that the same colonial structures and racism shaped Indigenous-settler relationships on both sides of the border.

In his new book, Deadly Neighbours: A Tale of Colonialism, Cattle Feuds, Murder, and Vigilantes in the Far West. Chad Reimer explores the murder of Louie Sam, putting into a broader societal context and challenging the notion that it was a foreign event. In examining the wider colonial environment that surrounded the events of that February night, Reimer is able to provide tremendous depth to his analysis of the murder as well as how it can help us re-examine some of the main themes, narratives, and myths that have long shaped Canadian history.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Chad Reimer about the book. We discuss the existing tensions in the region at the time of the murder and the way Canadians have long thought of colonialism (8:59) as well as the challenge of wading through colonial documents to try and find an accurate representation of what happened (11:55). We also chat about how the violence was about so much more than Louie Sam’s alleged crime (19:40), settlers being conscious of colonialism (25:45), and connecting local stories to broader national narratives (30:34).

This journey is profiled in Bernie Langille Wants to Know What Happened to Bernie Langille, a new documentary by director Jackie Torrens and her team at Peep Media. Following the junior Langille, the film highlights both the challenge of finding the truth along with the family’s struggle to come to terms with not only what happened, but their own stories of that night. As those stories are challenged by new information, the viewer is left to contemplate questions of truth and trust and how the unknown can wreak havoc on our relationships.

The film also relies on remarkable recreations of that night in 1968 using miniature figures. This allowed Torrens and her team to beautifully inform the audience while also visually representing the fragments of information the family had access to through years. Not so much a whodunnit, but, as Torrens says, a whatdunnit, the film explores the generational pain of a traumatic event and the various ways a family has tried to cope.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Jackie Torrens about the film. We discuss the hard to believe elements of Langille’s death (9:42), the emotional toll of challenging the family’s memories and ‘truth’ (13:37), and the decision to present new information to Bernie on camera (18:20). We also chat about some of the incredible documentation they found (23:43), doing recreations in miniature and the resulting challenges in filming (33:39), and managing audience expectations in a true crime documentary (37:10).

Bernie Langille Wants to Know What Happened to Bernie Langille has its World Premiere on Saturday April 30 at 8:30 at TIFF Bell Lightbox 4 as part of Hot Docs. You can also watch online from anywhere in Canada for 5 days starting May 1

That level of depth in the meaning and power of mime were on full display throughout Marcel Marceau’s life. Arguably the world’s most famous mime – even after his 2007 death – Marceau’s career spanned the entirety of the second half of the 20th century. Marceau survived the Second World War and occupation of France, helping Jewish children escape Nazi occupation, but his father was killed in the Holocaust. The experiences of those years shaped the rest of his life, during which he was committed to peace and bringing love to communities through his performance.

This is the subject of The Art of Silence, a new documentary that is debuting as part of Hot Docs Festival in Toronto. Profiling the life of Marcel Marceau, director Maurizius Staerkle Drux follows the famed mime’s path to the stage, demonstrating how his early life influenced his approach to his life and career. Seeking to spread happiness around the world through his performances, his remarkable ability to connect with others, both on and off stage, left an incredible mark on those he touched. The films tells this story through the voices of those people, from his family to those who continue to be inspired by his art. Totally different from what I expected, the film shows the power of silence and the importance of appreciating the humanity within us all.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with director Maurizius Staerkle Drux about the film. We discuss why Marcel Marceau made a compelling figure for a documentary (4:18), Marceau’s survival of the Holocaust (8:52), and the family’s inclusion in the project (12:32). We also chat about the state of mime today and its healing benefits (15:12), Marceau’s push to create good through his performances (20:22), and the power of silence (25:16).

*The Art of Silence is debuting as part of Hot Docs in Toronto, showing at 2:45 on Monday May 2 and 8:30 on Sunday May 8. The film can also be streamed in Canada for five days starting May 3.

That helped me better understand Michelle Porter’s Scratching River, a personal memoir that connects her family’s search for a safe home for her brother with the oral history of her Metis ancestors. Like the river, her family traversed the terrain to find a home for her brother, who had been diagnosed both autistic and schizophrenic. Years later, as Michelle discovered the oral history of family members, the connection between them and their respective journeys across the plains became clear, as did the power of the river. The result is a beautiful memoir, where the catharsis of healing and love are front and centre.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Michelle Porter about the book. We discuss the process of writing the book and the unanticipated inclusion of her brother’s story (4:32), the story of Louie Goulet, and her personal connection to him (6:06). We also chat about the challenge of turning oral history into text (13:06) and the river as metaphor (26:40).

A few years ago, that speech was found in the archives by Kirsty Robertson. As she was conducting research on artist Greg Curnoe, she noticed that there was a note in the file about a recording he had made of R. Buckminster Fuller. Once located, the recording had to be transferred to a modern technology and what was there was a difficult to hear, but remarkable moment in London’s history.

The impact of that moment is the subject of the new exhibition From Remote Stars. Curated by Kirsty Robertson and Sarah E.K. Smith, it features works by 22 London, Ontario artists who explore Fuller’s futuristic theories. The pieces included in the exhibit, which range from the 1960s to the present, suggest different pathways to the future and address some of the biggest issues confronting modern societies, from climate change to globalism. In addition to the exhibition, there is also the From Remote Stars podcast, which further examines Fuller’s time in London and is a wonderful complement to the exhibition’s themes. If you’re in London, From Remote Stars is open at Museum London until May 15.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with curators Kirsty Robertson and Sarah E.K. Smith about the exhibition and podcast. We discuss finding the recording and what’s on it (7:52), the influence of the 1960s on Fuller’s speech and how that is reflected in the exhibition (17:30), and Fuller’s impact on London (20:11). We also chat about centering a narrative in an exhibition designed for non-specialists (24:40), the podcast and its connection to the physical exhibition (31:38), and the benefits of different types of historical products (35:14).

That a such a prominent street would tell a city’s story is not necessarily unique to Toronto. In communities around the world, certain streets take on great meeting for their communities. Wherever you live, there is, very likely, a destination street where people have long gathered. So while the story of Yonge Street is specific to the circumstances of Toronto, the themes that emerge from its history can be found in cities and town across Canada. At the same time, however, the specifics of Yonge St, including its fame (or infamy depending on your perspective), and how its development influenced decision-making in other urban centres adds several layers to its history.

That history is the subject of Daniel Ross’ new book The Heart of Toronto: Corporate Power, Civic Activism, and the Remaking of Downtown Yonge Street. Tracing the street’s history in the post-Second World War years, Ross examines how it represents modern urbanism. As the city changed, Yonge Street changed with it. As power dynamics across the city changed, those who had a voice along Yonge Street changed. And as economic trends changed, the street’s landscape changed to capitalize on new markets. Within these changes, tensions emerged and debates played out against the backdrop of significant social and economic transformations. In telling these stories, Ross weaves together the local with wider societal shifts to tell a Toronto-story, the results of which reverberated in communities throughout North America.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Daniel about Yonge Street, its transformation, and the book. We discuss the romantic image of Yonge Street and its place within Toronto (5:50), the debate over transportation and the addition of pedestrian spaces (17:20), and the controversy surrounding what was known as ‘Sin Strip.’ (20:51). We also chat about who had sway with city officials when making decisions for the street (32:05), the importance of the Eaton Centre (41:00), and the benefits and challenges of using the street to study the wider history of Toronto (44:01).

Some strategies for doing so can be found in Bethany Kilcrease’s new book Falsehood and Fallacy: How to Think, Read, and Write in the Twenty-First Century. A great resource for students, the book explores strategies to use in the digital age to ensure what you read is of good quality. With the traditional gatekeepers losing power and influence – which is simultaneously good and bad for the dissemination of knowledge – evaluating the legitimacy of sources needs to be central to our daily consumption of information and to academic curricula. With logical fallacies, causation confusion, and falsehoods commonplace, the book offers useful strategies for avoiding these materials while also offering tips to improve our own writing.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Dr. Kilcrease about the book. We discuss the assumption that young people are well prepared for online misinformation (10:55), increased accessibility of quality sources (18:40), and the pros and cons of gatekeepers’ reduced power (22:40). We also chat about the CRAAP test (27:05), the benefits of short-form online writing (34:10), and proving causation (43:05).

Bonnie is sharing her story in a new memoir entitled It Should be Easy Fix. The title is the response she gave her union rep when he told her she was the first to make a complaint about harassment. In telling her story, it’s clear that it was not easy, but her passion and strength in face of at times intimidating odds have made workplaces safer. Certainly, reports of harassment are still far too common, but through this case there are greater protections for those subjected to harassment and more responsibilities on employers to take meaningful actions when those reports are made.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Bonnie Robichaud about her memoir. We discuss the timeline of her case and how the book came together (4:00), her reaction to the case taking so long (18:45), and having other women reach out to her throughout the process (21:50). We also chat about the decisions leading to the Supreme Court case (26:05), the problem with non-disclosure agreements (32:00), and her advice for anyone going through a similar circumstance (34:55).

This is one of several stories included in the Six Seasons of the Asiniskaw ?thiniwak project, a collaborative effort to, among other things, share traditional stories and preserve the language. As part of the project, the story of the little people has been made into a graphic novel entitled The Gift of the Little People. Using his father’s voice as inspiration, Dumas, with over 25 years as an educator and storyteller, shares a story that is both timely and timeless in its significance.

In this episode of the History Slam, Sean Graham talks with William Dumas and Warren Carriyou, who is part of the Six Seasons project. They discuss the contemporary significance of telling an endemic story in 2022 (5:29), how the project team has built trust (6:30), and the challenge of putting an oral story into text (9:11). They also chat about the book’s images (13:41), gearing stories towards younger audiences (15:55), and the power of traditional stories (23:10).

Each year, fall fairs fill schedules in communities across the country. While in recent years, plenty of attention has been given to the increasingly absurd food items that are sold, the fairs have retained some of their agricultural roots. Held in the fall to celebrate the harvest, fairs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were a mix of trade shows, community building, and an expression of rural Canadian culture. From showcasing produce and livestock to competitions for textiles and baked goods, these events became important sites of political, economic, and social expression, particularly for women, whose participation in all aspects of the fairs further increased the recognition of their critical roles in preserving and growing Canadian agricultural communities.

This is the subject of Cultivating Communities: Women and Agricultural Fairs in Ontario, a new book by Jodey Nurse, a Research Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo. In exploring the growth of Ontario’s fairs well into the 20th century, she shows how women used them to demonstrate all aspects of rural womanhood. This included demanding space in everything from the organization of fairs to the livestock competitions and everything in between. Corresponding with broader political and economic changes at the time, the evolution of the fairs saw the increased role of women significantly contribute to their prosperity. And while Nurse focuses on the situation in Ontario, the book addresses universal themes of agricultural culture in Canada, which is particularly relevant today as the overall proportion of rural populations are shrinking.

If you’re in Guelph, Jodey is having a book launch as part of the Rural History Roundtable at 2:30.

If you read any edition of the Year in Review (100 Years Later) series, you’ll notice that I, to the great frustration of my co-author Aaron Boyes, insist on including advancements in aviation each year. There is something that I find completely riveting about flying – that we can get into a metal tube and a few hours later be on the other side of the world is remarkable. Trips that 200 years ago would take years can now be done in under a day. And yet, despite the complete sense of awe that I get whenever I watch planes (I spent a summer during undergrad working on the airfield at Pearson International Airport, which was an amazing plane-spotting experience) people can get so mad during the process.

Despite that, I am always excited to learn more about aviation, which is why I was so looking forward to talking with Dominique Prinet, who worked as a pilot in the 1960s and 1970s. Based out of Yellowknife, he flew throughout the north of Canada. From landing on both lakes and skis, surviving near misses when fuel ran short, and navigating the ever-changing weather without the benefit of modern equipment, Prinet’s tales of northern flying highlight the danger and thrill of aviation at this time. Far away from his childhood in France during the Second World War, Prinet fell in love with the people and environment of a region where in the summer flying by sight is a 24-hour possibility and in the winter the unseen danger of ice accumulation on the aircraft is a constant nerve-wracking presence.

When thinking about the introduction of official multiculturalism, though, it’s important to remember that it didn’t happen overnight. It took a lot of time for the government’s position on what constituted a ‘Canadian’ to change. The land that is now Canada has been home to diverse cultural groups from time immemorial, but the recognition of the nation’s diversity was a marked change in how the state officially viewed the population. Tracing the evolution of that position, in particular through the significant challenges presented by the interwar period, tells us a lot about what led to the Prime Minister’s 1971 announcement.

This is also the subject of Daniel R. Meister’s new book The Racial Mosaic: A Pre-History of Canadian Multiculturalism. In telling the story, Meister uses a historical biography approach to assess the changing conceptions of race, pluralism, and identity in the interwar period. Through the stories of Watson Kirkconnell, Robert England, and John Murray Gibbon, the book explores multiculturalism’s historical antecedents while also examining how race and racism have contributed to settler-colonialism in Canada.

In this episode of the History Slam, I talk with Daniel about the book and history of multiculturalism. We discuss how he defines the pre-history of multiculturalism and pluralism, how these have contributed to colonialism, and the changing interpretation of race in the interwar years. We also chat about the rise of nationalism following the First World War, the utility of historical biography, and the key factors leading to 1971.

In addition to Muggins, Grant has written biographies of other notable animals, which you can find on his website.

For more, please visit us at Activehistory.ca

For more episodes, be sure to visit us at Activehistory.ca

For more, visit us at Activehistory.ca

They discuss the benefits of telling historical stories through fiction, the challenge of having more historical context than the characters, and Carmen’s personal history with Chilean political resistance. They also chat about the book’s message of hope, the contributions of Chilean immigrants in Canada, and the universal themes present in the book.

Visit Carmen’s webiste at CarmenRodriguez.ca

Be sure to visit us at ActiveHistory.ca

• Samantha Cutrara discusses the idea of ‘We’ in Canadian History (1:52)
• Shannon McConnell explains the decision to use poetry in telling a traumatic historical story (4:07)
• Rita Shelton Deverell talks about the power of national myths (5:48)
• Francesca D’Amico Cuthbert outlines her criteria for selecting road trip songs (11:08)
• Habiba Cooper Diallo describes the challenges of creating inclusive and welcoming environments in schools (16:14)
• Lynn Gehl chronicles her legal battle against the Indian Act (21:35)
• John Sandlos profiles the expansion of mining in Canada through the 20th century (24:50)

You can find the full catalogue of 197 episodes under the podcast tab or wherever you get your podcasts. Happy New Year and all the best for 2022!

Be sure to check out each of their shows wherever you get your podcasts!

For more great content, visit us at Activehistory.ca

For more information on Daniel’s work, you can find him at DanielFrancis.ca

To read the full post, head to Activehistory.ca & be sure to rate and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

In 1994, Lynn Gehl applied for registration as an ‘Indian’ with the federal government. Unable to provide evidence as to the identity of her paternal grandfather, meant that, under the terms of the Indian Act, she was not entitled to registration, despite her paternal grandmother having status. What followed was a long challenge to the Indian Act in which Gehl challenged the federal government’s decision, claiming that s. 6 of the Indian Act, which covers unstated parentage, is contrary to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Over 20 years later, Gehl’s case was finally resolved, but it serves as yet another reminder of Canada’s colonial structures and the harm they impose.

In addition to her website, you can find out more about Habiba’s work on Twitter and Facebook.

If you want to hear more about Cecil-Smith’s time in the Spanish Civil War and Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion, be sure to check out Tyler’s chat with The New Canadian History series from the Wilson Institute and Canada and the Spanish Civil War. You can also learn about the research material Tyler found after the book’s publication in his post from earlier this summer. And for more on the Mac-Paps, check out Sean’s chat with Janette Higgins about her father’s experience during the Spanish Civil War.

Visit us at Activehistory.ca for this episode’s full post as well as all of our great written content.

Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the History Slam wherever you get your podcasts.

Be sure to visit the ArQuives to keep track of all their great projects and exhibits!

Be sure to check out the Village Legacy Project and download the app.

Visit us at Activehistory.ca for all our past episodes.

Samantha’s website: https://www.samanthacutrara.com/

Imagining a New We site: https://www.samanthacutrara.com/imagining-a-new-we

The book tells the story of the students at New Westminster’s Woodlands School in the 1960s and 1970s. The school originally opened in 1876 as a ‘lunatic asylum’, but later became a custodial school for children with disabilities. During this time, there were reports of neglect and abuse that went unaddressed. Based on archival research, McConnell uses poetry to share the students’ stories. As poetry of witness, the book employs a first person perspective without using I and takes readers through the students’ emotions while also challenging the audience to consider how institutions like the Woodlands School are remembered.

In addition to teaching at Carleton, Tonya also does walking tours of downtown Ottawa where she takes groups to various monuments to discuss their role as pieces of public history and sociology. She runs her tours through (De)Tours, so the next time you’re in the nation’s capital, be sure to check them out.

In this episode of the History Slam, Sean Graham talks with Christo Aivalis about his new book The Constant Liberal: Pierre Trudeau, Organized Labour, the Canadian Social Democratic Left. They talk about the renewed interest in Pierre Trudeau, the difference between Liberal and liberal in Canadian political parlance, and Pierre’s social policies. They also get into Canada’s economic structure, Pierre’s policies, and whether the electorate supports leftist reforms.

The Silence of Others has its North American premiere on Friday April 27 at 6:30pm at TIFF Bell Lightbox 2 in Toronto. It is also being shown on Saturday April 28 at 12:30pm at TIFF Bell LIghtbox 3. The directors and individuals featured in the film will be at both these showings and available for discussion and questions. There is a third showing on Saturday May 5 at 11:45am at Scotiabank Theatre, Cinema 3. A wide Canadian release is also planned.