The Enchanted Owl, Kenojuak Ashevak One of the reasons I was so keen to visit the Dennos Museum Center was the Inuit Gallery and expansive collection of Inuit art that is housed at the Dennos.The Inuit art collection at the Dennos includes over 1,000 items including "prints, sculptures, drawings, tools, textiles, and animal specimens" primarily … Continue reading Inuit Art at the Dennos Museum Center
Project of Heart: Hands on History
Comparable to the (official denial) trade value in progress sewing actions I wrote about last week, Project of Heart is a commemoration project which combines an artistic activity with history education. Project of Heart aims to educate Canadians about the lasting impact of the Indian Residential School system. The project places an emphasis remembering those … Continue reading Project of Heart: Hands on History
Interactive Canadian History: Sewing Responses to the Past
This week the archive I work at hosted a sewing action as part of the (official denial) trade value in progress project. This project engages people in discussion and reflection relating to reconciliation, truth telling, and Canada's history of colonialism and Residential Schools. This interactive art project stimulates discussion about Canada's history while allowing participants … Continue reading Interactive Canadian History: Sewing Responses to the Past
Canada’s Churches: A Struggle of Built Heritage and Social Services
It won't be surprising to anyone to note that Christan church attendance in Canada has been declining in recent years. The United Church of Canada, which has been seen as one of the more forward thinking and social activist churches (ordaining women ministers in the 1930s, tolerant and supportive of gay rights since the 1980s … Continue reading Canada’s Churches: A Struggle of Built Heritage and Social Services
Crumbling Communities: Declining Service Club Membership
My most recent post can be seen over on the Active History site. The post focuses on the development and rich history behind prominent service clubs such as the Lions Club, Kiwanis, Rotary, etc. The post also addresses the recent history of the clubs and recent declining membership rates.
History Education: Remembrance Day
There was a great segment on CBC's Morning North today. It focused on Canadian teachers who visited France this past summer to visit WWI and WWII battlefields as a means of learning more about the Wars, soldier experience and historical landscape. The idea being that this experiential learning trip would provide the teachers with better … Continue reading History Education: Remembrance Day
Digitization and Holistic Approaches to Data Sets
Over the past two years I have spent a lot of time working with Residential School quarterly return reports. These reports were completed four times a year by School principals and contain the names, admission date, ages and discharge information of the students who were in attendance at the school. The set of returns we … Continue reading Digitization and Holistic Approaches to Data Sets
Public History on Stage: Theatre and the Past
The latest issue (Vol. 34, No. 3) of The Public Historian finally arrived at my house this week. The issue presented a number of interesting field reports and case studies, many of which focused on areas of nontraditional historical practice. One article which drew me in, was "Theatre: A Neglected Site of Public History" by … Continue reading Public History on Stage: Theatre and the Past
Re-branding the Canadian Museum of Civilization
Today's announcement regarding upcoming brand changes to the Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC) speaks to a change in how history is interpreted at Canada's federal museums. As my recent post on National Conceptions of History in Museum Settings noted, the CMC has never been a museum focused solely on the history of Canada. Rather, the … Continue reading Re-branding the Canadian Museum of Civilization
National Conceptions of History in Museum Settings
Amongst the museums I visited while in DC, my least favourite was The National Museum of American History (NMAH). Upon reflection, it is not that I disliked the content of the museum, I just had a hard time grappling with the national differences of conceptions of history. I expected a grand narrative style of history … Continue reading National Conceptions of History in Museum Settings