A Canada 150 Reading List (part 2 - books)

If you want more in-depth discussion than you've found in articles, check out these books on commemoration, Canada 150, and reconciliation. I have not yet read all of these - this is my own reading list as well! Part 3 will be up in a couple of days. As always, suggestions and reviews are welcome.

What a peculiarly nationalist text...

Books Published For Canada 150

Gray, Charlotte. The Promise of Canada: 150 Years--People and Ideas That Have Shaped Our Country. 1st edition. Simon & Schuster, 2016. Available at the Vancouver and Burnaby public libraries.

Johnston, David. The Idea of Canada: Letters to a Nation. Signal, 2016. Available as a book or e-book at the Vancouver public library, or at the Burnaby public library.

Russell, Peter H. Canada’s Odyssey: A Country Based on Incomplete Conquests. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2017. Available at the Vancouver public library.

Tait, Myra, and Kiera Ladner, eds. Surviving Canada: Indigenous Peoples Celebrate 150 Years of Betrayal. Arbeiter Ring Publishing, 2017. Available at the Vancouver and Burnaby public libraries.

Urquhart, Jane. A Number of Things: Stories About Canada Told Through 50 Objects. 1st Edition edition. Toronto, Ontario: Patrick Crean Editions, 2016. Available at the Vancouver and Burnaby public libraries.

Analyses of commemoration in historical context

These texts are not specific to Canada150, but provide historical context to our celebrations. Note that most of them are written by settlers of European ancestry. I can also recommend readings on specific incidences of commemoration and representations of the past in Canadian history.

Conrad, Margaret, Gerald Friesen, Jocelyn Létourneau, D. A. Muise, Peter C. Seixas, David A. Northrup, and Kadriye Ercikan. Canadians and Their Pasts. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2013. At SFU and BPL.

Gordon-Walker, Caitlin. Exhibiting Nation: Multicultural Nationalism (and Its Limits) in Canada’s Museums. Vancouver ; Toronto: UBC Press, 2016. SFU e-book.

Hayday, Mathew, and Raymond B. Blake, eds. Celebrating Canada: Holidays, National Days, and the Crafting of Identities. University of Toronto Press, 2016. SFU e-book and at VPL.

MacMillan, Margaret. The Uses and Abuses of History. Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2009. At SFU, VPL, and BPL.

Morgan, Cecilia Louise. Commemorating Canada: History, Heritage, and Memory, 1850s-1990s. Themes in Canadian History 14. Toronto ; Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 2016. At SFU and VPL.

Neatby, Nicole, and Peter Hodgins. Settling and Unsettling Memories: Essays in Canadian Public History. Toronto ; Buffalo: University of Toronto Press, 2012. At SFU library.

Sandwell, Ruth, ed. To the Past: History Education, Public Memory, and Citizenship in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006. At SFU and BPL.

Truth and Reconciliation, Indigenous histories, and Decolonization

This is a small selection of the available books on this topic; I've chosen the four that I'm most excited to read this year. 

Manuel, Arthur. Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-Up Call. Toronto: Between the Lines, 2015. At SFU, VPL, and BPL.

Simpson, Leanne, ed. Lighting the Eighth Fire: The Liberation, Resurgence, and Protection of Indigenous Nations. 1 edition. Winnipeg: Arbeiter Ring Publishing, 2008. At SFU and VPL.

Sinclair, Murray, Chief Wilton Littlechild, and Dr Marie Wilson. What We Have Learned: Principles of Truth and Reconciliation. Original edition. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015. Available online through SFU.

Vowel, Chelsea. Indigenous Writes: A Guide to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Issues in Canada. HighWater Press, 2016. At SFU, VPL, and BPL.

Just for Fun

Fun fact: A surprising number of cookbooks turn up in the search results for "Canada 150" on Amazon. None of them have anything to do with Canada 150.

Covello, Paul, and Leor Boshi. Canada 150 Colouring Book. Collins, 2016. No drawing in library books! But you can buy your own copy.

Sherk, Lawrence C., and Ian Coutts. 150 Years of Canadian Beer Labels. Victoria, BC: TouchWood Editions, 2016. At VPL and BPL.

A Canada 150 Reading List (part 1 - news articles and blog posts)

This summer, I'll be teaching a community service learning course, FASS 250, in which students will critically engage with the Canada 150 events in the BC Lower Mainland through volunteer work, guest presentations, and seminar discussions. The items included here are optional readings for the course. This list is current as of April 24, 2017. I anticipate many updates through the spring and summer! Comments with suggestions of other resources are very welcome. I am also preparing lists of books, films, and podcasts relating to this topic.

Image courtesy of Rethink Red Deer site, and chosen for its comedic value.

General Discussions of Canada 150

Cameron, Duncan. “It’s Been 150 Years of Canadian Politics. What Comes Next?” Rabble, January 3, 2017. “Whatever the public relations designs for marking this 150th year, it should also allow for extended critical reflection on what history has to suggest for Canadian politics today.”

Couture, Christa. “Canada Is Celebrating 150 Years Of… What, Exactly? | CBC Canada 2017,” January 1, 2017. Questioning how we determine the age of a country.

Crawford, Blair. “Immigrants Are Most Excited about Canada 150 Celebrations; Quebecers — Not so Much.” The Ottawa Citizen; Ottawa, Ont., January 6, 2017. “The newest Canadians are the ones most pumped up to celebrate the country’s sesquicentennial in 2017.”

Everett-green, Robert. “Montreal Can Count on a Double Payout, Sharing a Birthday with Canada.” The Globe and Mail, January 9, 2017. “Canada 150 is also Montreal 375, as anyone who lives here can’t fail to know. In public discourse, the two fêtes are like paired runners in a three-legged race: One can’t appear without the other.”

Hayday, Mathew. “Debate over Celebrating Canada’s 150th May Just Be a Sign We’re a Healthy Democracy.” Ottawa Citizen, February 20, 2017. How should we interpret dissent surrounding Canada150?

Krashinsky Robertson, Susan. “Tchotchkes and T-Shirts: Selling Canada 150: From Hudson’s Bay to Roots, the Sesquicentennial and Its Appetite for Celebratory Souvenirs Is Being Seen as a Profit-Driver for Brands.” The Globe and Mail. March 3, 2017. Commodification of Canada150.

Levesque, Lia. “PQ Launches Alternative Canada 150 Campaign.” The Globe and Mail, January 7, 2017. “The “Other 150” campaign isn’t designed to derail Ottawa’s party, but will “put holes” in the official narrative and highlight Quebec’s history and importance.”

Meloney, Nic. “Tying Mi’kmaq-Acadian Celebration to Canada 150 Brings Mixed Feelings.” CBC News, March 21, 2017. “The man behind this summer's celebration of the "historic relationship" between Acadians and the Mi'kmaq says the event is intended to mark reconciliation efforts as Canada celebrates its 150th birthday.”

Peace, Thomas. “Canadians and Their Pasts on the Road to Confederation.” ActiveHistory.ca, January 20, 2014. A discussion of the Canadians and their Pasts book, situating the Canada150 celebrations within the political context of the Harper government.

Historians Respond to Canada150

Dummit, Christopher. “Canada 150: What’s to Celebrate?” ActiveHistory.ca, April 21, 2017. “But celebrations of the nation state often seem intrinsically troublesome – something [historians] study rather than take part in.” This discussion of the disjuncture between historians and Canadians more broadly is the subject of some controversy in the field.

Eidinger, Andrea. “Inconvenient Pasts: The Charlottetown Conference of 1864.” Unwritten Histories, January 24, 2017. “In reading through these discussions myself, I was often struck by the disparity between the official histories, like, for instance, the #Canada150 campaign, and academic interpretations of the past. The former was so relentlessly positive, and the latter so critical, that it almost seemed as if they were talking about two entirely different events.”

Eidinger, Andrea. “Why Does Canada150 Give Canadian Historians a Headache?” Unwritten Histories, March 14, 2017. “I can tell you that no, most historians aren’t killjoys, nor do we hate Canada. But there are very important reasons why Canada150 is a very problematic campaign.”

Martinborough, Alex. “Cutting Through the Fog: Public Memory and Confederation.” Acadiensis, January 30, 2017. “Though coming to an agreement on a system that brought four, and eventually ten, provinces together was a significant accomplishment, neither the British North America Act nor its authors should be celebrated without reservation. Canada150 presents historians, and the broader Canadian public, a unique opportunity to consider how we discuss and commemorate our past.”

Vowles, Andrew. “Perspectives on Canada 150: Do We All Have Reason to Celebrate?” Campus News, February 21, 2017. “University of Guelph professor Kim Anderson says many Canadians have reason to throw themselves a 150th birthday party in 2017— even if only to celebrate the perennial anti-fact of not being American, particularly in the new Trump era. But they also need to acknowledge ongoing injustices involving the country’s indigenous people.”

Zeller Thomas, Christa. “Birthing a Dominion.” ActiveHistory.ca, January 8, 2015. “Did Canada’s Confederation women give birth to the new dominion in 1867?”

Indigenous Responses to Canada150

note: in separating "Indigenous responses" from "historians' responses" I do not wish to imply that historians are never Indigenous, nor Indigenous peoples historians. However, it is notable that the historians who have publicly written about Canada150 are thus far predominantly settlers of European origin.
Baird, Daniel. “The Alternative Realism of Kent Monkman.” Thewalrus.ca, February 7, 2017. “Monkman’s alter ego was inspired by the nineteenth-century American artist George Catlin, who sometimes painted himself into his portraits of Native Americans. “I wanted to create an artistic persona that could rival that of Catlin,” said Monkman. “So [Miss Chief] was created to reverse the gaze. She looks back at the European settlers.” Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, for Monkman, is a symbol of resilience.”

Coyle, Jim. “150th Anniversary Lays Bare Anger of Indigenous Canadians Not Invited to First Party | Toronto Star.” Thestar.com, April 1, 2017. “Confederation was less about beginnings for First Nations than it was their intended death knell. There may not be much to celebrate, but at least a conversation has begun.”

Dacosta, Jamaias. “The Audacity of Canada 150; a Lie Designed To Erase Our Legacy of Genocide.” Torontoist, April 25, 2017. “Indigenous people are tired of explaining why Canada's history is nothing to celebrate.”

Elliott, Alicia. “#Resistance150: Christi Belcourt on Indigenous History, Resilience and Resurgence | CBC Canada 2017,” February 22, 2017. “I don't want to label Indigenous resistance as being "#Resistance150" but I'm excited to see what people do this year.” [make sure to watch the videos embedded in this post!]

Huron, Deborah. “Will Reconciliation’s Shit-Disturbing Sister Crash the Canada 150 Party?” Ricochet. Accessed April 10, 2017. “The official celebrations won’t be able to hide the country's contradictions.”

Gehl, Lynn. “Celebrating Canada’s 150th: Featuring the Desecration of an Indigenous Sacred Place.” MUSKRAT Magazine, March 16, 2017. Which land uses do we celebrate as we celebrate Canada150?
Lee, Erica Violet, and Hayden King. “The Wigwam Conspiracy: Why Are Canada 150’s Indigenous People Stuck in Time?,” March 30, 2017. “In the midst of a party celebrating Canadian civilization, Indigenous peoples appear as static stereotypes.”

McMahon, Ryan. “Here’s What Indigenous Nationhood Could Look Like in Canada—in the Year 2167.” Vice, March 9, 2017. Comedian and filmmaker on his visions for an Indigenous future.
MacDonald, Nancy. “How Indigenous People Are Rebranding Canada 150.” Macleans.ca, March 13, 2017. “The Canada 150 birthday celebrations could stand to be more inclusive of the Aboriginal experience. Vancouver is trying to make that happen.”

Mahoney, Katherine. “The Roadblock to Reconciliation: Canada’s Origin Story Is False.” The Globe and Mail, May 10, 2016. “Recognition that indigenous peoples were founders of the nation must be acknowledged in a formal, legal way. Only then will there be a solid foundation for Canada to reconcile its past and lay the foundation for a new relationship with its first peoples.”

Moran, Ry. “Reconciling Canada’s 150th: Why 2017 Should Start with Tears: Opinion | CBC Canada 2017,” December 20, 2016. "How will this celebration of Canada's history reconcile with the history experienced by Indigenous peoples in this coming year? Will this be a turning point in our national journey towards reconciliation or will this be a celebration of the status quo?"

Obomsawin, Alanis. “For 150 Years, People Have Been Told Lies about Canada’s History.” TIFF, March 27, 2017. “For 150 years, people have been told lies about the history of this country. Lies about the people, about the land.”

Ostroff, Joshua. “‘Colonization Road’ Is A Film. It’s Also An Actual Road Because Canada.” The Huffington Post, October 23, 2016. “At the risk of sounding melodramatic, I'm offended that people want to throw Canada a birthday party," says Anishinaabe/Métis comedian and activist Ryan McMahon. "I want to go to the birthday party and spill red wine all over the white carpet.”

Ostroff, Joshua. “Buffy Sainte-Marie On Why Canada Needs To Decolonize.” The Huffington Post. Accessed April 10, 2017. “Decolonizing doesn't hurt anybody. It's exactly what everybody needs to do...My motto is stay calm and decolonize.”

Palmater, Pamela. “Canada 150 Is a Celebration of Indigenous Genocide.” NOW Magazine, March 29, 2017. “Perhaps Canada should cancel its celebrations and undertake the hard work necessary to make amends.”

Sayers, Judith. “What I Choose to Celebrate on This Day Called ‘Canada Day.’” CBC News, July 1, 2016. “Mostly, I celebrate the fighting spirit that lies within First Nations peoples across Canada. The spirit that never lets us stop restoring what was once ours, for rebuilding our nations and way of life… On this day that is called "Canada Day," I am refusing to be negative and repeat the same message I have been giving for too long  because it hasn't worked.”

Sumanac-Johnson, Deana. “Telling Their Stories or Opting out: Indigenous Artists on Canada 150.” The National - CBC Television; Toronto, February 7, 2017. “As Canada 150 celebrations extol the glory of Canada's past and present, one group of artists is not so quick to join the party. Indigenous artists view the sesquicentennial with mixed feelings, with some using it as a platform to tell their peoples' side of the story, and others opting to boycott the celebrations altogether.”

“Resistance vs Resiliency: UNB Elder to Serve as Canada 150 Ambassador.” CBC News, April 5, 2017. “Many First Nations people are boycotting Canada's 150th anniversary of Confederation celebrations this year, but Imelda Perley, an elder in residence at the University of New Brunswick, has agreed to take on the role of ambassador for Canada 150.”

Satire and Comedy

Duarte Speil, Jacob. “75% of Canada 150 Budget Spent on Hiding Worst Parts of National History.” The Beaverton, April 23, 2017.

Petrie, Ned. “Original Fathers of Confederation Announce Canada 150 Reunion Tour | CBC Comedy,” April 20, 2017.

Skye, Courtney. “First Nations Decline Invite to Canada 150 Event, Cite Onerous Task of Washing Hair during Boil Water Advisory | CBC Comedy,” January 5, 2017.