Please join the Thunder Bay Historical Museum Society for a lecture from Lakehead University Graduate Students Christine Green and Haileigh Riddell. This will be a in-person event that is free to view. The lecture will be broadcast live via ZOOM for those who cannot attend in-person and recorded and posted to the Museum’s YouTube at a later date.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WEBINAR

Christine Green, Constructing a Collective Past: Locating Indigenous Histories in Local Narratives

Truth and Reconciliation Commission Call to Action #67 calls for the federal government to undertake a national review of museum policies and best practices to determine compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) and make recommendations. Of specific importance is UNDRIP Article 15.1, outlining Indigenous peoples’ right to have their cultures, traditions, and histories appropriately represented in education and public information.

One of the main ways the public interacts with Canadian history is through museums and public history initiatives. So, the question becomes what representations of Indigenous histories are being presented in museums? This presentation will examine exhibition and programming practices in museums located in Northwestern Ontario in order to analyze the collective imagining of community histories in relation to Indigenous peoples. By examining exhibits, programming,  and outreach materials at various museums across Northwestern Ontario a pattern of representation emerges where Indigenous histories are relegated to the fur trade era and earlier. This presentation will examine why this pattern exists, what museums are doing to correct it, and what museums need in order to support the major changes required.

Haileigh Riddell, Eugenics: A comparison of Ontario and Alberta while examining the connection to Northwestern Ontario

Her presentation compares the Eugenics Society of Canada, based in Ontario, and the Alberta Eugenics Board, while examining the connection to Northwestern Ontario. In comparing the two provincial eugenic organizations, the talk explores the similarities and differences in key policies, legislation, and public sentiment, while discussing the lasting impact of eugenic practices in Canada.

Free Museum Admission during the event. Refreshments will be available.