History Slam Episode Twenty-Two: Madeleine Kloske

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By Sean Graham

On Wednesday night there was a screening of four documentary films as part of Northern Scene in Ottawa. The evening’s feature film was Dan Sokolowski’s Degrees Northand it was preceded by three shorts: Andrew Connors’ Come Back Little Star, Daniel Janke’s Finding Milton, and Lulu Keating’s Dawson Town Melted Down. Each of the films presented a different point of view on the North to the capacity crowd at the Mercury Lounge in the ByWard Market.

In this episode of the History Slam I talk with Madeleine Kloske from the University of Ottawa about the four films. In addition to the films, we also chat about preconceptions and stereotypes of the North as we wrap up Northern History Week. Continue reading →

From Exploration to Climate Change: Northern History in the Anthropocene

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Caspar David Friedrich, Das Eismeer (The Sea of Ice), 1823-24

By Tina Adcock

I groaned when I saw the headline. “Google Street View braves Canadian Arctic to chart little-known territory,” it read. “Iqaluit mapping expedition sees Google staff hike along remote city’s snow-covered trails and risk wrath of polar bears.” Even the writers and editors at the Guardian aren’t immune to the occasional bout of polar fever. But I can’t blame them. The rhetoric of exploration—of braving dangers on remote, inhospitable, and unknown frontiers—continues to sell newspapers and garner page hits. Public demand for tales of northern adventure, hardship, and heroism in high latitudes remains strong. Continue reading →

History Slam Episode Twenty-One: Marketplace at Northern Scene

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By Sean Graham

For the first four days of Northern Scene, the Panorama Room at the National Arts Centre was transformed into a marketplace featuring some of the region’s top artists. In this episode of the History Slam I talk with three of those artists about their work and the changing face of the northern art scene. First, I chat with Lyn Fabio about her use of intestine to create artistic works. I then talk with Shirley Moorhouse about northern Labrador and questions of what constitutes Inuit art. That is followed by my conversation with John Sabourin as we discuss his ability to weave narratives into his work. While Marketplace at Northern Scene has closed, be sure to google each of them up and check out some of the phenomenal work coming out of the North. Continue reading →

Picturing uranium, producing art: A.Y. Jackson’s Port Radium collection

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Figure 1: A.Y. Jackson "Radium Mine" (1938), one of a series of oil paintings and sketches of the Port Radium mine by the iconic artist.

A.Y. Jackson “Radium Mine” (1938), one of a series of oil paintings and sketches of the Port Radium mine by the iconic artist.

By Carmella Gray-Cosgrove

In November 2012, as newspapers reported, an “all-but-forgotten” painting by A.Y. Jackson, “Radium Mine” (1938), emerged from the private collection of a prolific prospector. The painting went to auction, selling for an astounding $643,500, and, fleetingly, popular news sources grazed the surface of a subterranean history that disrupts the very bedrock of Canadian identity. In the foreground of the painting, a craggy outcrop slopes down into the pale blues and greys of Great Bear Lake in the Northwest Territories—just hidden from view is the head frame of a radium and uranium mine that produced ore for the American nuclear arms program in the 1940s and 50s. Continue reading →

History Slam Episode Twenty: The Nantuck Brothers and Justice

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By Sean Graham

In August 1899, Dawson and Jim Nantack were executed in Dawson City, Yukon for the murder of two prospectors. On November 4, 2010, their remains were uncovered by a backhoe operator during construction of a sewage treatment plant. The discovery led to a renewed interest in the story of four men (two died of tuberculosis before they could be executed) who were convicted of murder in the midst of the Klondike Gold Rush. While the details are unclear, one possibility is that the four brothers killed the prospector to avenge the death of two members of the community after a can of arsenic, in the form of white powder, was mistaken for flour.

In this episode of the History Slam, we examine the story of the Nantucks Brothers. First, I talk with Leonard Linklater, the playwright of Justice, a theatrical production part of Northern Scene that examines the story of the brothers. I then chat with Greg Hare, the Chief Archaeologist for Yukon, who led the dig following the discovery of the remains. Finally, I ask osteologist Susan Moorhead Mooney about the process of identifying those remains.

Justice is running May 2-4 at the Arts Court Theatre in Ottawa as part of Northern Scene.

Sean Graham is a doctoral candidate at the University of Ottawa where he is currently working on a project that examines the early years of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He has previously studied at Nipissing University, the University of the West Indies, and the University of Regina and like any red-blooded Canadian his ultimate dream is to be a curling champion while living on a diet of beer and poutine.

Carnivorous Walrus as Country Food

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Noaa-walrus22By Liza Piper

In November 1948, long-time northerner L.A. Learmonth, engaged in archaeological work near Fort Ross, sent word to the RCMP detachment at Cambridge Bay (Iqaluktuuttiaq) that sixteen Inuit had fallen terribly ill at Creswell Bay on Somerset Island in the summer. Nine of the sixteen had died.  At the time of writing, the remaining seven were still seriously ill. Continue reading →

History Slam Episode Nineteen: The Dorset Seen Exhibit

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By Sean Graham

Last Friday night in Ottawa, buses traversed the city as part of an art gallery crawl. The unofficial launch of Northern Scene, Swarm allowed art fans to view 15 different exhibits around the national capital region, with the event being capped off by a series of performances followed by a fashion show in the foyer of the National Arts Centre. One of the galleries included in Swarm was the Carleton University Art Gallery, which is currently hosting Dorset Seen, an exhibit featuring the work of some of the top artists from Cape Dorset, one of Canada’s most prolific art communities.

In this episode of the History Slam I chat with Sandra Dyck and Leslie Boyd, co-curators of Dorset Seen, about the exhibit. We talk about Cape Dorset’s strong artistic foundation, the changing conceptions of northern art, and art providing an outlet for social commentary. While Dorset Seen is part of Northern Scene, its run at the Carleton University Art Gallery continues until June 2 and is definitely worth checking out.

Sean Graham is a doctoral candidate at the University of Ottawa where he is currently working on a project that examines the early years of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He has previously studied at Nipissing University, the University of the West Indies, and the University of Regina and like any red-blooded Canadian his ultimate dream is to be a curling champion while living on a diet of beer and poutine.

The Need for Speedy History in the Post-War Canadian North

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495px-Spring_in_the_Canadian_ArcticBy Ken Coates and Bill Morrison

Things change – but rarely as fast and comprehensively as in the Canadian North. As late as the 1950s, most Indigenous people in the territorial and provincial North lived off the land, traveling seasonally to fish, hunt, trap and gather.  The hand of Ottawa had just begun to be felt, gently in the case of Mother’s Allowance, firmly with removing children to residential schools, and more aggressively with the relocation of indigenous people to government-built reserve communities. Continue reading →

History Slam Episode Eighteeen: Tom McSorley on Nanook of the North and Grub-Stake

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By Sean Graham

As we kick off Northern History Week, we thought it would be fun to go back and look at some of the earliest films depicting life in northern Canada. In this episode of the History Slam podcast, I chat with Tom McSorley of the Canadian Film Institute about one of the most famous films of the 1920s, Nanook of the North, and one of the lost films of the 1920s, Nell Shipman’s Grub-Stake. We talk about each film’s legacy, issues of cultural appropriation, and problems associated with film production in the industry’s early days. We also talk about how each film has been reframed as part of Northern Scene.

Sean Graham is a doctoral candidate at the University of Ottawa where he is currently working on a project that examines the early years of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. He has previously studied at Nipissing University, the University of the West Indies, and the University of Regina and like any red-blooded Canadian his ultimate dream is to be a curling champion while living on a diet of beer and poutine.

Northern History and the Northern Scene

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West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative Cape Dorset (printshop & other buildings). Photo taken by Ansgar Walk. CC BY-SA 2.5

West Baffin Eskimo Cooperative Cape Dorset (printshop & other buildings). Photo taken by Ansgar Walk. CC BY-SA 2.5

By Jim Clifford and Sean Graham

This week we are publishing a series of posts and podcasts focused on northern history in conjunction with the Northern Scene festival at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa. Sean Graham arranged a series of interviews with artists about the role of history in their art. He then ask me to work with historians of the north to create a week of posts focused on the region. Here is the schedule:

Monday: Ken Coates and Bill Morrison start thing off with an argument for “The Need for Speedy History in the Post-War Canadian North” and we have a podcast on Nanook of the North and Grab-Stake with Tim McSorley (Executive Director of the Canadian Film Institute).

Tuesday:  Sean Graham talks with Sandra Dyck and Leslie Boyd about the Dorset Seen art exhibition at Carleton. Liza Piper explores the complicated history of dangerous foods in her post on “Carnivorous Walrus as Country Food”.

Wednesday: Carmella Gray-Cosgrove writes about A.Y. Jackson’s blending of nature and industry in his paintings of Radium Mines. The podcast explores the story of the Nantuck Brothers and the theatre production of Justice with playwright Leonard Linklater, Yukon chief archaeologist Greg Hare, and Yukon College Osteologist Susan Moorhead Mooney.

Thursday: Sean interviews Lyn Fabio and Shirley Moorhouse about changing conceptions of northern art and Tina Adcock contributes “Following the Hand of Franklin: Conversations about Northern History in the South”.

Friday: Check back for one last podcast.
Get ready by subscribing to the History Slam podcast on iTunes or via the RSS feed.