Canadian Prairies - History
- Binnema, T. 1998
-
The Common and Contested Ground: A History of the
Northwestern
Plains from A.D. 200 to 1806. Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation.
Department of History and Classics, University of Alberta,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. 422 pages.
The Cypress Hills forms the hub of the
region
that Binnema discusses.
- Brown, J. S. H. 1980
-
Strangers in Blood: Fur Trade Company Families in Indian
Country. University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver,
British Columbia, Canada. xxiii + 255 pages.
AEU HSS FC 3207 B87 1980 Relevant mainly to
the Manitoba and Saskatchewan study areas. Deals primarily with
fur
trade areas around the margin of the Prairies. Examines the
relationships between fur traders and Indians in the 18th century
and the development of a distinct society based on fur traders'
descendants, finally focused on the Red River colony and
resulting
in the establishment of a distinct social group, the Métis.
Between the 1820s and the mid-19th century, the position of these
people became more difficult, partly due to the amalgamation of
HBC
and NW Company but also by the increasing numbers of European
women
in the colony, as fur traders followed the example of the
Governor,
George Simpson, and sought European wives. This involved a more
rigid social and racial stratification and resulted in an
increasing split between those with European wives, who settled
in
"civilized" areas, such as near Montreal, and those with native-
born wives, who often preferred to stay in the west and became
part
of the Red River settlement. Illustrated by excerpts from diaries
and letters, mainly written by the fur traders themselves, and
plenty of case studies. Deals primarily with fur trade areas
around
the margin of the Prairies. (21/Jan/1990).
- Cruise, D., and A. Griffiths 1996
-
The Great Adventure: How the Mounties Conquered the West.
Viking, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. xii + 416 pages.
AEU HSS FC 3216.2 C78 1996 A popular account
of the beginning of Northwest Mounted Police and the "Great March
West," culminating in the establishment of Fort Macleod. Also
describes the founding of Fort Walsh and associated events in the
Cypress Hills. The tale of the march west in 1874 - 1875 is told
mainly through the diaries and records kept by the participants,
interspersed with imagined re-creation of events. Illustrated by
the sketches by Henri Julien, who had been sent along as official
artist. The authors note that the Aboriginal people of the plains
were well aware of the progress of the expedition, and were
astonished at the troops' ineptness, with poor horses and
equipment
and no real knowledge of where they were going. Also describes
the
founding of Fort Walsh and associated events in the Cypress
Hills.
(20/Apr/1997, 10/Nov/2001).
- Dempsey, H. A. (editor) 1973
-
William Parker: Mounted Policeman. Hurtig Publishers,
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. xviii + 163 pages.
AEU HSS HV 7911 P24 A4 1973 Parker served
with
the Northwest Mounted Police, 1874-1912. His biography forms an
interesting contrast with that of Denny. It is clear that Parker
was far from the centre of decisions, he just followed orders and
didn't seem to have a great grasp of situations. However, his
account contains far more of the nitty-gritty of camp life and
daily routine as a police officer. This mostly seems to have
consisted of unremitting hard work! (09/Jul/2000).
- Denny, C. E. 1972
-
The Law Marches West. Second edition. Edited by W. B.
Cameron. J. M. Dent and Sons (Canada) Ltd, Toronto, Ontario,
Canada. xiii + 319 pages.
AEU HSS FC 3216.2 D412 1972 Recollections
of
a life as an Inspector in the North West Mounted Police (NWMP)
and
afterwards. Denny participated in the March West, although his
career encompassed more than this. He helped in construction of
Fort Macleod. He was involved in Indian affairs, being one of the
signatories to Treaty 7. He worked as an Indian agent to the
Blackfoot for several years before resigning in protest at the
Canadian Government's actions (especially cutting rations). He
was
clearly part of the network of influence in the West. He does not
conceal his disgust at some of the actions of the Federal
Government and the bureaucratic rule from Ottawa, by people that
knew nothing of the land and had no sympathy with the West.
(09/Jul/2000).
- den Otter, A. A. 1982
-
Civilizing the West: The Galts and the Development of Western
Canada. University of Alberta Press, Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada.
xiv + 395 pages.
AEU HSS FC 471 G3 D39 1982
- Epp, H. (editor) 1993
-
Three Hundred Prairie Years: Henry Kelsey's "Inland Country
of
Good Report". Canadian Plains Research Center, University of
Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. 238 pages.
AEU HSS FC 3511 T5315 1991 A collection of
papers produced to mark the tri-centenary of Kelsey's journey to
the prairies.
- Francis, R. D. 1989
-
Images of the West: Changing Perceptions of the Prairies,
1690-
1960. Western Producer Prairie Books, Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan,
Canada. xviii+ 268 pages.
AEU HSS FC 3237 F819 1989
- Friesen, G. 1987
-
The Canadian Prairies: A History. University of Toronto
Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. xv + 534 pages.
AEU HSS FC 3237 F92 1987 A classic text, a
must-read for anyone interested in western Canadian history.
(10/Jul/1986).
- Goldring, P. 1979a
-
The First Contingent: The North-West Mounted Police, 1873-
74, pp. 5-40. Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in
Archaeology and History 21. National Historic Parks and Sites
Branch, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
AEU BARD FC 65 G621 1979
- Jones, D. C. (editor) 1986
-
"We'll all be buried down here": The Prairie Dryland Disaster
1917-1926. Historical Society of Alberta Volume VI. Alberta
Records Publication Board, Historical Society of Alberta,
Calgary,
Alberta, Canada. 200 pages.
AEU HSS HD 1790 P6 W36 1986
- Jones, D. C. 1987
-
Empire of Dust: Settling and Abandoning the Prairie Dry
Belt. The University of Alberta Press, Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada. 316 pages.
AEU HSS FC 3695 A8 J77 1987 A passionate and
eloquent book, focussing on events in southern Alberta between
about 1880 and the 1940s. The events are told from the
perspective
of one small town, Carlstadt/Alderson, not far west of Medicine
Hat. Using many of their own words, Jones chronicles the
settlers'
attempts to wrest a living from the pitiless landscape. He
describes the effects of government propaganda and boosterism,
not
to speak of downright corruption, on the population history of
the
region. Well-written and closely argued. (11/Aug/1996).
- Kelsey, H. 1994
-
The Kelsey Papers. Republication of 1929 edition edited
by
A. G. Doughty and C. Martin. Canadian Plains Research Center,
University of Regina, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. xlvii + 88
pages.
AEU HSS FC 3211.1 K3 1994
- McGrady, D. G. 2010
-
Living with Strangers: The Nineteenth-Century Sioux and the
Canadian-American Borderlands. University of Toronto Press,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 168 pages.
AEU HSS E 99 D1 M44 This book concentrates
primarily on the nineteenth century history of the Sioux peoples
on
the northern Plains, the region that became transected by the
Canada-US border. McGrady makes the point that this is a
"forgotten" history because Canadian historians have concentrated
largely on Aboriginal groups north of the border, and US
historians
have likewise mainly considered groups south of the border. So
groups in the borderlands as their heartland have tended to be
ignored or "fall through the cracks." He documents that Sioux
peoples had complex inter-relationships - sometimes friendly, at
other times hostile - with Aboriginal groups throughout the
region,
though relations with the Crow seem to have been uniformly
hostile.
He also documents a longstanding and ongoing trading relationship
with the Red River Métis and Métis groups from
elsewhere, such as Montana, Wood Mountain, and later the Cypress
Hills. Again, this relationship was marked by intervals of unease
and hostility. The fact that Sitting Bull crossed the border into
Canada after the Battle of the Little Big Horn is well known (see
Utley 1993, elsewhere in this list), but McGrady shows that this
was simply part of a much longer term pattern of behaviour, with
people freely moving throughout the borderlands. He also shows
that
Sioux groups became adept at using the border to their advantage,
setting up camp on the Canadian side and raiding or hunting into
the American side. This activity was essentially shut down in the
1880s when both the US and Canadian governments restricted access
to the border and made crossing more difficult. This is a
complicated historical account (lots of names and different
groups
to keep track of) but it certainly enriches the historical
perspective on this region. [Cover image is by William Armstrong
(1822-1914), and is a painting called 'Sioux Buffalo Hunter,
White
Horse Plains, Red River', from the Glenbow collections (55.17.2).
No date is given for the painting. The pose is interesting, a
modern-looking relaxed pose, rather unlike the stiff 19th century
portraits of Paul Kane or George Catlin.]
(11/Jun/2010).
- Owram, D. 1980
-
Promise of Eden: The Canadian Expansionist Movement and the
Idea of the West 1956-1900. Reprinted with new preface 1992.
University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 264
pages.
AEU HSS FC 3217 O97 1980
- Ruggles, R. I. 1987
- Exploration in the Far Northwest.
In Historical Atlas of Canada, I: From the Beginning to
1800. Plate 67, edited by R. C. Harris, pp. 168-169.
University
of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
AEU SCI G 1116 S1 H673 1987 folio
- Ruggles, R. I. 1993
- Exploration to Mid-Century.
In Historical Atlas of Canada, II: The Land Transformed,
1800-
1891. Plate 2, edited by R. L. Gentilcore, pp. 10-11.
University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
AEU SCI G 1116 S1 H673 1987 folio
- Ruggles, R. I. 1993
- Exploration and Assessment to 1891.
In Historical Atlas of Canada, II: The Land Transformed,
1800-
1891. Plate 3, edited by R. L. Gentilcore, pp. 12-13.
University of Toronto Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
AEU SCI G 1116 S1 H673 1987 folio Provides
a
geographic definition of Palliser's Triangle.
- Siggins, M. 1995
-
Riel: A Life of Revolution. HarperCollins Publishers Ltd,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. xviii + 507 pages.
AEU HSS FC 3217.1 R53 S54 1995 A popular
biography of Louis Riel (1844-1885). Although he had a short
life,
Riel has spread an immense shadow across the history of western
Canada. He played a pivotal, decisive and leadership role in two
armed conflicts: the Red River Rebellion (1869-1870), which led
to
the establishment of Manitoba as a province, and the Northwest
Rebellion (1885). This latter conflict decisively set the course
of
western Canadian history and ensured it would be Anglo,
Protestant,
and European-derived, rather than French, Catholic, and
Métis.
This was likely inevitable, given the policy of the government
in
Ottawa and the flood of immigrants from (mostly) northern Europe
and eastern Canada. But the events of 1885 probably hastened the
consolidation of this social orientation. Riel's activities also
turned the central government's attention westward and probably
prevented the threat of annexation of the Red River areas by the
US. At the time, most of this area looked south, to the, now,
small
town of Pembina, just across the border. This was the main
transport route and the way most goods and visitors appeared in
the
Red River settlement. At the time, many Métis families had
members spread throughout this area, both north and south of the
border, which seems to have been mainly nominal and no real
barrier
to movement. Riel's cause was land rights and justice for
Métis people. Siggins' account highlights the anti-Catholic,
anti-French, and anti-Aboriginal cast of mind in eastern Canada,
as
represented by Ontario, at this time, and the role that rabidly
bigoted Orangemen and the Orange Order played in these events.
The
Métis, being all three, were completely despised. However,
Siggins makes it clear that there was a great deal of distrust
between all groups. There was also tension and distrust between
the
Métis and Aboriginal groups too, which occasionally flared
into violence. Throughout, Siggins emphasizes the role of the
Catholic church and priests in the development of Métis
society. Their religion became very much entwined with Métis
identity. Riel's role was as a leader and agitator, a focus for
coalescence of discontent. Articulate, educated, and intelligent,
he was able to translate the feelings of frustration into words
and
petitions to the federal government. Most of these were ignored
or
merely taken as evidence of the "uppityness" and presumptuousness
of people who did not know their place. Despite his positive
qualities, Riel does not come across as a likable or sympathetic
person. He was extremely religious, and an exaggerated
religiosity
dominated all his actions. Towards the end of his life, his
religious ideas became distinctly unorthodox. As summarized by
Siggins, he saw himself as a prophet of the New World and the
Pope
as a betrayer of Catholicism. He wanted to establish a new
reformed
Catholic church with its HQ in North America. Practically, he did
help to bring about the establishment of Manitoba as a province,
albeit with the Métis people playing a very minor role in
the
political life of that area from then on. A complicated and
tragic
character. (09/Jan/2006).
- Spry, I. M. (editor) 1968
-
The Papers of the Palliser Expedition, 1857-1860.
Champlain
Society, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
An excellent survey and summary of a very
arduous expedition. Palliser and Hector (the geologist) in the
Canadian Prairies in 1850s. Describes an uncomfortable and
sometimes hazardous journey that is hard to imagine today when
the
area is criss-crossed with roads. (10/Aug/1996).
- Spry, I. M. 1995
-
The Palliser Expedition: The Dramatic Story of Western
Canadian
Exploration 1857-1860. 2nd. Fifth House Ltd, Saskatoon,
Saskatchewan, Canada. 315 pages. Originally published
1963.
AEU HSS FC 3205.1 S68 1995 An excellent
survey
and summary of the expedition. (10/Aug/1996).
- Stonechild, B., and B. Waiser 1997
-
Loyal till Death: Indians and the North-West Rebellion.
Fifth House Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. ix + 308
pages.
AEU HSS FC 3215 S85 1997
- Thompson, J. H. 1998
-
Forging the Prairie West. The Illustrated History of
Canada. Oxford University Press, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. xii
+
212 pages.
AEU HSS FC 3237 T45 1998
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