Racist Attitudes and the Global South

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Racist Attitudes and the Global South

When Jenny Horne, a white Republican representative from a town near Charleston, stepped up to the podium this week to address the House of Representatives in South Carolina, her words contributed a passionate moment in the debate that eventually led lawmakers to vote to remove the Confederate battle flag from the State House grounds. “I cannot believe that we do not have the heart in this body,” she said while attempting hold back tears, “to do something meaningful, such as take a symbol of hate off these grounds on Friday.” Referring to the tragic June 17 shootings that killed nine African-American members of a Bible study at a Charleston church, Horne aimed her words directly at house representatives concerned with preserving the historical semblance of the Confederate flag.  “Enough about heritage,” she proclaimed towards flag supporters. When the emotional debate ended early Thursday, the House voted 94-20 to pass the bill to remove the flag.

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What Role Do Historians Play in ‘Truth and Reconciliation’?

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What Role Do Historians Play in ‘Truth and Reconciliation’?

We are currently in the midst of a national conversation about cultural genocide, recently reaffirmed in the public eye by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. As regular readers of Clio’s Current can attest, this blog aims to engage with issues of national and international significance. We have written extensively about Aboriginal history, but have yet to discuss the role historians might play in the future. To assess this question, it is necessary to explore some of the issues in Aboriginal history thus far "uncovered" by historians.

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Agency and Victimization: Exploring Themes in Aboriginal History

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Agency and Victimization: Exploring Themes in Aboriginal History

In our last post we took a brief look at the historical legacy of Canada’s founding Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald, who historian James Daschuk claims instituted a policy of starvation against First Nations in an effort to “clear” prairie lands for railway construction. Aboriginal peoples were either denied food or given rotten meat and diseased animals. Thousands died as a result, but the Dominion government secured its railway and considered the policy a success. Daschuk’s widely acclaimed book Clearing the Plains is one of the more recent examples in Canadian historical literature to have employed a narrative structure that focuses on the colonial victimization of Aboriginal peoples. Today we offer a quick survey of some of the more influential works on Aboriginal history and Native-Newcomer relations, laying the foundation for a short series that explores the growth and evolution of the field.

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A Colonial Burden: Aboriginal Educational Reform in Canada

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The next Canadian federal election is scheduled for this coming October. While that date may seem far away, we are nearing a new campaign season which is sure to generate much interest and debate. One of the key issues entering the next election will surely be Aboriginal relations and the growing gap that exists between First Nations and the rest of Canada. The gap can be viewed in terms of financial and health related issues, as well as education of youth in particular. Indeed, First Nations communities currently face multiple crises. In light of this, today’s post focuses specifically on the push in Canada for Aboriginal educational reform.

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Indigenous-Settler Relations in Canada: Historicizing Tsilhqot’in by Madeline Knickerbocker

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Clio’s Current regularly uses historical perspective to draw attention to the contentious side of contemporary issues in Canada and abroad. Although we have commented on Indigenous-settler relations, we have done so from a general standpoint and with the intention of introducing our readers to the contested history of colonialism. In today’s guest post, Madeline Knickerbocker provides a focused and detailed discussion behind the legal process that led to the Tsilhqot’in decision in British Columbia.

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