ActiveHistory.ca

Image: black background with light streams bending around a road. Text: “Call for Contributors: Canada’s Great Acceleration. Proposal deadline: February 18, 2026.

@nichecanada.bsky.social is calling for contributors for their Canada’s Great Acceleration Series.

Proposals should be a short 200-word expression of interest and are due February 18, 2026.

Find more info here: activehistory.ca/blog/2026/02...

CFP
@activehist.bsky.social Series: A Time of Monsters

csn-rec.ca/conferences-...

Green background with white text stating: “For historians, this crisis may also be an opportunity – we would argue, an obligation, even – to apply our knowledge, our training, our disciplinary approach and perspectives to the current moment. The crisis – this time of monsters – often leaves us with more questions than answers.”

Andrew Nurse and Roberta Lexier explore how historians work to address current manifestations of right-wing populism.

This is an ongoing series, and they are asking for submissions. Find the submission information at the end of the post: activehistory.ca/blog/2026/02...

Looking Beyond the Indian Act By Bob Joseph This post is part of the Indian Act 150 series. Bob Joseph’s new book, 21 Things™ You Need to Know About Indigenous Self-Government. This year, 2026, marks 150 years of the Cons…

In today's post, Bob Joseph looks at his new book, 21 Things™ You Need to Know About Indigenous Self-Government, for the second post in the ongoing Indian Act 150 series.

Make sure to check out this post and the entire series!

The power of oral history in piecing together archival fragments documenting 2SLGBTQ+ community histories Meredith J. Batt P918-1067 Mullins Photography Ltd. fonds, PANB, Fredericton, N.B., October 1998.  I have made an error. These are not words that come easily to a historian, when evidence is t…

In today’s post, Meredith J. Batt discusses the importance of using oral history and archival documents together when exploring community history.

Check out this post and the entire Queering Atlantic Canada series!

“The Testing Place of our Canadian Citizenship is Going to be Our Cities”: J.S. Woodsworth and the Settlement Movement in Britain and Canada.” Katherine Wilson-Smith “A View From the Roof of the Residence.” Twenty One Years at Mansfield House, 1890-1911. Plaistow: W. S. Caines, 1911. 1. “From the roof of the Settlement one loo…

Katherine Wilson-Smith explores Woodsworth and the settlement movement.

Indian Act 150: An Introduction By Katie Carson, Sarah Kittilsen, and Sean Carleton Canada 150—the sesquicentennial celebration of the country’s confederation—was marked with pomp and circumstance, as the Federal Government encou…

Today on @activehist.bsky.social, we are launching a new year-long series - Indian Act 150 - looking at the 150th anniversary of the Indian Act. As part of the introduction to the series, I offer some reflections on the history and historiography of the Indian Act: activehistory.ca/blog/2026/01...

Indian Act 150: An Introduction By Katie Carson, Sarah Kittilsen, and Sean Carleton Canada 150—the sesquicentennial celebration of the country’s confederation—was marked with pomp and circumstance, as the Federal Government encou…

In today’s post Sean Carleton and editors Katie Carson and Sarah Kittilsen introduce a new series that will explore the Indian Act throughout its 150th anniversary.

Spying and Lying: The Abortion Scandal that Helped Sink the Socreds By Lilia Scudamore Few Canadian governments — federal or provincial — have been so embroiled in scandal as William “Bill” Vander Zalm’s Social Credit Party (known colloquially as the ‘S…

Lilia Scudamore explores the NDP’s approach to abortion rights in British Columbia during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Inventing the Thrifty Gene: The Science of Settler Colonialism (book review) By Samir Shaheen-Hussain The “thrifty gene” has a decades-long history that can be traced back to James V. Neel, an American physician-scientist, considered by many in his field as the “father of m…

Samir Shaheen-Hussain (@samir0s-h.bsky.social) conducts a book review on “Inventing the Thrifty Gene: The Science of Settler Colonialism” by Travis Hay.

Crossing the Line: Women’s Opposition to the Winnipeg General Strike Ella Prisco This essay is part of a 2-part series. See the other entry here. Women Volunteers at Gas Pumps. May 1919. University of Manitoba Digital Collections.   “They have borne the lonely hours…

Ella Prisco’s second post explores women’s opposition to the Winnipeg General Strike.

13th Annual (?) Year in Review (100 Years Later) By Aaron Boyes & Sean Graham We offer our two cents on the events of 1925. Let us know in the comments what you would have ranked as the year’s top event. It’s hard to believe that we’re …

Aaron Boyes and Sean Graham offer their ‘two cents’ on 1925 for their annual Year in Review (100 Years Later) series!

“We’ll Fight To The End:” Working Women and the Winnipeg General Strike Ella Prisco This essay is part of a 2-part series. The second post will be published next week. “Girl Strikers Urged to Stand Firm by Unions.” The Winnipeg Tribune, May 26, 1919.  De…

Today’s post, by Ella Prisco, is the first of a two part series exploring working women and the Winnipeg General Strike.

Between Two Worlds Author Carol F. Lee explores the writings of her mother Mary Quan Lee, with a focus on her experiences in the 1930s and her sense of dual Canadian and Chinese identity in the 1940s. Lee notes that …

Carol F. Lee explores the life of her mother, Mary Quan, and her experience of dual Canadian and Chinese identity.

Active History (@activehistory.ca) on Threads In today’s post Miranda Jimmy explores Indigenous data sovereignty in archives. This post is part of our Telling Truths about the Settler Colonial Project Series. Check out the link in our bio for t...

Ok, @activehist.bsky.social, I'm listening!

www.threads.com/@activehisto...

You can find the rest of their Telling Truths about the Settler Colonial Project series on their website

“to take a normal place in the business and social world”: The Work of Women’s Voluntary and Service Associations in Residential Schools and Indian Hospitals The kinds of assimilatory activities run by the YWCA, and other volunteer associations, were about providing material and ideological support for the Residential School and Indian Hospital system i…

Today’s post is the last of our Telling Truths about the Settler Colonial Project series. Kristin Burnett and Shannon Stettner explore the role the YWCA played in Indian Hospitals and Residential Schools.

Respecting Data Sovereignty Starts With the Stories We Tell About the Past As I reflect further on archives and western approaches to historical research, it is clear that institutions of colonial memory are consistently used against Indigenous Peoples as a weapon. This u…

In today’s post Miranda Jimmy explores Indigenous data sovereignty in archives.

This post is part of our Telling Truths about the Settler Colonial Project Series. Make sure to check it out!

Untangling the Web: Church and Public Accountability in National Reconciliation All Catholic and Protestant churches in Canada need to undertake this painful work of disentangling the spiritual call to service from the presence of imperialism, colonialism, racism, and white su…

Today’s post, by Evan J. Habkirk and Alanaise Ferguson, explores the responsibilities of churches, dioceses, and settlers in reconciliation.

This post is part of our Telling Truths about the Settler Colonial Project Series, check out the entire series!

Who decides our place names? Power, Policy, and Memory in Edmonton Tuck and Yang’s Decolonization is not a metaphor provides an interesting touchpoint to identify a pattern of “settler moves to innocence.” What does this mean, and what is the pattern? As Indigenou…

Today’s post, by Matthew Dance, explores naming policy in Edmonton.

This post is part of our Telling Truths about the Settler Colonial Project Series, make sure to check out the entire series!

Holding Ourselves Accountable: Reconciliation and Truth Telling in a Post Truth World To date what has become painfully clear is that the responsibility and burden of truth telling has fallen largely on Indigenous Peoples, communities, and Nations. Survivors have been forced to cont…

Today’s post, by Kristin Burnett and Shannon Stettner, is an introduction to a new series exploring truth and reconciliation.

A new post will be published every day this week, make sure to stay tuned in!

The latest History of Education Quarterly is now online. In this thread, I'll post non-paywalled versions of the whole issue.

“An Historic Day”: Concern and Celebration of the Vatican’s Repatriation of Indigenous Culture By Andrew Nurse On November 15, a media release announced that Pope Leo XIV, following an audience with members of the Canadian Roman Catholic hierarchy, “gifted sixty-two artefacts belonging to th…

In today’s post, Andrew Nurse explores the repatriation of Indigenous culture, through artifacts, by the Vatican

A black-and-white studio portrait of 16 members of The Dumbells troupe, taken while on tour in London, showing two troupe members in drag. [Dalhousie University Archives, PC2 (Waldren Studios Photograph Collection), Box 260, Folder 10]

From our own holdings, a photograph of The Dumbells while on tour in London in 1918, including two members of the troupe -- Ross Hamilton and Allan Murray -- dressed in drag.

Duty in Drag: The Life of First World War Drag Star Ross Hamilton The rich history of drag has strong roots in Atlantic Canada; one notable example being Ross Hamilton, the famed female impersonator from the concert party troupe the Dumbells. During and following…

In today’s post Aly Firth explores drag during the First World War through the life of Ross Hamilton from Nova Scotia.

This post is part of our Queering Atlantic Canada series. Check out this post and the entire series!

The Day Manitoba Fell to Nazi Germany Avery Monette In the early morning hours of Thursday, February 19, 1942, residents of Winnipeg and the surrounding towns were shaken from their sleep by the sound of air raid sirens. German Luftwaf…

In today’s post, Avery Monette (@averymonette.bsky.social) discusses the Nazi occupation of Winnipeg.

Jim’s Vision: Some Reflections on J.R. Miller Donald Wright When I learned that Jim Miller had died, I reached out to his partner, Lesley Biggs, to express my condolences. A few weeks later, she invited me to share a few words about him that w…

In today’s post, Donald Wright reflects on the life of Jim Miller and his experience with him.

The 2026 Atlantic Canada Studies Conference From Harbour to Horizon: Recharting Atlantic Canada Studies The Faculty of Arts at the University of Prince Edward Island is pleased to host the 2026 Atlantic Canada Studies Conference in Charlotte…

Call for proposals for the 2026 Atlantic Canada Studies Conference. “From Harbour to Horizon: Recharting Atlantic Canada Studies.”

Restricted Records: How Hong Kong Communities Lose Out When Archives Stay Closed Britain colonised Hong Kong in the 19th century through two treaties, which lasted in perpetuity, and a lease, set to expire in 1997. Much research into Hong Kong’s colonial history relies upon rec…

In today’s post, Matthew Hurst explores Hong Kong’s colonial history and ongoing challenges accessing archives. This post is written in conversation with two previous posts by June Chow.

Hong Kong diaspora communities are inhibited in accessing their city’s colonial history, I argue in my blog post for @activehist.bsky.social activehistory.ca/blog/2025/11...

Based on my paper in @jich.bsky.social (open access) doi.org/10.1080/0308...