UNews - Centre for Oral History and Tradition

Award-winning documentary about Alberta’s African-American settlers comes to Lethbridge

caroline.zentner — Thu, 18 Oct 2018 16:30:31 +0000

Audiences in Lethbridge and southern Alberta have the opportunity to learn about the discrimination experienced by black settlers in Alberta and Saskatchewan in the early 1900s when the documentary, We are the Roots: Black Settlers and Their Experiences of Discrimination on the Canadian Prairies, has its Lethbridge premiere on Sunday, Oct. 21.

The film was first shown in Edmonton in February during Black History Month and has gone on to win several high-profile awards, including the Elizabeth B. Mason Project Award and the Oral History in Nonprint Format awards from the Oral History Association, the Heritage Awareness Award from the Alberta Historical Resources Foundation and the 2018 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Community Programming.

Deborah Dobbins, second from left, and Dr. Jenna Bailey, third from left, accept the Elizabeth B. Mason Project Award from the Oral History Association's director, Todd More, and president-elect, Natalie Fousekis.

The history project was the brainchild of Deborah Dobbins, president of Edmonton’s Shiloh Centre for Multicultural Roots (SCMR). She teamed up with Drs. Jenna Bailey and David Este. Bailey is an adjunct history professor and senior research fellow at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Centre for Oral History and Tradition (COHT). Este is a professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary.

“It is with deep appreciation and gratitude that we receive these awards,” says Dobbins. “SCMR is humbled by these honours that acknowledge our human-rights struggle is an important part of history that needs to be brought to light.”

“We are pleased to bring this film, which highlights a little-known but important part of Alberta’s history, to Lethbridge,” says Bailey.

In making the film, Bailey and Este interviewed 19 second- and third-generation individuals from the families of the original settlers who left the United States to come to Western Canada between 1905 and 1912. Between 1,000 and 1,500 African Americans came to Canada, largely settling in the small rural Alberta communities of Amber Valley, Campsie, Wildwood and Breton and Maidstone in Saskatchewan.

“It’s a fascinating history,” says Bailey. “I learned a lot about discrimination in Alberta. What comes through in their stories is resilience. One woman said ‘It’s just a part of who we are; it’s part of our daily lives.’”

“I am a third-generation African-American Canadian,” says Dobbins. “My parents were born in Alberta and they were both African-American Canadians. Our grandparents didn’t want to talk too much about how they got here because it was terrible. The reason they came to Canada wasn’t a positive one. They left because of mistreatment. Whenever Roots or anything like that came on TV, my dad said he couldn’t watch because it just made him so angry.”

While life in Canada may have been an improvement for the pioneers, the African Americans not only faced the same hardships other settlers faced, they were also discriminated against, especially in the cities. Work was scarce; men often started their own businesses or worked as railway porters and women worked as housekeepers.

“For me, what stood out is that most Albertans have no idea about this history and these communities that helped build Alberta,” says Bailey. “In general, I think Canadians like to think that we’re not very racist or a discriminatory nation. And the number of discrimination stories that come through in the interviews through all the age groups is pretty significant.”

We are the Roots will be shown in partnership with the Lethbridge Public Library, Main Branch, in the Theatre Gallery on Sunday, Oct. 21, beginning at 2 p.m. A question-and-answer session with Dobbins, Bailey and Este follows.

A trailer is available on the COHT Facebook page.

U of L oral history project commemorates Alberta's African-American settlers

caroline.zentner — Tue, 20 Feb 2018 16:49:03 +0000

After more than a year in the making, a film documenting the lives of black settlers in Alberta and Saskatchewan and their experiences with discrimination will premiere in Edmonton during Black History Month.

We are the Roots: Black Settlers and Their Experiences of Discrimination on the Canadian Prairies was the brainchild of Deborah Dobbins, president of Edmonton’s Shiloh Centre for Multicultural Roots (SCMR). After securing funding from the Alberta Human Rights Commission, she teamed up with Drs. Jenna Bailey and David Este. Bailey is an adjunct history professor and senior research fellow at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Centre for Oral History and Tradition (COHT). Este is a professor in the Faculty of Social Work at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary.

Dr. Jenna Bailey, along with Dr. David Este, interviewed 19 individuals, descendants of the original settlers who came to Canada to escape racial discrimination in the United States, to create 'We are the Roots.'.

“Here we are 18 months later and it has been amazing,” says Dobbins. “The people we interviewed told wonderful stories and their experiences focus on the positive, but there’s lots of adversity, too. Through it all, we’re here and able to celebrate our accomplishments.”

Bailey and Este interviewed 19 second- and third-generation individuals from the families of the original settlers who left the United States to come to Western Canada between 1905 and 1912. Between 1,000 and 1,500 African Americans came to Canada, largely settling in the small rural Alberta communities of Amber Valley, Campsie, Wildwood, Breton and Maidstone in Saskatchewan.

Deborah Dobbins secured funding to create 'We are the Roots' to educate and make people aware of black settlers who came to the Prairies.

“What seems to come through in the interviews is the subtle discrimination that people are experiencing on a daily basis,” says Bailey.

Even though they weren’t overtly welcomed to Canada, some African Americans joined the Canadian military to serve in the First and Second World Wars. They helped develop Alberta by building schools and churches and clearing the land. A brother of one interviewee was among the group of musicians who established the Yardbird Suite jazz club in Edmonton.

Dobbins relates a family story about one of her aunts, Velma Carter, who was a teacher. Carter had signed a contract with a small town to be their teacher. When she arrived, she was told it was a mistake and her services weren’t needed after all. She told them that was fine; she’d go back home and they could pay her for the year.

“They couldn’t afford to do that so they kept her and, of course, she was an excellent teacher and they all loved her,” says Dobbins. “She went on to be a principal after she moved back to the United States. Then she came back to Canada in the 1970s and wrote three books about our history.”

We are the Roots will be shown at the Shiloh Baptist Church located at 10727 114 St. NW on Feb. 24 beginning at 6 p.m. Following the premiere, the film will be available on Bailey’s website at baileyandsoda.com.

“We are hoping that it will lead to more discussion, awareness and education,” says Dobbins. “We’re small in number but we are representing our people and if we don’t do it, who’s going to do it? So, we’re going forward however we can to make sure our story is told.”

Oral history lecture and workshop tap local authors and stories

caroline.zentner — Mon, 15 May 2017 20:14:45 +0000

Anyone lucky enough to have visited the Bow on Tong apothecary in Lethbridge’s Chinatown took a step back in time. Closed in 2013, the apothecary allowed visitors a look at dozens of drawers that once contained traditional remedies like ginseng or powdered horns or fungi.

Natalie Appleton

The Bow on Tong Co. was home to Albert Leong, whose father had operated the apothecary. Natalie Appleton, an award-winning author and former Lethbridge Herald reporter, was led to the Leong family’s story through her research for A Century in Ink, a commemorative book celebrating Alberta’s centennial in 2005. Her research and interview with Leong became the basis for her creative non-fiction work entitled Fourth Son of Fourth Wife, which was long-listed for the 2016 CBC Creative Non-Fiction Contest.

Southern Albertans can hear Appleton talk about Leong’s story, and several of her other short works, during a free public lecture titled Poetic Justice in Southern Alberta: An Evening with Award Winning Author Natalie Appleton, scheduled for Thursday, May 25 at 7 p.m. at the Galt Museum. The lecture is sponsored by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Centre for Oral History and Tradition (COHT) and the Galt Museum and Archives.

On Friday, May 26, Appleton will then team up with Dr. Jenna Bailey, a writer, historian, oral history consultant and post-doctoral fellow at COHT, for a workshop devoted to using oral histories to write creative non-fiction.

Dr. Jenna Bailey

Bailey is the author of Can Any Mother Help Me? The book tells the story of women who replied to a letter that was published in a 1935 edition of Nursery World magazine. The letter revealed a young mother’s frustration and loneliness and struck a chord with women all over Britain. Some of the women who replied to the letter began corresponding and a secret magazine — Cooperative Correspondence Club — was the eventual outcome. The women wrote about every aspect of their lives from childbirth to broken hearts and fading dreams.

Appleton and Bailey will discuss their writing and shed light on strategies that can be used in writing non-fiction texts. They’ll explore the various ways they’ve used oral history interviews to create stories that bring the past to life. Participants will learn practical tools they can apply in their own writing. A question-and-answer session will be moderated by Dr. Jay Gamble from the U of L’s Department of English.

“Given the increasing interest in oral history in Alberta, we are extremely pleased to offer these two unique opportunities to learn more about the craft,” says Bailey. “We invite everyone interested in finding out more about how oral history and creative non-fiction can help bring history to life to attend.”

The workshop goes from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Galt Museum. The workshop fee of $20 includes lunch. For more information, email coht@uleth.ca. To register for the workshop, phone the Galt Museum at 403-320-3954. Registration deadline is May 19.

Centre for Oral History and Tradition assists nationally-recognized community project

trevor.kenney — Fri, 18 Sep 2015 22:20:29 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Centre for Oral History and Tradition (COHT) has played an integral role in a project that has been recognized with a national honour.

The Picture Butte Museum and its Coyote Flats Pioneer Village has been awarded the 2015 Governor General’s History Award for Excellence in Community Programming.

The Governor’s General award recognizes community projects that tell stories about Canada’s past in unique and innovative ways. Coyote Flats was selected as the 2015 award recipient for an oral history project that saw seniors share their life stories and memories on video.

“Local high school students interviewed more than a dozen seniors about their connection and memories to four historic buildings at our pioneer village – a school, a church, a mail-order house and a train station,” explains project coordinator Kimberley Lyall. “Additionally, we also interviewed another approximately 40 seniors and captured their life history and memories on video.”

The project resulted in not only a growing collection of oral history videos, but also an ongoing partnership with Picture Butte High School and the U of L’s Centre for Oral History and Tradition, numerous opportunities for seniors to mentor youth, and increased appreciation within the community for its own history.

“The stories told by Picture Butte seniors not only commemorate local heritage but also create links between generations,” says Janet walker, president and CEO of Canada’s History Society, which administers the award. “”Hearing seniors’ stories about being a child or teenager long ago provides today’s students with insights into themselves and their own lives.”

The Centre for Oral History and Tradition was launched in 2013 as a means to advance research disciplines pertaining to oral history in the academic world, but also to collaborate with community organizations across southern Alberta to help preserve, study and understand the region’s oral history.

Coyote Flats Pioneer Village will be presented a gold medal by His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, at Rideau Hall on October 16, 2015.

Hidden Paths, Tangled Woods and Interesting Play Spaces

david.kirby — Thu, 15 May 2014 22:10:14 +0000

Illustration by Elena Ballam.

The way we study young people is taking on a whole new meaning at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, where researchers are using a holistic approach to understand their experiences, development and challenges.

The Institute for Child and Youth Studies, or I-CYS, is a research institute that is using a multidisciplinary lens to examine what children and youth mean as social, demographic, artistic, legal and existential categories. Launched in October 2012, and one of only a small handful of such initiatives worldwide, the institute involves U of L scholars from the humanities, social sciences and sciences collaborating to gain a greater understanding of child and youth matters.

“Cross-disciplinary work is especially important for understanding young people,” says I-CYS co-director Dr. Kristine Alexander, a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Child and Youth Studies and an assistant professor of history. “The academic study of history, like many other fields, was initially based on the assumption that young people’s thoughts and experiences were less important than those of adults. Challenging this assumption by working collaboratively is at the heart of what I-CYS is all about.”

Alexander began working at the U of L in July 2013, and says she has been impressed by the creativity and passion of her colleagues. The concept for I-CYS emerged from an international conference on the state of child studies held at the U of L in May 2011. Childhoods Conference: Mapping the Landscapes of Childhood was a multidisciplinary three-day event that focused on new research results, policy approaches and theoretical paradigms in the field of child and childhood study. Scholars from the U of L and other institutions in disciplines such as education, sociology, English and neuroscience joined
with child and youth practitioners to discuss themes such as gender, globalization, technology and adolescence.

“If you only talk to people who know the same thing as you, your knowledge never changes. Having people from different disciplines engage with each other was a way to build on and exchange what we know about the young,” says I-CYS co-director Dr. Jan Newberry, Chair of the Department of Anthropology at the U of L and one of the conference organizers.

Back row (L-R) Dr. Louise Barrett, Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Cognition, Evolution and Behaviour, Dr. Amy von Heyking, Dr. Jan Newberry, I-CYS co-director, Dr. Sergio Pellis, Board of Governors Research Chair. Front row (L-R) Dr. Janay Nugent, Dr. Elizabeth Galway, Dr. Kristine Alexander, I-CYS co-director and Canada Research Chair (Tier 2) in Child and Youth Studies.

The diverse and provocative ideas that emerged from the conference prompted Newberry and her colleagues to explore developing a full-fledged multidisciplinary research initiative at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ focused on childhood studies. After a year and a half of planning, which included securing the Canada Research Chair, the idea came to fruition. Today, seven U of L faculty members from the disciplines of history, anthropology, literary studies, psychology, neuroscience and education lead the institute.

“I-CYS values curiosity and the exploration of ideas, just like the play of a child,” says Newberry. “As we talk from a variety of perspectives – the archives, the classroom, the field, the book, the laboratory – about what it means to try to study and understand the young, we discover hidden paths, tangled woods and interesting play spaces.”

Further, Newberry explains, I-CYS aims to be an idea generator (just like any entrepreneurial enterprise) – only the payoff here is better questions, especially those that aren’t usually asked because researchers are trapped in disciplinary silos.

To build on the momentum of the original conference, the institute is hosting an exchange of ideas with a selected group of national and international scholars and practitioners on campus this spring. The workshop, Risk and Resilience: Conjoined Categories with Multiple Mothers, will explore the dimensions of the potential dangers to youths and their responses to it, with the aim to encourage a more creative approach to research dissemination that will help research reach a wider, more general public.

“We see the workshop as the beginning step to creating a truly interdisciplinary approach to understanding young people,” Alexander says.

Through the playful exploration of new strategies for conducting research, and daring to think differently about how work is conducted within one’s own field, Alexander and Newberry hope participants will develop a whole new mindset to think about risk and resilience, fully embracing the advantages of a multidisciplinary perspective, and so pave the way for a truly interdisciplinary approach to the study of child and youth.

U of L students are also helping to advance the institute’s objectives to better understand the lives of young people from a variety of perspectives. The institute holds “friendly feedback” sessions where students from different academic areas gain diverse input on their child- and youth-related research projects from the I-CYS directors. As well, the institute is recruiting a post-doctoral fellow for a one-year term starting this September. Over the longer term, I-CYS will introduce a minor option in child and youth studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and, eventually, undergraduate and graduate degrees in the subject.

A key part of the institute’s work involves pursuing a broad mix of partnerships to explore specific issues of childhood. To that end, it is exploring ways to engage with different groups within the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, including Complex Social Change, an interdisciplinary research program exploring how social change takes place; and the Centre for Oral History and Tradition, which is focused on advancing the practice of oral history.

Outside of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ, the institute will work to connect with local organizations on child and youth research. Opokaa’sin Early Intervention Society, along with its executive director, Tanya Pace-Crosschild (BSc í98), was the first partner in research developed by I-CYS. Along with Opokaa’sin, the Galt Museum & Archives also made important founding connections with the institute, and there is a lot of excitement about the potential of joint projects with both organizations.

An advisory committee of researchers, community agencies, First Nations, Métis and Inuit groups, and undergraduate and graduate students is helping to guide the institute’s activities, which will also include another international conference in 2015.

“There is a sense that there is a need to pay attention to children and the young as an interesting crossroads in knowledge,” Newberry says. “The institute is creating exciting opportunities for us as researchers to think about how we can extend our work across disciplines and into the community.”

This story appears in the Spring 2014 edition of SAM. For a look at the full magazine in a flipbook format, follow this link.

ULFA presents Respect and Diversity Week, Mar. 10-14

trevor.kenney — Fri, 07 Mar 2014 18:20:10 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Faculty Association's Gender, Equity and Diversity Caucus is presenting its 4th Annual Respect & Diversity Week, Mar. 10-14.

Initiated in 2011, the week has worked to initiate and stimulate conversations about respect and diversity on campus, with the ultimate goal to promote respect and diversity to enhance the U of L workplace.

The Changing Face of Inclusion is the theme for this year's event. The week's activities will explore how ideas and practices about inclusion have changed through time, and how people from different generations and backgrounds understand and experience inclusivity.

Throughout the week, the goal is to raise awareness about the shifting nature of inclusion, and the various ways people can come to terms with changes in what respect and diversity has meant in the past, means today, and might mean in the future.

Check out the following lineup of events.

Monday, Mar, 10 ~ 12 to 1 p.m., L1170A

Open Doors and Silent Voices: Conducting Oral History Interviews with the Ivy Benson Band

Using material from over 80 oral history interviews, Dr. Jenna Bailey will discuss the lives and careers of musicians in the Ivy Benson Band, the first nationally known and longest running all girl band in British history (1940-1985). Dr. Bailey will address the historical dismissal of female popular musicians based on gender and sexuality and explore how this impacted the process of oral history interviewing. Presented in partnership with the Centre for Oral History and Tradition.

Tuesday, Mar. 11 ~ 12:15- to 1:30 p.m., AH118

Spoken Word: Changing Face/s of Inclusion

Building on last year’s success, we would like to invite faculty, staff, and students to participate in a Spoken Word event again this year. We’re looking for people interested in speaking, performing, acting, reciting, reading, improvising, or ranting a short (3 minutes maximum) piece that is in some way related to any aspect of diversity and inclusion. If you are interested in participating, please contact Sandra Cowan at sandra.cowan@uleth.ca or 403-332-4465.

We welcome submissions by YouTube or mp4 from Calgary and Edmonton campuses. All performers will receive a certificate of participation.

Wednesday, Mar. 12 ~ 7 p.m., Lethbridge Public Library

Movie Night: Amreeka

Presented in partnership with the Lethbridge Public Library, the award-winning Amreeka chronicles the adventures of Muna, a single mother who leaves the West Bank with Fadi, her teenage son, with dreams of an exciting future in the promised land of small-town Illinois. Told with heartfelt humor by writer/director Cherien Dabis, Amreeka is a universal journey into the lives of a family of immigrants and first-‐generation teenagers caught between their heritage, the new world in which they now live and the bittersweet search for a place to call home.

Thursday, Mar. 13 ~ 3:05 to 4:20 p.m., AH116

Workshop: Managing Inclusion in the Classroom: Sexism, Homophobia and Discrimination

This event is intended to help instructors build inclusive classrooms in which all students feel welcome and empowered to learn. The workshop will be discussion based, and focus on prejudicial behaviour generally, with specific attention to dealing with racism, sexism and homophobia. A representative of the Alberta Teachers' Association will facilitate the conversation.

Faculty and graduate students are invited to participate. Please feel free to spread the word to anyone you think might be interested in attending.

If you are interested in participating, please contact John Sheriff at john.sheriff@uleth.ca or 403-329-2086.

Friday, Mar. 14, 2:30 to 4:30 p.m., L1168

Two Decades of Change in Higher Education

Join three ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge professors at differing stages in their careers in a discussion of the changing face of education and the challenges faced by faculty in this changing environment. This workshop is being hosted with the Teaching Centre.

Monday through Friday, Edmonton Campus

Diversity and Culture Breaks: Enjoy food, music and micro-theatre during evening class breaks all week on the Edmonton campus. Brought to you by Jerry Potter and Dr. Robin Derry.

U of L launches Centre for Oral History and Tradition

trevor.kenney — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 17:29:59 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has launched a new institute aimed at ensuring southern Alberta’s oral history is preserved and accessible.

The Centre for Oral History and Tradition (COHT) will not only advance research disciplines pertaining to oral history in the academic world, but also collaborate with community organizations across southern Alberta to help preserve, study and understand the region’s oral history.

The de Grandmaison oral history project is an example of the work that the Centre for Oral History and Tradition will undertake.

“The Institute will strive to preserve and analyze oral history sources,” says Dr. Heidi MacDonald, director of the new centre. “Oral histories contain valuable information that is often not available in any other form. Preserving these narratives is critical to understanding many fields of study. Our research will have an enduring relevance well into the future because the oral histories we capture will be studied for many more generations.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge faculty and graduate students involved in the institute have expertise in such areas as employment, health, sport, gender, religion, culture and local history. Together with community partners, including the Galt Museum and Archives, the centre will provide workshops and other support in order to identify, establish and assist oral history projects undertaken in southern Alberta. The centre is also committed to ensuring these projects are made available to the public.

“We want to be a portal for the dissemination of oral history to other researchers as well as provide a place where this knowledge is available to the people of southern Alberta and beyond. In addition to sharing the research we at the centre are interested in, we want to build this capacity with community groups that have an interest in preserving their own oral histories,” says MacDonald.

Collecting and preserving oral histories is becoming increasingly important. MacDonald says information is continually becoming more transient, which will have implications for the future. For example, fewer people keep diaries, and in the workplace, e-mails are easily deleted.

“Sources that historians have traditionally used are becoming rare. Far less information is hitting paper today compared to even a decade ago,” says MacDonald. “In addition, oral histories can provide personal insights that expand on more standard histories.”

The announcement of the COHT was made at the Galt Museum & Archives. The event included a display demonstrating an oral history project undertaken by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Art Gallery and ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives, an initiative that supports the gallery’s vast Nicholas de Grandmaison collection of artworks and artifacts.

As an itinerant painter, de Grandmaison often stayed with ranchers, farmers and Aboriginal families for several days at a time while he painted their portraits. His unique lifestyle, character and attitude having left a plethora of interesting experiences that augment the context of his paintings. These stories complement the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's de Grandmaison collection.

The U of L is home to 12 different centres and institutes that foster and promote research expertise and capabilities as well as provide a platform for trans-disciplinary research.

The U of L’s Vice-President (Research), Dr. Dan Weeks, says these centres and institutes facilitate the formation of unique and creative research and teaching partnerships inside and outside of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

“The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s initiative to create new centres and institutes allows for greater collaboration among researchers and makes research more publicly available. The Centre for Oral History and Tradition will make an incredibly positive contribution to southern Alberta communities through its work,” says Weeks.

Oral History Project brings the past to life

david.kirby — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 15:31:23 +0000

The late English writer Rudyard Kipling once reflected, “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.” ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students Karissa Patton (BA ’13) and Maria Livingston would likely agree with that observation.

U of L master’s student Karissa Patton (BA ’13) and undergraduate student Maria Livingston are investigating the past as part of the Oral History Project. (Photo by Leslie Ohene-Adjei)

Last summer, Patton, who is now pursuing a master’s degree in history, and Livingston, a third-year Native American studies student, worked together on the Oral History Project, a story-gathering initiative supported by the U of L Art Gallery, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives and the Centre for Oral History and Tradition.

Today Livingston continues to be involved in the project, which is aimed at helping people to enhance their understanding of artist Nicholas de Grandmaison (1892-1978) and his unique connections to First Nations communities. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has a vast collection of de Grandmaison artwork and artifacts, including 67 original pastel portraits that were donated to the U of L Art Gallery by BMO Financial Group earlier this year along with funding to support research related to the art gift.

A cultural icon of southern Alberta and one of the most important portraitists of First Nations people, de Grandmaison was a nomadic painter who often stayed with ranchers, farmers and aboriginal families for several days at a time while he painted their portraits. His work not only documented the history of First Nations people in Canada, but was also unmatched in its ability to capture the unique personalities of those who sat for portraits.

With guidance from U of L archivist, Mike Perry (MEd ’06), and professor Lisa Doolittle of the Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts, Patton and Livingston contacted members of the Kainai, Siksika and Piikani First Nations, searching for and interviewing people who may have had contact either with de Grandmaison or any of the subjects featured in his paintings.

“Collecting individual narratives is important because people aren’t writing things down as much as they once did. Also, the stories that have been included in historical archives in the past have often just been those of famous people and politicians,” says Patton.

To ensure the full range of stories compiled in the oral history project are shared for years to come, Livingston is now working on an educational program for high school students and an online resource for middle school students. The initiatives are a way of giving back to First Nations communities and youth, says Livingston, who is of Cree heritage.

“I’m thankful for the opportunity to work on this project,” she says. “Along with hearing great storytelling, I’ve learned more about First Nations culture and history, and that complements what I’ve been learning in school.”

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ officially launched the Centre for Oral History and Tradition on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at the Galt Museum & Archives. To view the news release, follow this link.

Oral History Project brings the past to life

trevor.kenney — Tue, 22 Oct 2013 22:38:48 +0000

The late English writer Rudyard Kipling once reflected, “If history were taught in the form of stories, it would never be forgotten.”

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students Karissa Patton (BA ’13) and Maria Livingston would likely agree with that observation.

Karissa Patton, left, and Maria Livingston are helping to bring the past to life through the Oral History Project.

Last summer, Patton, who is now pursuing a master’s degree in history, and Livingston, a third-year Native American Studies student, worked together on the Oral History Project, a story-gathering initiative supported by the U of L Art Gallery, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Archives and Centre for Oral History and Tradition.

Today, Livingston continues to be involved in the project, which is aimed at helping people to enhance their understanding of artist Nicholas de Grandmaison (1892-1978) and his unique connections to First Nations communities. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ has a vast collection of de Grandmaison artwork and artifacts, including 67 original pastel portraits that were donated to the art gallery by BMO Financial Group earlier this year along with funding to support research related to the art gift.

A cultural icon of southern Alberta and one of the most important portraitists of First Nations people, de Grandmaison was a nomadic painter who often stayed with ranchers, farmers and Aboriginal families for several days at a time while he painted their portraits. His work not only documented the history of First Nations people in Canada, but was also unmatched in its ability to capture the unique personalities of those who sat for portraits.

With guidance from U of L archivist Mike Perry and Lisa Doolittle of the Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts, Patton and Livingston contacted members of the Kainai, Siksika and Piikani First Nations, searching for – and interviewing – people who may have had contact either with de Grandmaison or any of the subjects featured in his paintings.

To ensure the full range of stories compiled in the oral history project are shared for years to come, Livingston is now working on an educational program and online resource for high school students and middle school students, respectively. The initiatives are a way of giving back to First Nations communities and youth, says Livingston, who is of Cree heritage.

Three new research centres approved

trevor.kenney — Mon, 06 May 2013 22:08:29 +0000

The General Faculties Council at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge has approved the creation of three new collaborative, and diverse, research centres, which will focus on the creation of oral history, develop community-based collaborations and bring together chemistry and biochemistry researchers from around the world to further their expertise in fluorine technologies.

Growth of research centres and institutes in strategic areas, and the continued development of existing centres and institutes, is a key feature of the Strategic Research Plan of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

"The new centres bring the number of specifically-established groups to 13, all of which involve a significant number of cross-faculty or cross-departmental collaborations," says David Hill, the U of L's Director of Centres and Research Institutes.

"These three new groups have exciting plans for growth in their respective research areas that involve students at all levels, develop enhanced relationships with colleagues on campus and internationally and also showcase the U of L as an interesting and innovative place to work and learn."

The Centre for Oral History and Tradition (COHT)

The Centre for Oral History and Tradition (COHT) will see researchers collaborate on oral history projects, offer resources and training to students and researchers interested in making oral history part of their research process, and work with partners, such as the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Archives, to ensure oral history projects are properly executed, documented and available for future reference.

The Centre for Culture and Community (CCC)

The Centre for Culture and Community (CCC) will serve as a resource for ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge faculty and community partners engaged in cultural and community-based studies and creative activity.

The CCC's mission is to facilitate mutually beneficial university-community collaboration and resource-sharing with respect to social-science and humanities research, creative activity and outreach focused primarily, though not exclusively, on Lethbridge and southern Alberta.

The Canadian Centre for Research in Advanced Fluorine Technologies (C-CRAFT)

The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry has brought together a local, national and international team of researchers to found the Canadian Centre for Research in Advanced Fluorine Technologies, Canada's first collaborative group with concentration of unique expertise in fluorine chemistry.

The establishment of the Canadian Centre for Advanced Fluorine Technologies (C-CRAFT) will allow the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ to become a focal point for tackling challenges in materials, energy and the environment for which fluorine provides solutions, such as the oil and gas industry, manufacturing and steel and aluminum refining.

UNews - Centre for Oral History and Tradition

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