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Canadian History; Local or National
By
Bob Orrick
It has been said that Canada has no history or if it has, its history is boring. I beg to differ; in my opinion, Canada's history is vivid, exciting and real. Canadians do not need Hollywood [or the National Film Board or CBC] to varnish over the truth or to pump up minor events into major illusions. Yet, perhaps that is precisely what Canada ought to do. It seems abundantly clear that two things have combined to rob Canada and Canadians of their wonderful history. First, academia has conspired to remove Canada-wide history in favour of local history. Rather than have Canadians, especially the impressionable youth, learn about the vastness of this country and its abundance of opulent accumulation of past events, those who deign to rule school curricula have opted to downplay national history and promote local events of significance. While that might not be seen as a bad thing, it does tend to take away from a concept of national origins in favour of minuscule items that tend to fracture the country rather than draw it together in a cohesive unit of historical understanding. Those who live in the historical capital of Newfoundland and Labrador have probably have learned much about 'Signal Hill' and Marconi and his successful 1912 trans-Atlantic transmission of a radio wave. However, those from the far-reaches of Friendly Cove on Vancouver Island probably know little of St. John's and Marconi but a good deal about Captain George Vancouver and his discovery of Nootka Sound. Both events are historical and both shaped the world that we live in today. Each ought to be widely taught in Canadian schools. Those are but two examples; there are many more. Sadly, Canadian schools do not put a lot of stock in Canadian national history.
On a recent motor trip through a bit of British Columbia's vastness, our small group of four stopped at the historic 'Last Spike' and drank in the history of the splendour of the meeting of rail to mark the end of construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway. The spot is on the Trans Canada Highway at the unfamiliar name of 'Craigellachie' about half-way between Sicamous and Revelstoke. The name was chosen by Donald Smith, a principal of the fledging CPR, in honour of Craigellachie, a rocky crag in Morayshire, Scotland, where he grew up. The spot is a solid piece of Canadian history that might easily be overlooked by Canadians who either do not live in that region of BC or who do not travel widely in the land. Of course, travel can be undertaken via the highway of knowledge as illustrated in many fine books on Canada and its building from a European [Britain and France] colony to the second largest country - landmass - in the world.
One other place that is steeped in history is Red Deer, Alberta.
The city of 80,000 [approximately] gets is name from Scottish settlers who confused the Cree name for 'elk' for the red deer of their homeland and named the place Red Deer. The city is not historical for that fact but for the fact that the Canadian militia built Fort Normandeau on the site during the Riel Rebellion of 1885. Later, the North West Mounted Police [NWMP] took over the fort and used it as a barracks until 1893 when it was moved seven miles downstream to the site of a newly-constructed railway line. [Now the Canadian Pacific Railway.]
Today, Red Deer is a modern city that seems to expand almost weekly as more and more housing developments ring the city's core. Situated about halfway between Edmonton to the north and Calgary to the south, Red Deer has excellent recreational and cultural facilities, a college, a modern hospital, a large regional health centre, plus extensive exhibition and convention facilities. The city owes its prosperity to the petrochemical industry. All those things are recent; the history is past.
As one walks the city, ghosts of Mounties can be seen riding the range keeping the law and consoling the Indians whom the government of Canada had lied to so that it fell to the Mounties to attempt to keep the peace. They did and little if any of the American Wild West ran roughshod over the Canadian plains. American trouble makers who came north bent on bribing the Indians with 'fire water' were soon sent packing by the NWMP. All of that and more are in and around Red Deer, Alberta.
History is history but for reasons best known to themselves, academics have twisted the pages so that only a slight glimpse of the truth can be seen from the fading journals of our glorious past.
For a more detailed look at this subject turn to Jack Granatstein's Who Killed Canadian History? HarperCollins PublishersLtd, 1998, ISBN 0-00-255759-2. Jack's book is a wonderful read that for Canadians, at least those who care about such things, will raise their ire to the exploding point.
A quote, "Canada must be one of the few nations in the world, certainly one of the few Western industrialised states, that does not make an effort to teach its history positively and thoroughly to its young people."
Another quote, "The choices which are made every day in schools are political, not historical. They aim to teach about racism and sexism, not history. The history taught is that of grievers among us, the present-day crusaders against public policy or discrimination. The history omitted is that of the Canadian nation and people."
Thanks to misguided academics, the quotes are not exaggerations.
Take to the road, explore Canada, drink in its rich history, and bask in the knowledge that this country is a beacon that shines brightly for all the world; Canada's doors are open to all but with one caveat: leave your baggage at home. Come and rejoice with us and learn the history of this vast, generous land.
Bob Orrick is a private tutor of English grammar, literature, poetry and Canadian history to off-shore youngsters. His pupils hail from such places as Taiwan, China, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea and Venezuela. He was previously in international marketing, was a ministerial assistant to a provincial cabinet minister, spent a few years as a reporter then editor of a community newspaper and enjoyed a career in the Royal Canadian Navy.
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