56.4 Winter 2023

British Columbia History

Discover British Columbia’s Past!

British Columbia History1 min read
British Columbia History
EDITORS Dalys Barney Books Editor Mark Forsythe Front Words Aimee Greenaway Managing Editor Greg Nesteroff Editor-at-Large Addison Oberg Photo Editor Robyn So Copy Editor K. Jane Watt Associate Editor PROOFING TEAM Greg Antle Greg Nesteroff Ron Green
British Columbia History2 min read
History From The Workplace Trenches
Noted historian J.L. Granatstein once argued that labour history and other forms of social history were killing our national history. His Who Killed Canadian History? unleashed a storm of controversy about the importance of examining our past from ma
British Columbia History11 min read
The Indigenous Miners of British Columbia's First Coal Fields
One of the least discussed elements of British Columbia history is that all the early industries that sparked and sustained European settlement depended on Indigenous labour. Indigenous People were the hunters and trappers that the Hudson's Bay Compa
British Columbia History2 min read
Inbox
Dear Editors. In the Fall, 2023 edition of British Columbia History both the Front Words article entitled “James McMillan Expedition: 200th anniversary” and the article “Missionary Letters from 1845-1847 Reveal New Historical Insights” state that For
British Columbia History5 min read
Front Words
Darshan Singh Sangha was a union organizer and human rights activist who fought for equal pay, improved working conditions, and the right to vote (see “Darshan Singh Sangha: ‘Forever Canadian’ union organizer,” in this issue). He arrived in BC in 193
British Columbia History6 min read
Eight Hours Underground
In 1897, the silver-rich Slocan district in British Columbia's West Kootenay—with the thriving boomtowns of Sandon, New Denver, and Slocan City—was touted as the most important and productive mining district in all the province.1 By 1900, diminished
British Columbia History9 min readCrime & Violence
Tunneling for Workplace Justice
Over the past 25 years, more and more Canadian employers in a variety of industries have turned to migrant labour on work permits to fill employment needs. About 22,000 migrant workers came to Canada in 2000, expanding to over 112,000 in 2009. In 202
British Columbia History5 min read
Challenging the Male Breadwinner Tradition
From its pioneer beginning, women helped to build the province of British Columbia. They included Indigenous People, settlers, immigrants, entrepreneurial pioneers, and so-called “country wives” of fur-trade explorers like David Thompson's partner Ca
British Columbia History2 min read
Thelma Emblem: Whistle punk
A rare sight in the woods on Vancouver Island in 1940, Thelma Emblem was an 18-year-old at work in steam logging operations alongside men. While her friends thought she should be a stenographer, Thelma grew up chopping firewood, clearing land, and pl
British Columbia History2 min read
Working North
It was innocence that did it – that and a casual bravado and maybe too, a hint of desperation to break out of my mother's style of life, anything but that, though it would hurt when I told her that, years later. What was there to lose? If my goals we
British Columbia History5 min read
Darshan Singh Sangha
In 1943, Nigel Morgan, an executive member of the International Woodworkers of America (IWA), told a union meeting at the Youbou Mill, west of Duncan, that “one hundred percent of the East Indians had joined the union,” a historic victory for the uni
British Columbia History5 min read
From Boat Person to Rainbow Activist
Earlier this summer, I chatted with Raymond Liens about his life work as an activist organizing workers to secure their rights, regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation, or gender identity. ED Hello. Raymond! Thanks for agreeing to the interview.
British Columbia History7 min read
Fundraisers, Axe-Wielders, and Star Witnesses
Women played essential roles as activists in a divided community during the Great Vancouver Island Coal Miners’ Strike. Their activism during the 1912–1914 strike and the 1913 riots had unjust consequences that rippled through the community for gener
British Columbia History4 min read
Discovering Ginger Goodwin
Labour history is difficult to access. Essentially, the story of working people is the story of their day-to-day work. Only when there is a departure from daily routine—perhaps loss of life, a bitter strike—will newspapers and other media typically t
British Columbia History6 min read
Rebel Union Local 7292 in the Elk Valley
In 1897-98, settler-colonists flooded into the Crowsnest Pass and neighbouring Elk Valley, first to build a new branch line for the Canadian Pacific Railway and then to work in the booming coal mining industry that followed.1 The British Columbia ent
British Columbia History8 min read
Singing and Solidarity
To hear a couple of thousand people singing to the tune of a well-known Woody Guthrie song, So long, it's been good to know you (3x) Your cutting and slashing's gone on far too long So you'd better be drifting along! was a delight to the ears of the
British Columbia History5 min read
The CKLG Strike of 1975
In the history of labour relations in Canadian broadcasting, private radio stands out as a sector that has almost completely resisted unionization. Through the middle decades of the twentieth century, trade unions that attempted to gain a foothold in
British Columbia History14 min read
Portrait of a Woman Navigating Cultural Erasure
Terry has accepted BC History's invitation to sit as Researcher-in-Residence throughout 2023 as he continues to learn about the story of his great-grandmother and the personal legacies of colonial and federal policies. This is the fourth of four part
British Columbia History1 min read
Looking Back to Look Forward
Long December nights encourage reflection, particularly on the events and experiences of the past year. I have been thinking about historical narratives that are being shared in full, nuanced ways with critical community voices. This truth-telling is
British Columbia History4 min read
Curriculum Connections
The inspiring stories of fifty remarkable women who changed the history of BC and the Yukon by defying social norms are featured in this book. From activists and writers to scientists and Cultural Knowledge Holders, this diverse group of women includ
British Columbia History4 min read
Refracting History | Stories In Digital And Print
[The act] was an overtly racist law prohibiting the arrival of newcomers from China. It also required all people of Chinese heritage, including Canadian-born, to register with the federal government in order to stay in the country. Chinese Canadian c

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