Advancing Across The West

 A reminder to those in the area that Winterlude begins this weekend and goes through to February 16th.

This is an elk skin, an artifact of the Blackfoot people. It was their habit to do a winter count, painting onto the elkskin what had been most significant for the tribe that past year, and done in a circle spiraling out.

French-Canadian fur traders went out ahead of anyone else, long before the country itself moved west. Called voyageurs, they pushed deep into the continent, adapting to life among indigenous peoples, establishing relationships, usually marrying into the tribe. This painting from 1869 is by Frances Anne Hopkins. It is titled Canoe Manned By Voyageurs Passing A Waterfall.

The voyageurs that had gone out and established families among indigenous peoples eventually gave rise to a culture distinct by itself- the Metis, a blending of the two influences. These are clothing items made by Metis women. The Metis would become a big part of the story of the Canadian West, looking to assert their own right to exist.

The Canadian government looked west to expand the Dominion of Canada, to make it a sea-to-sea country. Metis and other indigenous peoples would be in the way.

These are art pieces by the Haida, an indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, originally called the North-west Mounted Police, would go out ahead of the country as a form of law enforcement in the West.

Here in a display case is a ceremonial last spike, and a pocket watch presented to Prime Minister Macdonald.

Fathers Of Confederation

 The Fenian Raids rose up following the American Civil War, with Union veterans of Irish descent trying to take Canada by force and hold it for ransom to make the British give Ireland independence. Each raid failed, with militia and regular troops driving them out. This is the rifle of a Raider; it was typical of them to wear their Union uniforms as well.

Things were chaotic in the Canadian legislature during this period, with a stable majority out of the question.

Three leaders banded together to forge the way for Confederation. John A. Macdonald, George Brown, and George-Etienne Cartier were known in the Canadas, and the other parts of British North America. Macdonald and Cartier were co-premiers of the legislature. Macdonald and Brown despised each other. But they went to work together, recognizing the need for a strong federal union.

The most eloquent voice of the Fathers of Confederation was Thomas D'Arcy McGee, a close friend of Macdonald. A lawyer and journalist, he had been a radical years before in his native Ireland before immigrating. His world view changed entirely upon seeing the workings of Parliamentary democracy in Canada, and saw that as the way to go. That change in view enraged his old comrades among the Fenians, who never forgave him.

He was assassinated one night in 1868, coming home from a session at Parliament, shot in the back of the head. This is the revolver said to be used in the assassination. A Fenian, Patrick James Whalen, was convicted and executed for the murder, though he claimed innocence.

One of the defining photographs of Canadian history- the Fathers of Confederation at the Charlottetown Conference in 1864.

Queen Victoria would would sign Confederation into law. The Canadian colonies became provinces under a federal government, and the country became a reality.

This large photograph shows the first Confederation in Kingston, Ontario, in 1867.

First Nations peoples in the west had long standing relationships with traders, taking the European goods they bartered for and trading them even more in their own long established trade routes of the west.

A Country In Progress

 This beautiful sleigh was made in Montreal during the first half of the 19th century.

Medals and chalices- a nod to the growing use of precious metals in British North America.

Montreal also saw the rise of sports clubs- from cricket to curling to lacrosse. That last sport, a game played for thousands of years by indigenous peoples, is one of Canada's two national sports.

William Logan was the first director of the Geological Survey of Canada, a government organization that went out to study the land, advancing knowledge as they went. Their first headquarters was in Montreal before moving to Ottawa.

Medals and an octant presented to Logan for the work of the GSC are displayed here.

The 1830s saw a time of rebellions in the colonies. In their wake, two colonial legislatures- Upper Canada and Lower Canada, what is today Ontario and Quebec- were fused into one. It was an ungainly fusion. And yet it would lay the groundwork for Canada becoming what it is today.

The Canadas had two co-premiers, Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine, who went to work with an agenda for responsible government by the people. 

They had the support of the governor-general at the time, Lord Elgin. Their work would lead to Confederation in the years following their time in office.

Colonial politicians would come together to discuss the formation of a country.

A big factor in that lay south of the border, where the Americans had ambitions looking north, and spent years locked in the brutal fighting of the Civil War. Canadian leaders looked at what was happening to the south, and took it as an example of what not to follow.

Frontier Living

 After the French and Indian War had ended, the Acadians were allowed to return to their homeland. This chest dates back to that time. They would re-establish their lives, and in time would found organizations and do much to promote their distinct culture. The Acadian community continues to thrive today.

Southern Ontario began to see settlers, most of whom were English speaking. These items date to that period in the first half of the 19th century.

Montreal became the focal point of British North America, in commerce, industry, and education.

This is the crest of the Molson's Bank, established in the city.