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Margaret Bennett, David Bright, Janet E. Chute, Alice Glanville, Julian Gwyn, Mary-Ellen Kelm, Charlene Porsild

The Clio Prizes

1999

Atlantic Canada
Julian GwynExcessive Expectations: Maritime Commerce and the Economic Development of Nova Scotia, 1740-1870 (McGill-Queen’s University Press).
Julian Gwyn uses modern development theory and a massive data base to track each of Nova Scotia’s economic sectors over time, to follow the rise and fall of import/export ratios, and to note the unsettling effects of war and changes in British colonial policy. Like most modern scholars, he rejects the ‘myth of the golden age’ at mid-century and finds the Reciprocity Treaty of dubious benefit. In addition to his macro-economic findings, he conducts a fascinating economic tour of the villages and outports, describing their productive activities and the constant struggle of the inhabitants to eke out a living. He demonstrates that the global economy was just as competitive and unpredictable then as it is now, especially for small undercapitalized regions.
Peter B. Waite, The Man from Halifax: Sir John Thompson, Prime Minister, 1985, Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Notwithstanding his interest in the larger national political life, Professor Waite has always remained attentive to the history of the Atlantic provinces. Even before the great revival of Atlantic Canadian history in the 1970s, he was encouraging his students to head to the archives and investigate regional topics. His biography of Sir John Thompson and his lively two-volume history of Dalhousie University probe the relationship of the individuals and institutions of this region to the larger national and international community. They do so, moreover, in the elegant, often anecdotal and witty manner that has become the hallmark of this ‘man from Halifax’.

Quebec
Margaret BennettOatmeal and the Catechism: Scottish Gaelic Settlers in Quebec. (John Donald Publishers, Edinburgh and McGill-Queen’s University Press).
Out of a local experience, which acts as a mediator for identity as it is observed in the practices of daily life, comes a work which presents cultures in all their creative dynamics. It is an ethnological and anthropological study that provides a better understanding of the pluralism of the Eastern Townships and the contribution of the Gaelic culture to the history of this area of Quebec. It is an analysis which highlights the often otherwise silent contribution of women in a blind world. Its methodology is well constructed and makes a fine use of oral sources. Finally, it is voices that make themselves heard and invite a rewriting of our national stories.

Ontario
Janet E. ChuteThe Legacy of Shingwaukonse: A Century of Native Leadership (University of Toronto Press).
Janet Chute provides a detailed and carefully contextualized analysis of the lives and careers of the Garden River Ojibwa chief Shingwaukonse (Little Pine) and two of his sons. Located near Sault Ste Marie, the community faced pressures for change and assimilation during the nineteenth century resulting from Canadian industrial expansion, missionary activity, and government policy. Through the use of an impressive range of oral archival, and published sources, and with as careful attention to spiritual considerations as to matters of practical negotiation, Chute demonstrates how these leaders sought — with some degree of success — to preserve the cultural values of their community and a degree of control over their lands and resources.

The Prairies
David BrightThe Limits of Labour: Class Formation and the Labour Movement in Calgary, 1883-1929 (UBC Press).
In this well-researched, thematically broad study, David Bright examines class formation and the labour movement in Calgary in the years before the Depression. He demonstrates the reality of class differences but also explores the impediments to the creation of a unified working class consciousness. While focused on Calgary, Bright’s engaging and revealing work connects to larger themes across the Prairies and beyond.

British Columbia
Mary-Ellen KelmColonizing Bodies: Aboriginal Health and Healing in British Columbia, 1900-1950 (UBC Press).
Mary-Ellen Kelm takes a province-wide approach to the history of aboriginal health, drawing together isolated and disparate studies in the service of an innovative perspective. Her approach includes a critical, post-modernist view of the ways in which notions of the body have been constructed. For aboriginal British Colombians, this process has taken place within the context of colonialism and perceived inherent inferiorities. Kelm handles these theoretical challenges with aplomb and, in doing so, forces a re-thinking of not only medical history in British Columbia but demography, missionary work, residential schools, and the state. Scholars working in each of these areas will be obliged to think again about many of their premises and assumptions. The research is solid, the conclusions are important, and the tables are first rate.

Lifetime Achievement Award
Alice Glanville, Past president of the British Columbia Historical Federation
Alice Glanville has been active in the preservation and publication of materials associated especially with the Boundary area. Editor and contributor to The Boundary Historical Report, she is also author of Grand Forks: The First 100 Years, Schools of the Boundary, 1881-1991, and The Life and Times of Grand Forks: Where the Kettle River Flows. She has been active in promoting British Columbian and regional history in the schools, in preserving artifacts and sites, and in encouraging others in their researches. As well, she has played a public role as a school trustee and a marriage commissioner and has served as a member of the Boundary Health Council and the Phoenix Foundation.

The North
Charlene PorsildGamblers and Dreamers: Women, Men, and the Community in the Klondike (UBC Press).
Charlene Porsild provides an engaging and informative overview of the social dimensions of the Klondike Gold Rush, summarizing the available literature and offering new insights based on extensive archival research. She tackles numerous stereotypes and myths about the Klondike experience and offers a realistic portrayal of this important period in the history of the North.