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Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx

@CraigBaird

Mar 31

Mary Greyeyes died today in 2011, and this is her story!

Born on Nov. 14, 1920 at the Muskeg Lake Cree Nation Reserve, she was sent to residential school when she was five. In 1940, after her brother enlisted in the army, she chose to do the same.

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She enlisted with the Canadian Women's Army Corps because the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service & the women's division of the Royal Canadian Air Force required women to be white to enlist.
She became the 1st Indigenous woman to join the Canadian Armed Forces.

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Greyeyes was then used for publicity. A photo was taken of her receiving a "blessing" from a man dressed as a Cree Chief.
The man, Harry Ball, was not a chief & had to put together an outfit with borrowed items.
In the photo, Greyeyes was called an "Indian princess"

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Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx

@CraigBaird

Mar 30

It is #FrancophonieMonth and this is the story of the Franco-Manitobans!

The first French speakers arrived in what is now Manitoba in 1660 when fur traders reached the area.
Settlement of the area by Francophones did not occur until the 1730s though.

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Pierre Gaultier de Varennes was the 1st to establish a presence in southern Manitoba with Fort St. Charles in 1732. From that year until 1741, he established seven forts in Manitoba.
As fur traders arrived, they married Indigenous women, creating the Metis people.

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In 1871, there were 5,500 Francophones in Manitoba, making up half of the population of the province.
Within 10 years, they were a minority as English settlers from Ontario moved in.
In 1890, the provincial government removed the linguistic rights of Francophones.

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Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx

@CraigBaird

Mar 29

It is #IrishHeritageMonth and this is the story of the Newfoundland Irish Language!

Irish immigrants began to arrive on the island to work in the fishery in the late-1600s. They continued to arrive well into the 1800s, with one-quarter coming from County Kilkenny.

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The Irish language was used heavily on the island, and became its own dialect. Church services were even done in Newfoundland Irish on the island.
Irish poet Donnchadh Ruadh Mac Commara sailed around the island & used Newfoundland Irish in his Irish language poems.

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By the 1780s, the Irish were the dominant ethnic group of St. John's and by 1815, 19,000 Irish lived in Newfoundland.
In Newfoundland, the Irish were able to preserve their language and culture.
Court defendants often used Irish-speaking interpreters as well.

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Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx

@CraigBaird

Mar 19

It is #IrishHeritageMonth and this is the story of the Irish Famine Immigrants in Toronto!

In 1847, Toronto had a population of 20,000 people but between May and October of that year, it saw the influx of 38,560 Irish immigrants, fleeing the Irish Famine.

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The immigrants had travelled on overcrowded ships across the ocean, with the goal of settling on land in Canada West.
Unfortunately, many were sick with typhus.
Bishop Michael Power tended to the immigrants before he died of typhus on Oct. 1, 1847 at the age of 42.

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Knowing a huge influx of immigrants was arriving, Toronto created its first board of public health in February 1847.
The board built a dozen sheds for immigrants suffering from typhus, located on the corner of King and John Street.

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Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx

@CraigBaird

Mar 18

It is #FrancophonieMonth and this is the story of the Acadian Expulsion!

The French began settling in Acadia (Nova Scotia & New Brunswick) in the early-1600s.
In 1713, the British took over Acadia & at first left the Acadians in peace but it was not to last.

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In 1730, the Acadians took an oath of neutrality, promising not to get involved in a war between France and England.
Throughout the 1740s, the French & British built fortresses in the area.
Charles Lawrence, Lt. Gov. of Nova Scotia, soon became suspicious of the Acadians

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Believing they were not neutral, he demanded an oath of allegiance in 1755 but the Acadians, who wanted to be left in peace, refused.
Lawrence threw the leaders of the Acadians in jail, then ordered the Acadians to leave.
This began the Acadian Expulsion.

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Craig Baird - Canadian History Ehx

@CraigBaird

Mar 17

It is #IrishHeritageMonth & #StPatricksDay!

Canada's 1st St. Patrick's Day parade was held in Montreal in 1824. It has been held every year since then, except during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is predated by only the New York City St. Patrick's Day Parade.

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#StPatrickDay

St. Patrick's Day parades were soon held in Toronto, although those stopped in 1878. For several years previous, violence erupted at the parades between Catholics and Protestants.
The parade didn't officially return to Toronto until 1988.

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In Saint John, NB, Saint Patrick's Day is a week-long celebration, followed by the JP Collins Celtic Festival which celebrates the city's Irish heritage. It is named for Dr. James Collins who helped sick Irish immigrants at the quarantine station before he died there.

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