It is #IndigenousHistoryMonth and this is the story of Kenojuak Ashevak, one of Canada's greatest artists!
Kenojuak Ashevak was born on Oct. 3, 1927 in an Inuit camp on the southern coast of Baffin Island. Her father was a fur trader and she was named for her grandfather.
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Kenojuak said her father could predict the weather & good hunting seasons and make swim at the surface of the water. Sadly, he died in 1933.
When she was 19, Kenojuak married Johnniebo Ashevak.
He became a major supporter of her artistry throughout their marriage.
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In 1950, after testing positive for TB, Kenojuak was forcibly transferred to Quebec City, where she remained for three years.
At the hospital, she began to occupy her time & deal with her loneliness through art.
In 1958, she published her 1st print, Rabbit Eating Seaweed
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She continued to make art and by 1963, was the subject of an NFB documentary. Throughout the 1960s, admiration for her artistry increased throughout Canada.
In 1966, she moved to Cape Dorset, a place that became a hot bed of Inuit artistry thanks to her.
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Kenojuak's art has appeared throughout Canada, including Canada's National Gallery, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Burnaby Art Gallery.
She also created several works to commemorate the creation of Nunavut.
Her first work, Rabbit Eating Seaweed, would sell for $59,000.
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Kenojuak became the 1st Inuit artist inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2001.
She passed away on Jan. 8, 2013.
In 2014, a Google Doodle was released to honour her birthday.
In 2017, her print Owl's Bouquet appeared on the $10 banknote.
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Today is Tartan Day! The day was first celebrated in 1987 in Nova Scotia and has been celebrated nationally since 2010.
Canada's Official Tartan was designed in 1964 by David Weiser.
Here are the official (and unofficial) tartans of Canada's provinces and territories.
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British Columbia:
This tartan was designed by Eric Ward in 1966 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the union of Vancouver Island and British Colony. It was adopted as the official tartan in 1974. It represents the Pacific Ocean, the forests and the Pacific Dogwood.
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Alberta:
The official tartan was designed by Alison Lamb, director of the Edmonton Rehabilitation Society, and Ellen Neilsen, the weaving instructor. It was adopted in 1961. It represents the forests, grain fields and Alberta's official colours.
From 1963 to 2009, Canadian Roman Catholic priests took to the ice for charity.
Through 907 games, they raised $4 million and only lost six games.
Not bad for a team whose backup goalie was a horse.
This is the story of the Flying Fathers!
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In 1963, two priests from Northern Ontario, Les Costello and Brian McKee, heard about a boy who lost the use of an eye. His mother couldn't cover the medical bills so they organized a charity game to raise money.
Costello had played in the NHL for 15 games in 1948-49.
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The game raised $5,000 to help the mother. Originally it was supposed to be a one-off event but proved to be so popular it became an annual tradition.
Calling themselves the Flying Fathers and Puckster Priests, they became known for their entertaining antics on the ice.
In 2006, after the Alberta government had a huge surplus, three million people received a cheque for $400.
Officially called Prosperity Bonus, the cheques were more widely known as Ralph Bucks, named after Premier Ralph Klein.
This is the story.
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In November 2004, the Progressive Conservatives won their 10th consecutive majority government. While it was another election win for the party, the party was worried after it saw the popular vote fall from 61.9% to 46.8%, its lowest since 1993.
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In September 2005, Premier Ralph Klein announced that the province had a $6.8 billion surplus due to high oil and gas prices. This was far above the $2.8 billion that was previously estimated in the 2005-06 budget, and part of that would go to Albertans.
From 1928 to 1972, the Alberta Eugenics Board imposed sterilization on individuals deemed by an appointed board to be "mentally defective".
In that time, 2,832 sterilizations were conducted, the vast majority without consent.
This is the story.
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In the early-1900s, eugenics was growing in popularity. By the early-1920s, eugenics supporters began to lobby Alberta's ruling party, the United Farmers of Alberta, to implement eugenics legislation. On March 25, 1927, the UFA introduced a sexual sterilization bill.
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The bill was opposed by the Conservative and Liberal parties and did not reach second reading. It was reintroduced on Feb. 23, 1928 and passed one month later.
The Act formed the Alberta Eugenics Board, which was chaired by Dr. J.M. MacEachran.
In pre-colonial Canada, the First Nations established many prominent settlements.
Two of the most famous were Hochelaga and Stadacona, located on the sites of Montreal and Quebec City.
These two villages were home to nearly 4,000 people.
This is their story.
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It is not known when Hochelaga first appeared.
Historians believe the village was established at some point between 1200 CE and 1500 CE. The village apparently sat at the base of Mount Royal, and was surrounded by farmland.
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The size of the village varied by the time of year. When Jacques Cartier arrived in 1535 it had between 1000 and 3000 people.
Within the village there was at least 50 homes, according to Cartier.
Each home measured 15 metres in length and 3.5-4.5 metres in width.
There is a unique dialect of the Irish language that evolved in Newfoundland and became forever linked with the island.
It is called Newfoundland Irish and many work to keep the language alive.
This is the story.
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Irish immigrants arrived on the island to work in the late-1600s. Over the next 200 years, 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.
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Irish poet Donnchadh Ruadh Mac Commara sailed around the island and used Newfoundland Irish in his Irish language poems. By the 1780s, the Irish were the dominant ethnic group of St. John's and by 1815, 19,000 Irish lived in Newfoundland.