Club Car

The book Home to Hinterland: The Changing Worlds of the Red River Métis in the nineteenth century, written by Gerhard J. Ens, was a very interesting read. The book talk about three main time period in the life of the Métis, the time in the1830s, the time between 1830 and 1870 and the disbursement of the Métis after 1870. In the earlier times, the Métis formed the Red River Colony, trading with the Hudson Bay Company with the bison that they hunt two times a year. In the beginning, when weather was good many families were actually farmers. Throughout the time of 1830-1870, bad weather and even worse economics in the Red River Region put the Métis into a dire situation. Many time they had to plea with the Hudson Bay Company for food so their people wouldn't die of starvation. The community seemed to surround the local parishes of the Red River area, St Francois Xavier and St Andrews. In the beginning of the book, the social structure and their way of life was thoroughly discussed, from marriage rights to how the winter holidays were spent.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than the prior book, Lipset. The book provides with an in depth look at the life of the Métis and how the prospered and how later a combination of bad crops and the lack of bison made life for the Métis a desperate one. The stats are actually interesting and show exactly what was going on to the Métis during that time of their society. The end of the book talk about how the Métis's identity was based mainly on an occupational specialization of the fur trade. This allow the Métis to make a connect with the Hudson Bay Company that would help them when the Métis were in need for food. The absence of identity at the of the 1870s tells the tale of the hardships that the Métis endured from the time when their way of live prospered.

Lecture four was all about Canadian politics. Politics is not something I'm very interested in, but I did enjoy comparing and contrasting the political systems of the United States and Canada. Canada first became a confederation on July 1, 1867. Confederation in Canada came about by an Act of Parliment rather than a statement like the Declaration of Independence. In fact, the British were urging Canadians to form a Confederation because they wanted to get rid of a lot of their colonies. Even getting to the point of Confederation in Canada was difficult. There was no sense of urgency to bind the different colonies together like the Revolutionary War did for America. Confederation was very much a top down movement. The only Canadians involved in the Confederation movement were the social elite. There are two major political parties in Canada, the Conservatives and Liberal, just like there is in the United States. One difference that Canada has is that the bloc quebecois exists as a fairly viable third party.

I found the growing similarities between U.S. and Canadian politics suprising. Canadian don't want to be anything like Americans, but there political machine is tending to look more like that of America. The fact that the only picture left of the "Fathers of Confederation" painting is a bootlegged copy is hilarious to me. Isn't Canada the land of "Peace, Order, and Good Government"? The differences between the two countries is highlighted by how they regard their Founding Fathers. Americans revere Washington, Jefferson, and all those others we know so well. I mean just look at Mt. Rushmore. Canada is an entirely different situation. There the Founding Fathers are poked fun at.

This was an interesting lecture, even for someone who isn't interested in politics.

Lecture Four was titled The Fathers of Confederation, but right away this title seemed to be a bit of a stretch. Canada, unlike the U.S., was not built upon the ideals of liberty and seperating from the British through a revolution, but instead was discussed and requested for peacefully in an appeal to British Parliament. Obviously the Canadian request for independance was played out under much different circumstances than when the United States resorted to war. Canada's reasons for requesting independance varied widely. Canada was having pressure applied from three directions, Britain, the United States, and from within her own borders. Britain's role as an imperialist and mercantilist was beginning to decline in popularity at the same time free trade was becoming seen as the new way for nations to make money. United States role was a bit more antagonistic. Annexationists across the southern border like William Seward were already discussing making Canada a northern part of the United States and during the Civil War the U.S. had ended the practice of reciprocity of trade between the two neighbor nations. Finally, a contigent of Canadian elites such as Macdonald, Brown, and Cartier, had begun to see nationhood as a pathway to development and the future for Canadians.
What interested me about this chapter, however, was comparing the government that developed from such different roots than its American counterpart. The Monarchial Democracy that developed could be seen as more democratic and less democratic than America's form of government all at the same town. Its more democratic in that its four main parties; the Conservatives, Liberals, New Democrats, and the Bloc Quebecois have all held positions of power within the government while in the U.S. only two parties dominate. However, while this system seems more democratic at first could be described as less democratic in that the people of Canada, the individuals that are so respected in America have little voice due to the huge size of Canada and relatively elite government. I do believe that this argument could be soundly explained from both sides of the coin. Overall i found the lecture very interesting because it showed the relatively large difference between the politics and government between two countries that are so similar in economics and sociologic backgrounds.

Scott has posed an important question that pertains to everyone. Here is the schedule for the next two weeks:

Thursday, March 1 - No Class
Friday, March 2 - Ens response papers due in the blog by noon
Tuesday, March 6 - Class will meet. We're going to break into groups and discuss Ens
Thursday, March 8 - No Class

Check out the calendar on the course website for more information.

I can't remember do we or don't we have class on thursday the 2nd?

New DVDs in, available for check-out from Jen:

Da Vinci's Inquest, Season 1
White Thunder

Important notice: please check out the corrections to the Evaluation page. As it was, because of cut-and-paste errors I made before the semester started, the points did not add up. It said there were 400 hard points; in fact there are only 300, and a total possible points, hard and soft, of 450. I'm sorry about the error, and it may seem now like moving the goalposts in the middle of the game, but it had to be corrected, because things just didn't add up!

Lecture 4 dealt with the Fathers of Confederation and the different actions of the Canadian government. There was discussion about confederation, nationalism, the different political parties and their beliefs, and old times of friction, all of which make the government of Canada what it is today. But why was it important. Canada and the U.S. are very similar and yet very different. Canada has 2 different cities that are important to their government and historical events/occurrences. The U.S. also has 2. But it was from these that the governments went in different directions. Canada was looking out for themselves when they became a country, just like the U.S.

Emily asked “Would the world be like it is if America was still governed by Britain?”, and that is a good question, but I ask what would the world be like if Canada was still governed by Britain? Would the relations between the U.S. and Canada be as close as they are now? Would Canada be viewed as the best friend of the U.S.? Would our lives as Americans be drastically different? Would Quebec be a free and independent nation? Would the Metis/mixed bloods be recognized as an ethnic group? I personally believe that no, the U.S. and Canada would not be as close or considered best friends, and I do think our lives as Americans would be different. There would most likely have been more tensions between the U.S. and Britain, but there also would be some better relationships than there are currently. Would we be better off? Who really knows.

The book, A Deep Sense of Wrong: The Treason, Trials, and Transportation to New South Wales of Lower Canadian Rebels After the 1838 Rebellions, is about fifty-eight men who were sent to a penal colony call New South Wales after a rebellion in 1838. Written by Beverley Boissery, a member of The Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal History, A Deep Sense of wrong was written as a 'micro-history', only concentrating on those fifty-eight men rather than the thousands of rebels from all over Canada. The book talks about a variety of issues concerning the background to the rebellion, the trial and the injustices that occurred like judges ignoring rights that people accused of treason has, like having ten days before the trial to get a copy of the indictment along with information on witnesses and of the jury panel. The life in New South Wales was also talked about, giving us a look into how these convicted patriots live in Sydney, talking briefly on how Sydney tried to be as sophisticated as London, but was clearly too far away to keep up with the fashions and such.

The part that I really enjoyed in the book was in the beginning of each chapter when Boissery depicted how the interview between the journalist of the Montreal Star, Frank Warwick, and the infamous Maurice Lepailleur, a patriot that had been one of the fifty-eight men who were convicted of treason in 1838. The little stories that passed between them gave a great intro into each chapter. This book gave an excellent read to learn about the riots that had occurred in 1838 between the French patriots against the new English government that was threatening their French way of life. It gives an enthralling view into this important part of French-Canadian history.

"O Canada! Our home and native land! True patriot love in all thy sons command." This anthem was not adopted until 1980, but Canada became a nation long before that. Conservative and liberal elites united to form the confederation. The often parodied painting "Fathers of Confederation" mythically depicts the two most important assemblies in Charlottetown and Quebec where Canadian elites decided to pursue an independent confederation. This quest came to fruition on July 1st, 1867 in the Act of Parliament. Canadian government became a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system with a separate senate, and no separation of powers. A two party system exists with the conservatives and liberals, but bloc quebecois is a third party. A reform party in Alberta began in 1987, but didn't last long.

Elites have tried to get people to revere their foundings in "Fathers of Confederation," but it hasn't worked so far. I think it's easy to take Canada's event lightly because it wasn't that monumental compared to that of America. Americans may parody the event, but it certainly is respected. Would the world be like it is if America was still governed by Britain? How colossal is the impact of Canada's independence? My guess is that it's easier to make fun of something that isn't so drastic. This also may be due to the fact that the power transferred from abroad elites, to local elites, not from elites to the people.
It's funny that Canadian government has become more American-like over the years; appealing more to the common man. I think western countries have followed American government to some extent. But I highly doubt Canada would ever admit to wanting to become more like America.
Canada's governmental system may be more efficient and swift, but is faster always better?

The lecture titled Fathers of Confederation is about the Canadian political system, how it works and how it was formed. The first thing that had to be done was to unify all of the different territories that made up Canada. One of the things that put it in motion by the British wanting to shed the obligations of being an empire. They realized that keeping up colonies was an incredibly hard task, and the colonists often resented them. There were people from within that wanted Canada to be a separate nation, and also annexationist sentiments came to them from the American Civil War.
Britain helped out Canada by urging them to become independent and take care of themselves. There was a decline of mercantilism and imperialism, and there was a rise of free trade.
Friction from the Civil War reached Canada as well. The Trent Affair, Chesapeake Affair, and Abrogation of reciprocity all helped to create the rise of annexationist sentiments in Canada and cause more people wanting a separation from britain. Some people were even causing trouble in Canada to try to spark up a war with Britain.
Conservative leaders John MacDonald and and Cartier, along with liberal George Brown got together and had a set of meetings at Charlottetown, Quebec, and London to work out the details of the new government and how it would run. This led to the passage of the British North America Act in 1867.
The Canadian government is parliamentary under the Queen of England. They have foru major parties: Conservatives, Liberals, Bloc Quebecois, and the New Democratic Party. They are headed by a Premier who gets his power from the Queen.

Lecture four was mainly about Canadian politics and the formation of the Canadian Confederation. According to lecture the call for a confederation of the Canadian colonies came around the time of the U.S. Civil War. Fear of American aggression as well as two separate events, the Trent and Chesapeake affairs, led to calls oddly enough from Britain for an independent Canada. The idea of Confederation was one mainly of the elites of Canada, and the man who became the central figure in the movement was John A. MacDonald. MacDonald came to be known as the father of confederation and in 1866 the group of elites met in London to formally request independence from Britain. The British North America Act of 1867 stated that Canada was no longer a group of British colonies but now an independent Confederation. The Queen of England however still remained the Queen of Canada. The lecture then went on to discuss the major political parties in Canada. The first and oldest is the Conservative party. The Conservatives believe in the governments role in developing the country. They believe the government should be very involved in the economy and supply protective tariffs to aid Canadian industry. The other major party is the Liberal party who believe in free trade and enterprise, though they have changed their policies to gain acceptance. The other two parties in Canada are the NDP which is the social democratic party and is supported by the unions, and the Bloc Quebecois that is devoted to the secession of Quebec. Canada operates under the Parliamentary form of government where the people chose the members of Parliament and the winning party than forms a government. Coalition governments often form when one specific party does not win. I enjoyed this lecture very much and found it very informative. The differences between Canadian politics and U.S. politics are very marked. In the U.S. we fought for our independence whereas in Canada they asked permission for their independence. An example like this perhaps personifies the idea of Canadians as law-abiding and orderly and Americans as brash and reckless. In the end I found lecture four very interesting.

"Black Robe" is set in 1632 in the newly settled colony of Quebec. A young Jesuit priest, Father Lafourge, is assigned to leave the settlement with a band of Algonquins to travel to the Huron mission 1500 miles up-stream. Accompanying the priest is young French colonist named Daniel. As soon as the journey begins the Algonquins become suspicious of Father Lafourge's peculiar brand of spirirtuality and suspect him to be a demon. The wilderness soon begins to test the priest's beliefs, especially when he stumbles across Daniel (who had expressed interest in the priesthood) "rolling in the grass" with a young Algonquin girl. At one point the tribe becomes so suspicious of the father that they take him to a witch doctor who comfirms that the priest is, indeed a demon. Upon this affirmation, the tribe abandons the two Frenchmen with only a pheasant and a canoe. Daniel paddles after the Algonquin and persuades the leader to come back with his family and take the priest to the mission. The film finds new life after this decision as the tribe is ambushed by a rival tribe and the viewer witnesses warlike Indian customs. At the end, Father Lafourge finds his way (all alone) to the Huron mission where disease has preceded him. The Hurons, riddled by plague, convert to Christianity hoping that conversion will save them from death. The film precludes by informing the reader that the Christian Huron were massacred 15 years later by their enemy, the Iroqouis.
The film was very informative to the viewer about French-Indian relations during colonial Quebec. Unlike the English, the French took a proactive role in trying to convert the native tribes. The film also showed the beauty and power of the Canadian wilderness. This may have been a move that was purposely used to show the reader how such a looming landscape could mold a people. The film was tinged with some late-20th century thought such as Daniel arguing with the priest that the Algonquin religion made just as much sense as Christianity. That might have been a stretch for someone with a 17th century education.

Lecture 3 was about the geography of Canada and how it has guided the country's history. Canada is divided into geographic regions. The regions are the praries, the shield, the maritimes, the north and British Columbia. We covered some theories about Canada's geography. The staples theory says that staples are important to a country's economy. The praries produce the most staples for Canada. Canada's geography is similar in some ways to the geography of the U.S. but shaped the people of Canada differently. Geography in Canda is a cultural thing. In the U.S. geography is a physical thing. Another theory is environmental determinism. It says people are who they are because of where they are from. Culture is determined from environment. The metropolis-hinterland theory says that the two kinds of areas depend on one another for staples and supplies. We also learned about explorers of Canada. Many were unsuccessful because of weather and human error.
Canadians define themselves by their harshest land that many of them do not even live in. I don't understand why you would define yourself by somewhere you don't live. That doesn't seem right to me. Canadians also define themself east to west instead of north and south. I think we do both in the U.S. I think environmental determinism is true to a point. Being from where I am from probably won't make me like a certain style of book or movie, but it will make me like warm sweaters a lot.

The third lecture, One Warm Line, covered the Canadian geography. When forming the lines and boundaries of the areas of Canada, they were drawn in various ways. The cultural geography, physical geography, environmental determinism, and the Metropolis-hinterland theory were all various ways to divide the Canadian land. The discussion of the concentration of industry and banks were also covered. Industrial areas tended to be along the St. Lawrence and the Banks were centered around Montreal and Toronto. A difference between banks in Canada and the United States is that Canada has national banks and the US has state banks. The lecture was then broken down into the geographic sections of Canada. There are the Heartland, Atlantic Canada, the Prairies, BC, the North, the Shield, and the Warm Line. The Heartland is actually the metropolis-hinterland theory and is considered Middle Canada. The Warm Line is the song by Stan Rogers in reference to the exploration of Canada's vast landscapes. The Warm Line led the lecture to the explorers of Canada. The Franklin expedition followed the Northwest Passage. Unfortunately, all hands were lost. Simon Fraser and Alexander Mackenzie are considered to be much like the United States' Lewis and Clark; however, both Fraser and Mackenzie crossed North America a few years earlier. Finally, Dr. Isern concluded the One Warm Line lecture with David Thompson, the map maker of Canada. This lecture has so far been my favorite. Geography and early exploration are always a fascination to me. I only wish I could have heard more on the exploration portion. It is so common to hear the adventures of Lewis and Clark in the North Dakota area so the stories of their exploration are vivid for me, it would be interesting to hear how different the Mackenzie's exploration was from Lewis and Clarks.

I just found out that Cronenberg is Canadian. Since he is a Canadian film-maker working in America, does that make his films off-limits as far as reviewing is concerned?

This lecture started with an absolutely great song that I have since downloaded--thanks for that. Anyhow, this lecture dealt with the development of Canada with Toronto as the metropolis upon which all territories depend. This was described as the metropolis-hinterland theory and categorizes to Toronto as the cultural and industrial center of the country. Recently, however, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton have gained prominence in their own right, which has challenged this theory. We talked about out-migration from the Atlantic provinces which is comparable to what occurred in North Dakota not long ago. We touched on the Prairies, which coincide with our American "Great Plains." These areas have a continental climate and provide a source of agricultural staples to the rest of Canada. We also touched on British Columbia and its unique identity as a gateway to the Pacific. It was mentioned that Vancouver has become an economic center largely due to an influx of Chinese immigrants that brought a lot of money with them in the move. Finally, we discussed the tragic failures associated with the search for the Northwest Passage, which provided inspiration for the Stan Rogers tune with which we started.
The image that I received from "Northwest Passage" was one of immensity and longing. It's amazing that this savage wilderness has been transformed into modern Canada in such a short period of time. To me, the character of a lost and freezing settler working against all odds just to live is just as compelling as that of a lonesome cowpoke on his ruddy steed. These contrasting Western images do much to call attention to the overall differences between Canadian and American identities.

I was watching the choir concert Sunday at the concert hall on campus, when I heard a song that caught my attention. One of the choirs sang a Newfoundland folk song. I thought of class, and I found the song to be intersting. It referred to the sea quite a bit as well as to many towns in Newfoundland area. It also made some references to food from the area, I can't remember them, but I do know they weren't food we would eat around here in the FM area.

I gotta be honest, about 30 min in, I had thought about turning this movie off and getting a different one to blog. It is by no means what we are used to in America with our special effects and computerized graphics (cgi). The acting is done by mostly Inuit peoples who have never acted before, the camera work looks like amateur home movies and the whole film is subtitled because it was done in the Inuktitut language. But then I remembered why I was watching this movie and started thinking about it differently. This movie shows us historical glimpses into the lives of the Inuit peoples of Canada. It shows us their beliefs, daily lives, relationships, and all the while it follows a plot that is kind of interesting. We even get to see how they make an igloo.
The movie is about a legend of an evil spirit that invades a small Inuit village and overtakes some of the people, causing them to behave in abnormal ways. This basically tells the story of the affect that the evil has on the village and how they try to get rid of it.
Atanarjuat is the lead character and is blessed with being able to run faster and longer than anyone. This comes in handy when Oki, who is possessed, tries to kill him with the help of two of his friends. Oki is jealous that Atanarjuat has won the hand of the woman that he was promised when their fathers made an agreement. So when Oki and his friends sneak up on the tent where Atanarjuat and his brother are sleeping, Atanarjuat takes off running naked across the ice to save his life. His brother was killed. The whole time he was being chased across the ice, all I could think was how devoted this guy was to his role. He did not have shoes on, he kept slipping and falling into the puddles of what I can only imagine is the coldest water ever, he was completely naked and the chase lasted like 10 minutes. Anyway, Atanarjuat escapes and finds a family of 3 who help him nurse his torn up feet back to health. When he is better and can walk again, he goes back to the village where he is warmly greeted by the tribe, including Oki. The evil spirit has left him and he wants to make ammends. But Atanarjuat has not forgotten what Oki had done to him and sets a trap to kill him. Just when he is about to kill Oki, he has a change of heart and declares that the killings stop here. The evil has left and they can continue with a peaceful existence. However, Oki, his sister and the two friends are banished from the camp so that the tribe can start over.
I believe this is an accurate portrayal of the historical Inuit peoples lives in terms of what they wore, ate, believed and basically how they survived. The religion portrayed in this movie is called Igloolik, the people wear clothes made only from animal skins, and they cook eggs, but not meat. They also travel via dogsled and live in igloos in the winter and animal skin tents in the summer.
I also have to mention the gorgeous, untouched landscape of Canada in the film. If you like natural settings in the movies you watch, you'll want to see this. For the rest of you, if you can get past the inexpensive nature of the film and appreciate it for what it is trying to do, then I think you can learn to like this film. I would recommend this film mostly because I don't think you would have the oppotunity to see it if you were not in this class.

After reading this text, I found it a good change of pace from the Lipset text. Ens starts out explaining to us in the introduction that the Metis have been somewhat stereotyped into a nomadic people who didn't want to adhere to civilized life. Before reading this book, I was even a little bias on this because all I had ever heard about the Metis were that they were a primitive people who were not civilized. This text has definately changed my viewpoint on the Metis. In chapter one, Ens outlines the beginnings of the red River Settlement by Lord Selkirk in 1811. Ens mentions that it was "envisioned that the colony would supply provisions and labour to the fur-trade and, because of its strategic location, become a pivotal transshipment centre for plains provisions." The origins of trade ties hinged on intermarriages between the french fur-traders and Indian women. As Ens points out, a marriage to a local indian woman not only helped in gaining allies as well as the necessary tools for fur-trading, but also brought prestige to the woman. While British-Born traders valued the monetary gain by fur-trading, the Metis enjoyed the social aspect of the trade. I found this interesting because I would think that social bonds would be particularly high in a community like this. Another important aspect of the Metis society was the Buffalo hunts, and the impact they had on the years supplies. Since the Metis depended on the buffalo for many things, from robes to pemmican, it was imperative that they have a good take or else they may not have enough supplies to last them the winter months. Another social aspect which Ens points out is the huge social gatherings held in the winter months, as well as during the buffalo hunters. Ens states that "Weddings, feasts, horse racing, and dancing were in a real sense what men and women, whether old or young, lived for." This intrigued me because you can really see the blending of the two cultures. Marriage was also a big deal in Metis life, as it cemented your move from dependant minor to an adult. Early on, marriage was considered only if you had a desirable plot of land and a job in the Hudson's Bay Company. These celebrations were of a couple of days long and were filled with dancing and feasts. Ens also mentions the impact of the competitive economy had on these Metis traders. Since there had previously been a monopoly with the Hudson's Bay Company, this newfound competition fostered new eras of social change. In the late 1860's and into the 1870's rebellion was starting to pop up in the Red River Settlement. Louis Riel resisted the inclusion of the Metis into the new province of Manitoba. This worried some people, as there was the possibility that they would split along religious as well as racial lines. These rebellions, in my opinion, were probably an eye-opener to some of the Metis, who had never been involved in a conflict on this large a scale. Once the Manitoba Act was passed, many of the Metis settled in different areas all over the province of Manitoba. I wonder if the Metis ever went to trade with the other Native American tribes in the United States? Could some of them have moved in with these tribes and been assimilated? Another question I have is that although Ens goes into a lot of detail concerning the facts, would the Metis have been able to survive if there would not have been a big migration into the province after the Manitoba Act? Another interesting aspect of this book was the fact that I could identify some of these locations, such as Pembina and the St. Boniface parish. My grandma goes to St. Boniface Hospital in Winnipeg. Overall, I found this text more enjoyable than Lipset based on the fact that he told more of a social story rather than stick to droll facts.

In this lecture, we talked mainly about the different political parties of Canada. The main political parties of Canada are the Conservative, Liberal, Bloc Quebecois and the New Democratic Party. Each of these parties believe in different things, like the conservative party that believes in the government should develop the country to the liberals that believe in a back off reciprocity and free trade. There is also the New Democratic party, founded in 1961, which has its roots in prairie progressivism and is very leftist in its beliefs. The Bloc Quebecois Party is the party from Quebec that has tried unsuccessfully in the past to try and have Quebec independent as its own country. We talked slightly about the Reform party, which started in 1987 and went nationwide and is a smaller political party. We talked about all the political parties leaders and the leaders in the parliament, like the Prime Minister, a conservative, Stephan Harper.

The one part that I liked in this lecture, is something that we didn't talk about in depth. The Question Time was something that I thought was very interesting. I thought it was really interesting that the Prime Minister and the cabinet have to answer questions from the opposition. In my senior year of high school, my teacher (a Canadian himself) took us to Winnipeg to take a tour of the Manitoba government building. We were lucky enough to get to watch a Question Time. I enjoyed watching it very much, and I think that is a great idea. Some of the things I heard there makes it hard to seem that other parliaments are more profane, like the Australian parliament.

Lecture three began with some information on geography in Canada. The U.S. puts more emphasis on cultural geography while there is more a prevalence of physical geography in Canada. Canada is geographically broken into four units, the north, the maritimes, the prairies, and the Canadien shield. The prarie provinces is a hinterland similiar to the American Great Plains we currently live in. Regarding the Canadien shield, I remember learning about the Laurentian shield in geology class. I think it would be the most fun living in the maritimes with all the fishing and boating options. We also learned about the staple theory by Harold Innis, the best known economist in Canada. Dr. Isern told us that his books are not very fun to read, which is understanable coming from an economist.
I thought the story of Sir John Franklin was very interesting. His expedition was lost looking for a northwest passage. It was for a long time a big mystery what happened to the expedition. This was because the mission was so well equipped. He went missing in 1855, and the search for him went on until 1880. The current theory is that they dies of lead poisoning due to food being stored in lead-based cans. Dr. Isern also discussed the famous explorer Simon Fraser, Alexander Mackenzie who crossed the continent in 1793, a decade before Lewis and Clark. He also told us the story of David Thompson who was one of the greatest mapmakers who sadly dies in poverty. These men were all fur traders. They managed to travel the landscape with much less trouble than their American counterparts. How big were the expeditions? How long were they equipped for?

I went and ordered my passport on Friday, and the clerks told me that when driving to Canada, you DO NOT need a passport. They said that your certified birth certificate and a state issued photo id will work for driving. I still purchased one, and they said standard shipping will take 8 weeks currently and it costs $98.00. I though this would help everyone out.

Black Robe was a sad movie about a lonely priest who journeyed into the Canadian hinterland to seek converts from the native populace. The father was welcomed first by the Huron, captured by the Iroquois, and then ended up with a dying village that finally converted in hopes of curing their fever. Black Robe demonstrated the trouble missionaries had converting natives because of the difference of dreams, peaceful deaths, and not showing weakness… a kill or be killed mentality. This mentality was demonstrated when Chomina’s child’s throat was slit right in front of him and he kept singing in order not to show weakness. Whereas the Jesuits preached “though shall not kill.” No farewells, no greetings, no names, the dead talk at night, and the forest speaks; this line summed up the native beliefs and how the French Father finally grasped why they did not convert easily. The battle scene was lame, even low budget American films have better action. Although the action scenes were weak, the gore and blood looked high quality. There were definitely some scenes where your stomach turned a little because of gruesomely effective blood letting. Like Mon Oncle Antoine, but to a much smaller degree, there were many unnecessary scenes, such as paddling and walking scenes that did not effect the plot. This might reinforce the rumor that Americans have A-D-D when it comes to movies. This movie also had a sad ending; Lipset might agree that Canadian films are simply following the decedents of losers’ mentality he described in Continental Divide. Overall, Black Robe is much better than the crappy movie Mon Oncle Antoine because there is actually some historical value to it.

Fathers of Confederation has been the most interesting with its focus on politics, the theories on what influenced Canada to become its own country, and finding out Sullivan’s relative was a Fenian fighter. After class we talked about how some people, mainly the Irish, made the Canadian fear of the US invading after the Civil War come true and then how one of them was actually Sullivan’s relative who was deported to Australia for five years because of it. I thought is was amazing that politicians like Cartier (Rouge) and the father of Canada, Macdonald (Bleu) came together because of Brown (Rouge) in a compromise to form Canada. Bush and Kerry would never have come together like that. I think the compromise with the Francophone Canadians being able to maintain such an independent state says a lot about how desperate the Canadians were to get a country together. Rubert’s Land being owned by a company was unique, similar to how the railroads were given thousands of acres but on a much larger scale. Explorers in Canada seemed much friendlier and diplomatic than Americans. Plus Mackenzie’s Newfoundland dog was far better than the sissy one Louis and Clark had. Robert Harris’s Father’s of Confederation painting, the picture of it anyways, was interesting because they tried to depict all sorts of people being present but the wood cut outs only showed a handful of people. The woodcuttings demonstrate that the people know relatively few people run Canada, but they are content because those few have the obligation to look out for the rest. It put it into perspective when Dr. Isern compared Canadian parliament to the English, I have actually seen some footage of English parliament and they are rowdy.

Lecture number three, titled "One Warm Line" was all about the geography in Canada, which is the one thing that I look forward to each and every year. Before that, however, the geography in Canada places more of an emphasis on the physical aspects of its land, whereas the United States places much more value on the cultural aspect of geography. It is not really surprising because there are fewer cultural icons found on a Canadian map because there are fewer people. The country is essentially broken down into four sections, the prairies, the maritimes, the north, and the shield. As the lecture outlined the prairie provinces are that of Manitoba, Alberta, and Saskatchewan (3 syllables). A region that is similar to the Great Plains in that it has a continental climate is sub-humid, and level. This leads Harold Innis to develop his idea of the Staples Theory. A theory that claims that staple crops will drive the country's economy. The maritimes, Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, lack this ability to produce these staple crops. All of that hails in comparison the Northern provinces Yukon Territory, Northwest Territory, and the newly defined Nunavut. Then there is the shield, or the Laurentian Shield as it is sometimes called. This region is probably my favorite part of the country. I think if Frederick Jackson Turner ventured just slightly farther north he would have been able to apply his Frontier Thesis, and it would probably still be in effect to this day. I like this part of the country so much because it is one of the purest places left on this continent. If you get the opportunity to fly over it in a puddle jumper I recommend it, because all you will see is rocks, trees, and water. Also if anyone is looking to tap into some large walleye or pike look to the shield to provide. I have been up there every year for the past six and I have yet to be disappointed.

This classic film follows the life of an intelligent, prideful, ambitious, and imaginative orphan named Anne Shirley. The film begins by showing the hardships Anne faces as she is discarded from a foster home to an “orphan asylum” in Nova Scotia. Things begin to look up for Anne when she is mistakenly sent to Prince Edward Island to live with a bachelor farmer and his spinster sister. The two decide to keep Anne, and a slew of amusing, some what corny, events erupt as Anne struggles to be herself in an initially rigid family and village in the tail end of the 19th Century.
A few things caught my attention as I viewed this film. I’m not entirely sure if they were Canadian or just of the imagination of the writer and director, but I noticed them because they were different than the U.S. First off, I was struck by how everything seemed to be modeled after Britain, especially the amount of tea they drank from their tea sets that was completely out of character with the rest of the house or the living situation. For instance, the Cuthberts lived modestly on a small farm in the middle of nowhere but they drank their tea amongst themselves out of a silver tea service in dainty china tea cups. It seemed as though everyone was trying to keep up appearances even though they lived in a very small, intimate town. I especially noticed how they would wear ordinary clothes for staying in, but ‘high’ fashion clothes for visiting. Sure, it’s the same here, but it almost seemed more profound in the film. Another thing that I noticed was the European air in the furnishings and styles of the houses and people. There were British flags and pictures of the Queen everywhere, more so than you see pictures of the President here.
The landscape also grabbed my attention. Everything looked picturesque throughout the entire movie; almost too much so. It was like I was watching an extended commercial on ‘Discovering Prince Edward Island’. Especially with the way the film always cut to the scene of the lighthouse overlooking the sea in the breaks between huge events and resolutions. Even the sheep and cows that dotted the countryside were almost too perfect looking. My family raises cows and I am familiar with sheep, and they don’t look that good.
All in all, I enjoyed the film, but I felt that it reeked of ‘Pride and Prejudice’.

Lecture 3 was all about the geography of Canada and the part it played on Canada’s history. Starting in the Heartland with its rich agricultural soil and booming industry. Next, looking at the Atlantic coast and how it moved from a booming fishing industry to a waning hinterland. Then the Prairies, with its close relationship to the Great Plains of the U.S. Fourth, British Columbia and how its great Asian population and how they shaped the western coast. Lastly, looking at the North and the Shield and they’re almost unusable terrain which defines the nation it divides and borders.
During this lecture, I was struck by how similar some of the geography of Canada is to the U.S. Yet, it shaped the people in such a different way. I was never one to really think about geography as a shaping instrument before this class, but now I feel as though my eyes have been opened to a new way of looking at things. One thing I wondered about during this lecture was the situation of the Shield. If it is unusable because of the bogs, why don’t they do what the Netherlands did and pump the water out? That would give the people more land to farm or develop and there wouldn’t be that huge dividing chunk of land. Isern mentioned that the Canadians defined themselves partially by the huge amounts of land that is barren or unusable, but why do they accept it as such? Why not change the land and the situation to fit themselves instead of changing to fit the land?

Lecture 3 was all about the geography of Canada and the part it played on Canada’s history. Starting in the Heartland with its rich agricultural soil and booming industry. Next, looking at the Atlantic coast and how it moved from a booming fishing industry to a waning hinterland. Then the Prairies, with its close relationship to the Great Plains of the U.S. Fourth, British Columbia and how its great Asian population and how they shaped the western coast. Lastly, looking at the North and the Shield and they’re almost unusable terrain which defines the nation it divides and borders.
During this lecture, I was struck by how similar some of the geography of Canada is to the U.S. Yet, it shaped the people in such a different way. I was never one to really think about geography as a shaping instrument before this class, but now I feel as though my eyes have been opened to a new way of looking at things.
One thing I wondered about during this lecture was the situation of the Shield. If it is unusable because of the bogs, why don’t they do what the Netherlands did and pump the water out? That would give the people more land to farm or develop and there wouldn’t be that huge dividing chunk of land. Isern mentioned that the Canadians defined themselves partially by the huge amounts of land that is barren or unusable, but why do they accept it as such? Why not change the land and the situation to fit themselves instead of changing to fit the land?

This lecture was entitled One Warm Line. In this lecture we learned about the geography of Canada. In the US, cultural geography is prevalent and in Canada, physical geography is prevalent. We learned about Griffith Taylor and his theory of environmental determinism, which is that people are what they are because of where they live. Environment determines culture. Next came the different areas that make up the geography of Canada which are the Heartland, Prairies, Maritime, British Columbia, the North and the Shield. The Shield is the most interesting to me as it is made up of volcanic rock and granite and covers a very large area. Next we learned about John Franklin and the Northwest Passage. He and his whole crew ended up dying after their ships got stuck in the ice. Many went to look for and rescue them, but they all ended up perishing as well, not from exposure, but from lead poisoning. Many of the canned goods they had taken with them were saudered with lead, which led to poisoning.
Alexander Mackenzie ended up being the first successful party to cross the North American continent in 1793. This was 10 years before Lewis and Clark. Isern told us a story about how Lewis was an admirer of Mackenzie's so much so that when he found out about the Newfoundland dog that Mackenzie had taken with him, Lewis decided to copy him with less than desirable results. Apparently, Mackenzie's dog was well trained and a great help (supposedly bringing back buffalo calves for dinner) and Lewis' was a loud, rambunctious pup.
This lecture was a bit shorter than the previous, but no less interesting. In fact, I would have liked to spend some more time going over pictures of the landscapes and learning more about the geography. I especially liked the stories about the mistakes that occurred during the attempts of crossing the continent. It makes those people seem more human even though many of them are idolized through the history books.

Lecture 3

Lecture three started by explaining all the geographic regions of Canada. This was expressed with maps, maps and more maps. The prevalence of cultural geography in the U.S was explained along with the prevalence of physical geography in Canada. After the geography was discussed the ideas of heartland and hinterlands were explained and talked about. Each part of Canada was talked about individually in the lecture. First the Heartland was covered which is referred to as middle Canada. Then the Maritimes were talked about which are also called Atlantic Canada. Then the prairies, British Columbia, The North, and the shield were talked about as well. In each section the material was reinforced through various pictures that really got my attention. In the lecture some of the things that I found most interesting were the refresher course on Canadian geography because I had forgotten where a few provinces were. I also really enjoyed the pictures that were shown; they allowed me to see what that area actually looked like, instead of just hearing about it.
After the refresher on geography the thing I liked most were the stories about the Canadian explorers. I especially liked the story about how Lewis and Clark took along a Newfoundland dog just because that Canadian explorer had and they were trying to be just like him. I really find that sort of thing interesting and I very rarely get to hear about those sorts of stories. Overall I thought this lecture was interesting and very easy to follow.

7:30pm Thursday 8 March, Beckwith Recital Hall (in Reinecke, the music building): David Mills, "Cold War in a Cold Land: Fighting Communism in North Dakota," a presentation of his Remele Fellowship research.

7:00pm Thursday 22 March, Birkland Alumni Lounge, Concordia College: Sonja Wentling, "Prologue to Genocide or Epilogue to War? American Perspectives on the Jewish Question in Poland, 1919-21." This is the Tri-College History Lecture.

After hearing so much about Corner Gas from people in class, I was excited about seeing some episodes for myself. After watching the first disc from season one, I can see why everyone says good things about it. corner gas is a refreshing change from a lot of American television shows. The quick and dry humor is actually funny and enjoyable to watch. I think that Corner Gas depicts a side of Canada that most Canadians can relate to. Not everyone lives in the larger cities in Canada; there are a lot of small towns that probably have people just like the people in Dog River. Who doesn't know someone that loves fishing or just getting a good cup of coffee.

The one episode that I enjoy the most was the Oh Baby episode. The idea that grown man has to call his mother to take care of six year old hellion is very amusing. It gives the idea that when people are in a tough situation, that they are able to call upon family or friends to come and help them sort out the problem. Brett did that when he said he would babysit for Wanda when she was at the dentist appointment. I think that is shows that in Canada, people are more willing to do favors for people in their community and help them out. In Canada, there is more of a community feeling, everyone looks out for one another and it's something that people depend on. In American, people are more out for their own pursuits, maybe not caring if they hurt other people when they are doing so. Corner Gas shows a community that is close and shows a positive light on Canada.

Caitlin S.

Lucy Maud Montgomery, the author of the beloved Anne of Green Gables, led a sad life, but brought happiness to millions, continuing to this day. Her mother died when she was 21 months old, her father left her to be raised by her cold and rigid grandparents, and she never met a kindred spirit, not even her husband. It is believed that Montgomery was very good at putting up a facade of happiness while inside battling depression. Her journals or diaries left behind reveal the complexity of her character, and also the commonalities between herself and her most beloved character Anne Shirley. The famous Canadian authoress died at only age 67 in 1942. But her memory lives on in numerous forms: Green Gables: The Musical in 1972, the 1980s films by Kevin Sullivan, cartoons, and college courses. She and her books are famous internationally, particularly in Japan. However, Montgomery's descendents struggle to fight for royalties and against illegal merchandise of Anne.

My heart saddened to learn of Montgomery's hidden depressing life. I believe she wrote such heart-warming books as a form of escapism. When writing fiction, it becomes a part of you, and even may begin to feel real.
One report mentioned how academics under evaluated Montgomery's work, probably due to jealousy of her popularity, and the last report mentioned how academics came together for a conference discussing their love of her work. Much of this change is probably due to time and distance in generations, but I think some of it may also be due to a decline in elitism and a more democratic-like society today in Canada.
The battle over royalties is a difficult issue. Without Montgomery's creation, marketers would have nothing to market. But should people get a percentage of all profits just for being descendents of the creator?

In this lecture, Dr Isern talked about the geography of Canada. Cultural geography is important in the United States where as the physical geography is in Canada. Here we usually define the country sections and the by people that live there define it. The main geographical regions of Canada are the Heartland, Maritimes, Prairies, British Columbia, The North, and The Canadian Shield. The call the central region The Prairie as were we call it the Great Plains. The concentration of industry and the Prairie's base of agriculture make it very similar to the Plains. British Columbia is mainly resource economic based and helps produce most of Canadas raw minerals. The North is A LOT of empty space and no too much is really there. The lecture went also talked about how the biggest cities in Canada are close to the U.S. border. The Northwest Passage was discussed and the exploration across the continent by different explorers. I found it the most interesting listening about this because of all the explorations that went out to find it and how the failure is celebrated in Canada. McKenzie, the first person to cross Canada really interests me and I plan on reading about him. Not only because of what he did, but how Lewis and Clark sorta of copied him. My uncle did a family tree over the past 3 plus years and found that William Clark is actually one of my relatives.

On Sunday Feb 11, myself and some fellow students were able to take a trip to the local rink and try out the sport of Curling. Curling was a great experience and would not mind trying it again. The coolest thing about it is anyone could try and play, successfully (somewhat...lol). The match started with a brief run through of how to play and the movement one should use in sliding the granite stones down the ice. The individual who taught us did a great job, in teaching us the basics. The group could only play half a game, and for those who wish to know, it was a blow out. although i did get a stone on the button, only to have it knocked off by my own partner. I guess i can see why curling is a favorite for Canadians, it gives people an activity to try and perfect during the winter months. To answer professor Isern, i can see people getting sore from curling if it is done improperly, due to the stretching.

for those who wish to know, you could still go and try curling, i recommend it. (the best part of the whole story is that it only cost $5 an hour )

In Lecture #3, the lecture was about the geography of Canada and the different regions/provinces that make up the nation. The geography that makes up Canada are the Prairies, Merit Times, the Heartland, British Columbia, and the North. The diverse areas promote the differences in natural resources and which province/regions that help Canada's industry/economy. I guess the area that peaks my interests is the Plains region that includes the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. The reason why is the resemblance they have to North Dakota, due the landscape of the great plains of North America. The reason i state this is because metropolis theory of North Dakota, South Dakota, and upper rural Minnesota's influence from Minneapolis.
The Canadian explores were also the first to map the north American west. People like David Thompson who were able to produce maps for the Hudson Bay Co. was really interesting. The lecture was really cool, in the sense that the pictures Professor Isern presented on the PowerPoint were helpful as well.

Black robe review

I’m not sure if I liked this movie very much. I’m confused because even though it was a beautifully looking movie when it comes to some of the shots, and I thought it was very successful in telling the story of what really happened. But it was such a downer that I was swayed by how depressing it could be. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mood to watch this movie.
But the movie is about a French Father named LaForgue, who travels with Algonquin guides on route to another village. The guides that accompany LaForgue and his companion Daniel, a fellow Frenchman, refer to LaForgue as a “demon”. They can’t decide whether to kill him or not. They come close on one occasion. LaForgue is set on converting these Algonquin men and women to Christianity but Daniel does not see the point. They are captured by an opposing tribe and tortured. However they manage to escape. After they escape the two Frenchmen are abandoned because Daniel has a sexual relationship with a young native girl who is with them. In the end LaForgue makes it to the village he was trying to get to but finds it disease stricken.
This movie was very well done I thought. It had beautiful scenery and I thought the story was accurately portrayed. I enjoyed the part in the film when they were captured by an opposing tribe, I thought it was interesting to see the way they were tortured and how they managed to escape. I thought it was great how the story didn’t take sides in dealing with the religious aspect of the movie. Both sides were shown, the Christian side and the native side. I also liked how nothing was romanticized like some other movies tend to do.
I would recommend this movie for its historical portrayal of the events, but not for its uplifting and inspirational qualities.

Evan Thompson

Homeland to Hinterland takes an in depth look at the reasons for the Red River Métis settling in the Red River community, and why it had success and why it dispersed. Métis in the Red River community began to settle in one area the Red River in southern Manitoba. These Métis were the product of unions between Hudson’s Bay Company employees and native women. The company wanted the Métis close to their fort to provide a source of cheap labor and to keep a close eye on the Métis population. Many Métis were of French-Indian descent, which meant that a large Roman-Catholic population was present in the Red River community. The other majority of the Métis population were of Anglo-Indian descent, and were Anglican. These two different religious groups managed to live together peacefully, and even intermarry. Ens writes many times of interfaith marriages, despite the two churches mutual disapproval. In the beginning of the Red River community, the Métis worked as laborers for the Hudson’s Bay Company in the fur trade. Some farmed on the side, and yet others tried subsistence farming and not fur trading. Towards the middle of the nineteenth century the main source of income for the Métis were the semi-annual buffalo hunts. They would hunt the buffalo in the summer, and gather meat to sell, and then hunt in the winter to gain the best buffalo skins. The buffalo skins became the greatest source of income for the Métis. Many Métis resisted the Hudson’s Bay Company and sold their hides illegally across the border in St. Paul, Minnesota. Beginning in the late 1850s, the Métis began to disperse because of the increasingly further distance of the buffalo herds, the inability for Métis to rise to positions of authority in the Hudson’s Bay Company, the inability to make much of a living on the small plots of land the Métis possessed in the community, and a just plain lack of job opportunities in the area. In the late 1860s, a resistance was formed under a Louis Riel, who resisted the formation of Manitoba. This led to a major rebellion of many Métis, although many did not support the rebellion. After the rebellion was squashed, the Métis became important in the government of Manitoba. However, an influx of settlers from Ontario caused them to become a small minority in Manitoba by the late 1870s.
I thought this book was a better read than the Lipset text. The major reason was Ens mentioned Pembina, which is in North Dakota! It is interesting how Ens studies the economic side of Métis life in the Red River Settlement. He certainly was able to glean a lot of information from this time period, which I think is very impressive. However, the text does get a little dry with the facts. The end of this book does tell of the dispersal of the Métis in the 1870s, but I would like to know if they ever formed another community elsewhere? Did their community totally disappear? That’s were the text left me hanging, and I hope we touch on this subject in lecture.

Lecture 3 was about how geography is done in Canada, mainly focusing on the physical geography, different from cultural geography which has been discussed earlier. The main geographical regions of Canada are: Industrial Heartland, Maritimes, Prairies, British Columbia, The North, and The Canadian Shield. Most of the regions are self-explanatory to where they refer to and cover every inch of Canada from St. John's to Yellowknife. The lecture went on to speak of the biggest cities in Canada, which for the most part, are close to the U.S. border. After that the Northwest Passage was discussed and the exploration across the continent by different explorers. From this lecture one was able to gain a better understanding of the slowly changing Canadian political geographical boundaries and how it came to be. I found the lecture to be interesting as I am interested in geography in general. I haven't even looked at a map of Canada since 7^th grade, so it was fun to relearn what I already knew. From my studies in History, I've noticed that rivers play a pivotal role in shaping a country by creating natural boundaries and strongholds. The rivers of Canada weren't discussed. This may be because they aren't as important in shaping History as they are in Europe or the U.S. I liked the many slides of maps and pictures of the scenery. It's easier to look at a map and then look at what the land actually looks like in real life. I thought the lecture was as good as it could have been considering the topic itself is often looked at as sort of bland.

Lecture 3 deals with the geography of Canada. It was a rather short lecture, but included some interesting points. For example, in the United States, we generally rely on a cultural geography to determine regions of the country. In Canada, the idea of environmental determinism is used more widely to explain the differences of regions of Canada in a physical sense. In other words this means Canadians are who they are depending on where they live. Environment shapes peoples’ perceptions and thoughts. You will find different kinds of people when traveling across this vast country. However, regions of Canada may also be categorized by the metropolis-hinterland theory, which states that things tend to flow toward the metropolis of each area, and their nearest metropolis influences people because demands made by metropolis shape the life of the hinterland, which includes everything but the metropolis. Another theory that closely correlates with this one is the Staples Theory created by Harold Innis. The idea was that the prairies are used to produce “staple crops” such as grains which were then demanded by industry in the metropolis.
We then spent time covering the different regions and their basic principles such as the Industrial Heartland, Atlantic Canada, The Prairies, British Columbia, The North, The Canadian Shield, and the Warm Line of exploration across Canada, most of these looking for a Northwest Passage. Another interesting idea from this lecture brings back what was talked about in Continental Divide about Canada being a nation of losers, the so called “loser syndrome”. Possibly the most famous to my knowledge was the Franklin Expedition, which failed not only to find a passage, but to return to civilization altogether.

The movie Gaz Bar Blues followed a man in what I assumed to be Quebec, since they all spoke French, and his sons. The man known affectionately as "The Boss" ran a small Champlain gas station. He ran the station with the help of his three sons. There were two older sons, Rejean who was the responsible one who always helped his father, and Guy who was constantly out playing harmonica in a rock band and not showing up to work. Allain the was only fourteen and therefore didn't work on his own. The movie follows mainly these four and their gas station which is a local hangout of sorts for many men in the town. A town where nothing ever happens. It is this inactivity that frustrates Rejean so much that he leaves for Berlin to go and photograph the falling of the wall. With Rejean gone more of the responsibility now falls to young Allain who is allowed to start opening the station on his own. In the mean time Guy disappears for a few days and when his junky old car is found wrecked the Boss fears the worst. When Guy finally arrives back in town he explains that he had been away at a gig that he couldn't miss. He apologizes for not calling and starts to get ready for work, the Boss tells him to forget it and that he is fired. Now with two sons gone, and sales down due to fair weather customers, constant hold-ups, and supposed friends who steal from the Boss the situation is looking grim. The situation for Rejean has worsened in Berlin. He has begun to realize it wasn't all he thought it would be and after a drunken episode he is sent home by the Germans. Once home he tells his father who is suffering from Parkinsons that he will take care of the station. Then one day there is a hold-up and Allain is taken hostage. The Boss convinces the robber to take him instead and as they attempt to leave the criminal is shot by police. It seems after this that the Boss realizes what is important and that he can no longer keeps his boys at the station. He closes the store for good and goes to one of Guy's concerts. The movie ends with the Boss and Rejean watching as Allain sweet talks a girl. This movie really didn't have a lot happen in it but it was still pretty good. The movie introduced a bunch of characters who spend their days milling around a full-service gas station telling the same stories. In the end however the movie is really about family and how at some point you have to let go. I don't think this film would do well in America since there isn't much movement or really any high drama. One can definitely tell that it is a foreign film.

The movie Gaz Bar Blues followed a man in what I assumed to be Quebec, since they all spoke French, and his sons. The man known affectionately as "The Boss" ran a small Champlain gas station. He ran the station with the help of his three sons. There were two older sons, Rejean who was the responsible one who always helped his father, and Guy who was constantly out playing harmonica in a rock band and not showing up to work. Allain the was only fourteen and therefore didn't work on his own. The movie follows mainly these four and their gas station which is a local hangout of sorts for many men in the town. A town where nothing ever happens. It is this inactivity that frustrates Rejean so much that he leaves for Berlin to go and photograph the falling of the wall. With Rejean gone more of the responsibility now falls to young Allain who is allowed to start opening the station on his own. In the mean time Guy disappears for a few days and when his junky old car is found wrecked the Boss fears the worst. When Guy finally arrives back in town he explains that he had been away at a gig that he couldn't miss. He apologizes for not calling and starts to get ready for work, the Boss tells him to forget it and that he is fired. Now with two sons gone, and sales down due to fair weather customers, constant hold-ups, and supposed friends who steal from the Boss the situation is looking grim. The situation for Rejean has worsened in Berlin. He has begun to realize it wasn't all he thought it would be and after a drunken episode he is sent home by the Germans. Once home he tells his father who is suffering from Parkinsons that he will take care of the station. Then one day there is a hold-up and Allain is taken hostage. The Boss convinces the robber to take him instead and as they attempt to leave the criminal is shot by police. It seems after this that the Boss realizes what is important and that he can no longer keeps his boys at the station. He closes the store for good and goes to one of Guy's concerts. The movie ends with the Boss and Rejean watching as Allain sweet talks a girl. This movie really didn't have a lot happen in it but it was still pretty good. The movie introduced a bunch of characters who spend their days milling around a full-service gas station telling the same stories. In the end however the movie is really about family and how at some point you have to let go. I don't think this film would do well in America since there isn't much movement or really any high drama. One can definitely tell that it is a foreign film.

In Lecture three, we discussed the geography of Canada and the industry in Canada. We touched on all of the major hinterlands of Canada, Atlantic Canada, the Prairies, British Columbia, and the North. In all of these areas there are the various industries, all different from each other, but they all play an important part in Canada’s economy. We also touched on the two natural environments in Canada, the artic, and the sub-artic. At the end of the lecture, we talked about the shield, both the positives, like how it kept a part of the country in it’s natural way, great fishing, and it was the place or origin for the fur trade which grew into the major developing industry in Canada, and negatives parts of the shield, how it bisects the country and how it deprives Canada with a heartland like the United States has.

The part of the lecture that I enjoyed the most was learning about the different hinterlands in the regions in Canada. How Atlantic Canada is considered a hinterland because of the salient extractive industries, and using the resources of the sea and forest. This is different from the Prairies that is an agricultural hinterland with the beef and grain exports. The one place in Canada that was hard to define in the area of British Columbia. This land is most filled with retirement homes instead of any bustling towns. Then there is the North, that has the cold artic and sub-artic, that contains most of the land of Canada.

Lecture 3 was entitled "One Warm Line" and dealt primarily with geography's role in the development of Canada. As with the Lipset text, we looked at the prevalence of the study of physical geography in Canada, which contrasts with the United States where cultural geography is more widely studied. In addition to that we were also introduced to the concept of environmental determinism. That phrase was developed by the Australian, Griffith Taylor, who argued that environment played the key role in shaping the culture and institutions of a people.
Afted discussing those concepts, the lecture took us on a tour of Canada's geographic areas such as the Industrial Heartland, the Maritimes, Prairie provinces, British Columbia, and the sparsely populated shield and northern regions. Much of Canada's manufacturing base is concentrated throughout southern Ontario running towards Montreal and Quebec. This area has spawned the Metropolis-Hinterland theory, which argues that the hinterlands are shaped by the demands placed upon them by the metropolis. This closely corelates with another concept introduced in the lecture, which was the "staples theory." Developed by Harold Innis, the staples theory is that the prairies are used to produce staple crops, which are, in-turn, demanded in the industrial heartland. The lecture also discussed the early explorer's of the Northwest Passage such as Franklin, and the fur traders who crossed the continent in the later 18th century.
I found the Canadian shield the most interesting part of Canada's geography. The idea that an inhospitable and almost impassable barrier seperates the east from the west is very intriguing. Canada's development was either hampered or helped (depending on the approach taken) by this region unlike the U.S., where no region comes close to the shield. I think I would have liked to have heard a little about environmentalism and ideology in Canada as compared with the U.S.

Lecture 3, One Warm Line, discussed the geography in Canada. Canada has an abundance of geographical regions. The eastern Canadian Coast, called the Maritimes, is a formerly heavily industrialized area, much similar to our own “Rust Belt” in the American Midwest. Canada’s heart of commerce, business, and industry (and indeed population!!) is in Ontario and Quebec. The eastern half of Canada is separated by a geographical area known as the Canadian Shield. This is an area that is basically (to my understanding) a giant swamp that traversing across in very difficult. Unable to build railroads across it, Canadians used to travel south through the United States to reach their prairie provinces. The Canadian Prairie is sparsely populated and rural, not unlike North Dakota. British Columbia is of the same geography as the states of Washington and Oregon, and BC is a prosperous agricultural region and retirement destination. The northern sections of Canada, the Yukon, Northwest Territory, and Nunavut, are heavily forested regions that border tundra. They have a very transient population, as people go up there, make their money and leave. Canada also has a unique feature of a metropolis to hinterland theory. This states that all other areas away from the heavily populated Ontario and Quebec are merely hinterland to this metropolis, because all of their attention is focused on this region of the country.
We also briefly went over some of the famous explorers of Canada, some of whom were Alexander Mackenzie, David Thompson, and the famous (and failed) Franklin Expedition. Canada, apparently, is totally fascinated by the failed Franklin Expedition; much like Australia is with their failed explorers. I do not quite know what to make of that similarity, except that maybe both Canada and Australia has some sort of “failure” mythology about their countries. However, the United States is also fascinated by a failed expedition. Lewis and Clark, while they did return home alive and intact, they failed in their primary objective of finding a Northwest Passage.

Black Lake, Canada in the mid twentieth century was a mining and lumber town, the camera frequently panned in on a far off smoking mine. Mon Oncle Antoine was about two families and their struggle to make a living in a small town. Hardship for both families occurred when fever killed the oldest son of the rural family (Joe’s family) and the urban family (Antoine and Benoit’s extended family) came out to put the body in a coffin. The movie was slow with many unnecessary scenes of walking or eating; it was painful to sit through. The urban family ran a general store that was busy during Christmas season. Antoine’s wife was having an affair with the shop clerk Fernand, who was a womanizer and pervert. Carmen was a fifteen-year-old indentured servant that Benoit tackled and grabbed her boob. Antoine himself was an alcoholic. Benoit was the focus of the movie because he was thrust into this corrupt, immoral environment and all he wanted was to be loved. Antoine and Benoit picked up the coffin at hardworking Joe’s house, but on the way back, it fell off the sled. Antoine was too drunk so Benoit and Fernand retraced their steps back to Joe’s house. It ended with Benoit looking in a window seeing Joe’s heart broke family morning their son they found. Benoit wished someone loved him. Random emotions did not fit some scenes. No one in the movie liked their job, Joe’s mid-life crisis causes him to quit the mine, Antoine (a mortician) was afraid of the dead, and no one at the general store wanted to work. There was a barrel of nails that was left in the way for days and everyone kept telling someone else to move it. No reasons for historians to watch this.

One Warm Line focused on geography, exploration, Metropolis-Hinterland theory, Atlantic Canada, and Toronto diploma influence. It was interesting to see how Canada was more divided by geographic boundaries versus the United States and its regional zones. For instance, the Midwest has all sorts of geography but does not have as distinct of dividing regions like Canada and its Laurentian Shield. I don’t know if I buy the Metropolis-Hinterland theory, I think the rural areas are going to develop their own identity separate from the city. They will not rely on and supply for that city, but they won’t become a scattered mirror image of that city like a shattered mirror. I do somewhat agree with the idea that many of the universities have the same Toronto mentality because of how he talked about so many professors with their Toronto degrees. Atlantic Canada reminded me of some similarities with our East Coast and how they developed, funneling immigrants inland and westward. The hunt for the North West Passage being so much of a national identity was different. How a country could base so much of its identity on a huge failure caught my attention because I have studied the Battle of Dieppe. It was a mini-D-day landing before the actual one as a test. It was conducted by thousands of Canadians and met with catastrophe but taught the Allies priceless lessons concerning the invasion. Franklin and the Stan Rogers song were interesting to hear and that poor soul David Thompson… hoping to get rich off his map but ending up in poverty. Lipset might have called him one of the founding losers of Canada.

First off I want to thank Professor Isern for taking all the pictures in this lecture. There are things that anyone can talk about because they are familiar, and there are things you need pictures to show what they are all about. Lecture 3 was all about geography and the different regions of Canada. One thing I really didnt know about was how the US and Canada have different view points when it comes to geography. Here is the US, we base things on the type of people who live in an area, and what kind of cultural background they have. In Canada, they use the land itself as a line between groups. After I thought about it for a while, I think that it makes more sense the way that Canadians view geography. The geography dictates what people can and can't do in an area. You can't farm on the coast or in the ocean. The title of the lecture struck me in three different ways. First, the line could be the actual border between the US and Canada, because it is the line where are view points change. Second, the line could be the Canadian Shield. This is a massive area in Canada, and it really does seem to draw a line across it. Thirdly, the line could have a direct relationship to the staples theory. The theory said that people would move to where a new frontier was, and also a way to make a living/profit. This also relates directly to the fact that Canadians define themselves in terms of East and West, rather than North and South. This is because so many people live so close to the border. All in all, I really enjoyed this lecture. Keep up the pics!

Sat 24th, 9pm, The Broken Axe Bar Moorhead, a Led Zeppelin Cover band, that is very good, named BLIMP is playing. Certainly worth the FREE admission if you are there before 9pm!

D

I guess gambling is thought of as an international activity.

"This land was made for you and me!" Geography is very important to Canadians; it's part of who they are. The Heartland, or "Middle Canada" is not in the geographic center of the country, but rather the industrial metropolis area of Toronto, where much of the nation feeds out of. Atlantic Canada correctly includes the Maritime Provinces along the Atlantic Ocean. Fishing and shipbuilding once were economic industries of this area, but now these industries are stagnant. Canada has their prairies, but not abundantly like the US. Most Canadians think of British Columbia as the West Coast, while outsiders may more identify it as mountainous. The North holds strong sentiments and has a fast amount of resources but can't support industries. The Shield is a defining obstacle that bisects the country. Finding a Northwest Passage became a mission of many leading to a fatal expedition by Sir John Franklin. Many later died in search for him and his company.

At the beginning of the lecture, it was stated that Canadians talk mostly of physical geography while Americans talk mostly of cultural geography. In the North American Plains class Canadians felt their culture more defined them while Americans thought the environment defined them. These seem to contradict each other.
I think it's interesting that Canadians use the term "Prairies" while Americans use the term "Great Plains." The terminology suggests Canadians see it as a cute little part of the vast country while Americans see the plains as huge and prominent in the land. It does make sense since Canada's plains are quite small and not as economically important compared the US'.
The celebration of heroic failed events seems to show a combination of humility and honor that Canadians want to identify themselves with.

The One Warm Line lecture was about Canadian geography and how it affects the people that lived there in the past and how it is still affecting them today. One of the main differences between the United States and Canada when it comes to geography is that The United States is more concerned with the cultural geography, while Canada is is concerned with physical geography. Griffith Taylor came up with the idea of environmental determinism, which is the idea that people are shaped into what they are because of the land that they live in. Another theory about Canadian geography is the Metropolis-hinterland theory. This theory states that the development of the Hinterland is set in motion by the demands that are placed on it by the Metropolis, which is where the majority of people live and the center of goings on in the country.
The concentration of industry in Canada is called the Heartland. This is the area around the Great Lakes in Ontario and Quebec. The base of industry in Canada is agriculture. It is prominent especially in the Prairie Provinces. Other things that contribute to Canadian industry are American coal and Scottish and American entrepeneurship. These things all help the Hinterland to grow as they require certain natural resources that only certain areas in the Hinterland can provide.
One geographic region of Canada is Atlantic Canada. These consist of Newfoundland, Novia Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, and are also called the Maritime Provinces. This is the area around the Atlantic Ocean, as implied by the name. There is no agriculture here as the soil is not fit for it, but industries such as forest, shipping, and fishing thrive around here because of the dense forests and the large ocean that resides to the east.
Another geographic region of Canada is the Prairie Provinces. These provinces consist of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. This is where most of the farming in Canada takes place. The physical characteristics are a continental climate which is a wide range of temperatures, a subhumid level prairie, and agricultural staples. Harold Innis, Canada's best known economist, came up with the staples theory. The staples theory states that aquisition of staples helped the country grow and drove Canadian development.
British Columbia is the large Canadian province that lies just west of the Pacific Ocean. It consists of many different types of land forms, including mountains and basins. It has everything from wine making places to skiing.
The North is the largest and coldest part of the country. It takes up 40% of Canada and is made up of the Yukon and the Northwest Territories. It is governed by appointed officials. There are 2 regions in Northern Canada, arctic and subarctic. The Northwest passage was thought to be up in this region, but after several journeys failed to get through because of the ice and frozen tundra, it was given up. There are many minerals and resources up here such as oil and gas, but the population is only about 65-70,000.
A large area that bisects Canada is the Laurentian Shield. It surrounds the Hudson Bay and has a lot of old rock. There are also many lakes, rivers, bogs, and forests. Hydroelectric power is prominent here because of the large amount of water, and there are many mineral deposits and mining communities because of the very old rock.

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for their kind words in the blog. I just returned home from my post-op checkup, and I am doing much better. Now that I can walk, I will be back in class on Thursday.

I have read and graded almost all of the assignments you have posted, but am a bit slower at getting the grades emailed back to you. However, now that I can actually use my left hand, I will get these out over the next few days. Also, this weekend I will be sending out reports that show everything you have turned in so far. If you compile 150 total points (excluding attendance and participation) by March 1, 10 bonus points will be added to your final total at end of the term.

See you soon

Last weekend (Saturday) several of us visited the F-M Curling Club together. It was a great time and we even recieved a free lesson from a member named Frank. The object of curling is to guid your teams stone (42 pounds of Scottish granite)into the target area. In this respect the game is somewhat like shuffleboard on ice. I picked up on the form of releasing the stones rather quickly but what I struggled with was to know how much "muscle" to put behind them. As a result, I was usually dead on with my aim but either short of the target or slamming the rear wall. Sweeping the ice in front of the stone (to melt it and create a slicker surface) is potentially the most athletic portion of the game because it can get tiring if done for more than a few feet.
Through our experience it is easy to understang how curling is such a civic attraction in towns across Canada. Unlike bowling where only one member of team is active at a given moment, curling requires active participation from all players. It is a great way to build camaraderie and socialize which is probably why it is so centric to Canadian life. I also imagine any excuse to have a few beers with your buddies on a cold Saskatchewan night also plays a role in its popularity.

Last weekend, several of us in the class decided it would be interesting to give curling a try. I have always been interested in curling from watching Olympic curling on TV, so I am glad I finally got the chance to actually try it out. The premise of the game is to release rocks on a sheet of ice (forty-two pound pieces of granite with handles on top) so that they end up in a target. Each team throws six rocks with scoring being determined by which team has more rocks in the target and which rocks are closer to the center. Along the way, each team has sweepers that sweep directly in front of the rock being delivered; doing this makes the rock go faster and straighter. Because of this, there is a technique to sweeping, sometimes having to sweep only intermittently at the advice of your teammates. The first thing that I realized was that it is much more difficult than it looks. It looks so simple—just slide down the ice and let the rock go so that it ends up in the target. On TV, the pros always look so graceful when they slide down the ice and release the rock ever so gingerly, putting just the right amount of spin on it so it will “curl” properly. With all of us being beginners, it was less than graceful-looking at the F-M Curling Club. Also, sweeping is hard work and requires more hand-eye coordination than I had anticipated (yes, I took quite a nasty fall). When all was said and done, I enjoyed the experience, despite probably getting the hang of it the least, and hope to do it again soon.

Lecture 3 was all about the different regions of Canada. Americans and Canadians look at geography in two different ways. Americans tend to focus more on cultural geography, while Canadians rely more on physical geography. The vastness, diverseness, and difficulty of the land play a major role in how Canadians define thenselves. The idea of environmental determinism is important to Canadians. The Metropolis-hinterland theory focuses on how the demands of the Metropolis shape the hinterland. In Canada the Montreal/Toronto area is the Metropolis while pretty much everything else in the hinterland.

The next part of the lecture listed the different regions of Canada and provided some great pictures. Atlantic Canada is gorgeous. I never realized that it was an economically disadvantaged region. The bird pictures were great, but I can't believe that anyone would want to anything similar to a coot. The praries looked quite similar to home here in ND, which isn't suprising because they're both part of the Great Plains even though many people forget it. I can certainly identify with the part about hunting gophers. I spent a lot of time when I was little checking gopher traps with my brothers. I was suprised at how diverse British Columbia is because the only area I'm familiar with there is Vancouver. The Shield also interested me because it was such a defining feature in Canadian history.

I really enjoyed this lecture. Before this I knew all the provinces and their locations, but not much else. I'd also never realized how similar the Prarie Provinces are to the American Great Plains.

I just finished watching Black Robe. It is about a Jesuit priest, Father Laforgue, who enlists the help of an Algonquin tribe to show him and his young companion the location of a Huron tribe that is in the process of converting to Christianity. Along the way, the young companion, Daniel, falls for Annuka, the daughter of one the Algonquins and they start an affair. Neither the priest nor the girl's parents are thrilled at the idea, but neither can stop it either. At one point during the journey, the tribe is attacked by another violent group of Indians who kidnap 5 people, including Fr. Laforgue, Daniel, Annuka and her father and sister and kill the others. They take them back to their village where they kill Annuka's sister and cut off Fr. Laforgue's finger. The Indians plan ways to kill the hostages the next day, including burning Annuka at the stake. During the night, they are able to escape captivity and continue to the Huron village. Annuka's father, who had an arrow wound, was no longer able to continue and was left in the woods to die with dignity and in peace. Before they leave him though, he tells Annuka that she and Daniel are to seperate from Fr. Laforgue because he had a dream that showed him this is what is supposed to happen. The Algonquin believe that dreams tell the future and they have to obey them, so Annuka and Daniel show Fr. Laforgue the way to the Huron village and then make him travel alone. Fr. Laforgue makes it to the village where he takes over the work of the elderly priest already there. He baptizes all the tribe members and manages to convert them all to Christianity. 15 years later, the tribe was tracked down by the Iroquois, their enemies, and all were killed.
This movie showed that relations between the French and the Indians was tense, but some tribes were able to get along with them and adopt their religion, while others hated them and tried to kill them. Even different tribes were cruel to each other and slaughtered each other. This shows that you cannot lump all the Indians into one group and label them "savages", as some of the white people did. Some of the tribes behaved in ways that I would consider savage, but not all of them were that way.
By today's standards, this movie was very mellow. I enjoyed watching it and really liked the scenery and the plot was easy to follow. I would recommend this to anyone who is curious about it.

Men with Brooms was co-written and directed by Paul Gross who also plays the lead character Chris Cutter. Cutter is the skipper of a disbanded rink of curlers who tragically lost the "Golden Broom" after Cutter disappeared with no explanation before the championship match. After the death of their former coach, Donald Foley, the rink is reunited to attempt to fulfill their deceased coaches last wish. The rink is made up of Neil, a mortician in an unhappy marriage looking for something to live for. James, who is always getting himself into trouble and hoping Cutter will get him out of it and Finally, there is Eddie, the most lovable character on the team with a "single-digit sperm count" who dreams of having a big family. When Cutter left town he didn't just leave the team behind, he left behind a fiance, Julie, who then leaves town to become an astronaut, and her younger sister Amy, who unbeknownst to Cutter has had feelings for him since childhood. The final person Cutter left behind was his father, a former teammate of their deceased coach and the only person in town who can train the reunited team of curlers that they need to be. The team faces their ups and downs, even losing to a team of octogenarians (old people) before putting the pieces in the right place just in time for the "Golden Broom" tournament. In true movie fashion the team of course wins the title, defeating the hated "Juggernaut" of curling. Amy and Cutter finally get together, and the rest of the teammates get what the always wanted while everyone learns a life lesson.
Even though this film is a comedy, and seems to make fun of Canadian culture around every turn, to me this film almost seems to celebrate the odder side of Canadian, and more specifically curling culture. The part of the movie that stood out most to me was how before the "Golden Broom" tournament the entire town shut down. This is comparable to me in American society to football in Texas which is almost considered a religion or way of life. To me this seems to say that Canada has its sports and competition too, and that it takes a backseat to almost nothing. Another thing that seemed odd to me about the movie was that no one had a really obvious Canadian accent. Sure there were a few ays and aboots but in comedies that feature Canadians I have started to expect a much stronger representation of the "Canadian" accent.
In conclusion, I found this movie hilarious, but it seemed to follow the formula of an underdog sports movie a little to closely. I could almost predict the outcome from the beginning but then again a person can do that with most movies nowadays. What i found unique about the film was that it differed from the stereotypical Canadian comedy in my mind in that it strayed away from what is usually made fun of in Canadian culture and tries to celebrate a huge part of the Canadian sports culture in an unapologetic way.

Lecture 3 was about the geography of Canada. Inside this lecture there was talk about the different regions of Canada and their relation to those in the U.S. First off, Canada has prevalence to physical geography while the United States is focused on Cultural Geography. This helps to allow the idea of environmental determinism – that the land shapes the people - to be present in a stronger manner for all Canadians as opposed to all Americans.

Canada refe