1 LE PASSÉ ET NOUS De la conscience historique au XXI e siècle THE PAST AROUND US Historical Consciousness in the XXI st Century Quebec City September 29 – October 1, 2011

David Northrup Institute for Social Research, York University Toronto, Ontario September 30, 2011 THE PAST AS PART OF THE EVERYDAY PRESENT: AN OVERVIEW OF THE CANADIANS AND THEIR PASTS SURVEY

3 Four Questions 1What role does history play in Canadians’ lives? 2Does the role history plays vary by socio- demographic characteristics such as income, education, gender and age? 3How much does where you live, be it a big city or a rural area, Quebec or the West, matter in how you engage the past in your everyday life? 4To what extent do our findings support or differ from the results of similar work in the United States and Australia?

4 Interest in Various Pasts/Histories Type of past/History very interested somewhat interested not interested* Total Percent in general family Canada * The ‘not interested’ percent includes ‘not very interested,’ ‘not at all interested’ and those who did not answer the question Figures, this and remaining slides are for national sample (3,119 observations), weighted data

5 Importance of Various Pasts Pastvery important somewhat important * not important Total percent family religion or spiritual tradition ethno/cultural group province Canada * The ‘not important’ percent includes ‘not very important,’ ‘not at all important’ and those who did not answer the question

6 Engagement in Past-related Activities Family History% yesPublic History% yes photographs83movies78 heirlooms74books53 places (family past)57historic sites49 scrapbook, cookbook, diary, other family history 56museums43 family tree20Internet40 computer history games8archives15 other activities25

7 “A Moment of Heritage” Well, you’re right there, that is where it happened. There’s an aura about that... I think a good example is in St. John’s, Newfoundland. They say at this point, the first explorers landed here, and it didn’t mean 100 yards down, it meant right there, right there, that is where the trail was. And I thought, “that’s something!” … That stuff just puts hackles up my back.... I’m not sure if everybody feels that, but I did.

8 Engagement & Education: I * significant in regression model

9 Engagement & Education: II * significant in regression model

10 Past of Province & Canada Rated ‘Very Important’ for Stayers

11 Past of Province & Canada Rated ‘Very Important’ for Leavers

Gerald Friesen University of Manitoba, Winnipeg September 30, 2011 WHAT CANADIANS SAY ABOUT THEIR RELATION WITH THE PAST

13 Connections between individual and collective remembering: I B2 - PhotosWell, I have a collection of photos that I'm just sorting and organizing still in the last week. [Probe: What are the photos of?] Family members from two and three generations back. [Probe: Looking at them by yourself?] Yes. B5A – Keeping or preserving I have furniture from my great-great-grandparents, um, teacups, china, photographs, jewelry. B5B - Why meaningful They're meaningful only to the extent that stories that are shared are told, where they came from, why they helped the people in their lives, and then how they were passed down through generations. Sort of traces people's moves … and ties.

14 Connections between individual and collective remembering: II B22B - Traditional cultural activities Round dance, um, pipe ceremony, pow- wow. B12B - Last bookA Long Way Gone [Ishmael Beah, 2007] B14B - Last museumThe Art Gallery in Regina. B21 - Other activities/ events It was informal discussions with my father. We travelled through the area where his great-grandfather homesteaded, and he showed me landmarks and told me stories of family members, and we visited three graveyards to look at family headstones and take care of the graves.

15 Connections between individual and collective remembering: III C5 - Time past meaningful To me 1885 is very significant because it marks a time in a linear, in linear time, when the Canadian government ordered troops to attack Aboriginal people. It's not so long ago, you know, for some of us, just a few generations, and it was a time when people -- culture was changing rapidly, so, and people had to adapt to changes. So 1885 is as significant to me as 1867, the confederation of Canada. D8 - Disagree, discover truth Well, um, I'm thinking of, if … How do I answer this? You must triangulate the information, look at it from multiple sources. [Probe: Time in your life when you tried?] Yes. [Probe] History books, uh, census records, homestead records, family documents, and family members.

16 To see the slides: canadiansandtheirpasts.ca/ For questions: