What's On at the Library

The History Matters lecture series opens with a talk by York University professor William Wicken on the ways in which historical research has shaped legal and political decisions about the indigenous peoples in Canada.This is the first of a series of noteworthy lectures on the history of aboriginal peoples in this country. The lecture takes place at 7 pm on Thursday, March 20 at the Dufferin/St. Clair branch.

In his presentation, What Sir John A. Macdonald Thought About "Indians"and Other Courtroom Tales, Dr. Wicken will give listeners a glimpse at a fascinating history that is not well known. He is the author of The Colonization of Mi’kmaw Memory and History, 1794-1928: The King v. Gabriel Sylliboy for which he received the Governor General's History Award for Scholarly Research (Macdonald Prize for best history book). 

He will also discuss the January 2013 Daniels Case in the federal court in which he was an expert witness. After 12 years of litigation and legal wrangling, the court finally found in favour of the Harry Daniels, the Congress of Aboriginal People and the other plaintiffs. The Daniels Decision held that Métis and other non-status Indians are indeed "Indians" under the Constitution Act of 1867. Harry Daniels did not live to see this outcome, unfortunately: he died in 2004. You can hear Dr. Wickens discuss the case here:

The library has a vast number of books on the Métis people including on Louis Riel the great Métis fighter who gave up a life of wealth to fight for the Métis. His hanging by John A. Macdonald in November 1885 was an act which reverberates to this day. One of the most acclaimed is by Maggie Siggins, Riel: a Life of Revolution.

The library's reference librarians can also help you find articles and books in the collections and direct you to some of the  important material to be found on the internet. If you wish to undertake in-depth reading, the Toronto Reference Library's Humanities & Social Sciences Department is the place to start.