Primary Sources for Students

People write history based on what they can learn from traces of the past: letters, drawings, tools, clothes and things that were left behind as time moved on. For your Heritage Fairs project, you will need to learn from a wide variety of sources. Some of these should be these left-behind traces, what are called primary sources. The list below is a selection of websites that show primary sources. We have tried to include topics that have been popular with Heritage Fair students in the past and which meet the provincial curriculum. Send us suggestions for topics or sites that you think should be included in this list. We will continue to add more. Many of the sites below come from THEN/Hier. Go to their web page http://thenhier.ca/en/content/primary-sources-and-teaching-links for even more web sites that feature primary sources. Topics: British Columbia History in General Aboriginal History Fur Trade Residential Schools Fraser River Gold Rush Pioneers and Immigration Canadian Immigration Specific Topic Science and Technology British Columbia History in General: BC Archives http://www.bcarchives.bc.ca/bcarchives/default.aspx Use their search engine to find primary sources on your topic. If you are from the interior of BC or the North, you can find stories as well as artifacts and photographs on a wide range of local topics if you click on your region and then on Human History. BC Archives Presents the Amazing Time Machine http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/sn-2833FB8/exhibits/timemach/main.htm The British Columbia Archives Time Machine gives you a variety of historical documents, images, and other multimedia information on eleven different topics in BC history. Topics include Families, Communities, First Nations Art, Cariboo Gold Rush, Multiculturalism, Social Institutions, Resource Development, Women, and Art. Each topic includes a narrative and various images and other historical sources. British Colonist http://www.britishcolonist.ca/ This website contains all British Colonist newspapers (also called the Daily British Colonist, the Daily Colonist, and other variants) from its first issue in 1858 to June 1910. There are zooming options to make the newspapers easier to read. The Governors Letters: Uncovering Colonial British Columbia http://www.govlet.ca/ This bilingual website invites grade 5-12 students to use the Colonial Despatches (day-by-day reports from the governors of the colony, as well as other letters from the British government) to investigate the origins of modern British Columbia and Canada. There are four questions that you could explore: 1. What were the reasons for creating the colony of B.C.? 2. Were the treaties Governor Douglas signed with aboriginal people fairly negotiated? 3. Did the gold rush of 1858 radically change daily life in Victoria? 4. Did Governor James Douglas deserve to be knighted?

Provincial Capital Commission Learning Resources http://www.bcpcc.com/learn_resources.php The PCC has produced two curriculum-based web tools for social studies students some of which have primary sources: Learning about the Capital is for Grade 4/5 students. It gives brief, interactive stories about important places and people from the history of Victoria. Being Victorian is targeted for Grade 10s and combines narratives and primary sources to learn about society in 19 th century Victoria. The PCC site also includes a number of short (2- to 4-minute) videos on a variety of people, places and events in British Columbia history such as the Fraser River Gold Rush at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q6nSMF_eu0. Aboriginal History: First Nations in British Columbia: From the BC Archives Time Machine http://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca/exhibits/timemach/galler07/frames/index.htm This First Nations gallery includes both Aboriginal accounts and European accounts to describe certain historical aspects of British Columbia. This gallery is organized into a variety of sections that include text combined with photographs, maps and artwork of the First Nations. Gateway to Aboriginal Heritage http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/tresors/ethno/index_e.shtml This online exhibit from the Canadian Museum of Civilization is an excellent resource for both elementary and secondary students who want to learn about the heritage of the Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. The website features historical and contemporary objects, images, and documents that show the cultural diversity as well as the creativity, resourcefulness, and endurance of Canadas First Nations, Mtis, and Inuit peoples. Aboriginal Documentary Heritage: Historical Collections of the Canadian Government http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/aboriginal-heritage/020016-1000-e.htm This web exhibition can help you understand the difficult relationship between the Canadian government and Canadas Aboriginal people from the late 1700s to the mid -20th century. The website is most suited for secondary students. It presents three thematic sections that include essays and primary sources: the Red and Black Series (the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs records from 1872 to the 1950s); Treaties, Surrenders and Agreements; and Aboriginal Soldiers in the First World War. Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre http://pwnhc.learnnet.nt.ca/timeline/index.asp This site tells stories of the Northwest Territories including those of the Aboriginal Peoples such as the Inuvialuit (Inuit of the Western Arctic) and Gwichin First Nation. Some of the important moments, events, people and ideas in the North are explained through photographs, documents, video clips, audio tracks and an amazing array of objects. CBC Digital Archives: Native Issues http://archives.cbc.ca/categorie.asp?page=1&IDLan=1&IDCat=360&IDCatPa=262&dossier=1&diff=1&cpar=0&chkdiff=1&x=40&y=14 The CBC/Radio-Canada has collected thousands of CBC radio and television clips from the past seven decades into hundreds of topics that can be viewed or listened to on the website. Possible topics on Aboriginal Issues include A Lost Heritage: Canadas Residential Schools, The Oka Crisis, George Erasmus: A Native Rights Crusader, A Celebration of Aboriginal Heritage, and the Battle For Aboriginal Treaty Rights. The Making of Treaty 8 in Canadas Northwest http://www.albertasource.ca/treaty8/ This bilingual virtual exhibition features oral and visual sources that commemorate the signing of Treaty 8 in North-

western B.C. in the 19th century. The site considers the complex issues relating to past, present, and future First Nations treaty negotiations in Canada. Pride and Dignity http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/aboriginal-portraits/index-e.html This is an exhibition of over 60 photographs (c.1846 c.1960). The exhibition is intended to break down some of the common stereotypes about Aboriginal society by revealing the humanity of the people in the photos. Virtual Museum of Mtis History and Culture: Our Proud Heritage http://www.metismuseum.ca/exhibits/heritage/ This section of the website contains interviews and historical photographs to tell the history of Mtis elders and veterans. The Fur Trade: CBC Digital Archives: Native Issues http://archives.cbc.ca/categorie.asp?page=1&IDLan=1&IDCat=360&IDCatPa=262&dossier=1&diff=1&cpar=0&chkdiff=1&x=40&y=14 The CBC/Radio-Canada has collected thousands of CBC radio and television clips from the past seven decades into hundreds of topics that can be viewed or listened to on the website. Possible topics on Aboriginal Issues include A Lost Heritage: Canadas Residential Schools, The Oka Crisis, George Erasmus: A Native Rights Crusader, A Celebration of Aboriginal Heritage, and the Battle For Aboriginal Treaty Rights. The Making of Treaty 8 in Canadas Northwest http://www.albertasource.ca/treaty8/ This bilingual virtual exhibition features oral and visual sources that commemorate the signing of Treaty 8 in Northwestern B.C. in the 19th century. The site considers the complex issues relating to past, present, and future First Nations treaty negotiations in Canada. Pride and Dignity http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/aboriginal-portraits/index-e.html This is an exhibition of over 60 photographs (c.1846 c.1960). The exhibition is intended to break down some of the common stereotypes about Aboriginal society by revealing the humanity of the people in the photos. Virtual Museum of Mtis History and Culture: Our Proud Heritage http://www.metismuseum.ca/exhibits/heritage/ This section of the website contains interviews and historical photographs to tell the history of Mtis elders and veterans. The Fur Trade: Exploration: The Fur Trade and Hudsons Bay Company http://www.canadiana.org/hbc/intro_e.html This website shows how the fur trade led to the exploration of the country and the formation of the oldest and largest company in Canadian history, the Hudsons Bay Company. This site has been written for students aged 9 and up, and includes primary sources (maps, paintings, diaries) throughout. There are also links to useful information on other websites. Fur Trade Stories http://www.furtradestories.ca/ This website owned and operated by Canadas History includes an array of primary and secondary resources. The website is broken into three time periods: Pre-Contact with Europeans to 1600, From 1600-1800, and From 1867 to Present Day.

HBC Learning Centre Map http://www.hbc.com/hbcheritage/learning/map/ This interactive map shows how the HBC has grown across Canada through four eras. Residential Schools: CBC Digital ArchivesA Lost Heritage: Canadas Residential Schools http://archives.cbc.ca/society/education/topics/692/ CBC Archives offers 14 television and 8 radio clips from 1955-2008 documenting residential schools in Canada. CBC News In DepthTruth and Reconciliation: Stolen Children http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/truth-reconciliation/ This CBC website is devoted to the Indian Residential Schools Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It includes FAQs about the commission, questions for the new commission, the history of Canadas residential schools and education policy for aboriginal peoples, the Prime Ministers statement of apology, reaction to the apology, a a timeline of aboriginal education in Canada, and selected video and audio clips. Where are the Children? Healing the Legacy of the Residential Schools http://www.wherearethechildren.ca/ The goal of this high quality website is to promote awareness about the residential schools among the Canadian public to try and bring about healing and better relations between Aboriginal People and non-Aboriginals. Included on the website are a number of sections useful for Heritage Fairs students: Blackboard: An interactive history book of the residential schools that includes an audio narration of each page of text, a variety of photographs and other primary and secondary documents, and oral histories from survivors. Interactive Map and Timeline: Interactive map shows locations and number of residential school by decade from 1860-2009 and a timeline provides a view of events in Aboriginal, Canadian, and world history during the residential schools era. Bookcase: Textbooks grades 9-10, 11-12. School: A 3-D Gallery walk through a residential school. Exhibit: A virtual exhibition presents photographs largely from public and church archival collections, from the 1880s to the 1960s. The Fraser River Gold Rush: William Hinds Overlanders of 62 Sketchbook http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/hind/index-e.html In 1862 artist WIlliam Hind joined the Overlanders, a group of gold seekers who crossed the Prairies in search of the gold fields of the Fraser and Cariboo regions. During the trip Hind produced a sketchbook of his travels and some of the difficulties the Overlanders faced. The 92 pages of his sketchbook retrace Hinds journey across the Prairies and into British Columbia. The Governors Letters: Uncovering Colonial British Columbia http://www.govlet.ca/ This bilingual website invites grade 5-12 students to use the Colonial Despatches (day-by-day reports from the governors of the colony, as well as other letters from the British government) to investigate the origins of modern British Columbia and Canada. There are four questions to explore and one of these is about the Gold Rush: Did the gold rush of 1858 radically change daily life in Victoria? Pioneers and Immigration: Passages to Canada Digital Archive http://www.passagestocanadaarchive.com/da/splashpage.asp This site includes memories and personal objects of over 120 immigrants, representing over 45 different languages and over 50 countries.

You can explore the archive through a search tool option or through four themes: Life Before Canada, The Journey, Adjusting to Canada, and What Canada Means to You. Each immigrant profile consists of audio and print versions of their stories and personal artefacts. The Canadian West http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/canadian-west/052901_e.html This exhibition from Collections Canada explores several aspects of European arrival and settlement in the Canadian West, and provides a glimpse of those people who helped forge the new society and bring about enormous change to the West. The website includes art, medals, maps, and photographs. The Chung Collection http://chung.library.ubc.ca/collection-themes The Chung Collection contains more than 25,000 rare and unique items (documents, books, maps, posters, paintings, photographs, silver, glass, ceramic ware and other artefacts). It is organized into three themes: Immigration and Settlement, Early British Columbia History, and Canadian Pacific Railway Company. The collection on immigration and settlement focuses primarily on the Chinese experience in Canada and the United States. CBC Digital Archives: Society http://archives.cbc.ca/society/ This website project has collected thousands of CBC radio and television clips from the past seven decades and organized them into hundreds of topics that can be viewed or listened to. Topics of interest for teaching about immigration include Chinese Immigration to Canada: A Tale of Perseverance, Boat People: A Refugee Crisis, and Making the Mosaic: Multiculturalism in Canada. Immigrant Voices http://www.canadianhistory.ca/iv/ This bilingual historical overview of immigration in Canada is designed for secondary students. Written explanations are supported by a variety of images, documents, maps, and graphs (including interactive maps and graphs and panorama images). Immigration and Immigration Policy, 1876-1914 http://www.umanitoba.ca/libraries/units/archives/prairie_immigration/educational_site/index.shtml This website is designed to be an interactive, multi-media learning tool designed to help individuals learn about immigration in Canada after Confederation and before the First World War, the major immigrant groups that made the journey, and the challenges faced by these new immigrants upon their arrival in Canada. Moving Here, Staying Here. The Canadian Immigrant Experience http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/immigrants/index-e.html This exhibition has many useful sources but is most suited for secondary students. The second section, Traces of the Past: Directives, Debates and Dreams, provides a history of Canadian immigration from 1800 to 1939. It is divided into three broad categories: Directives: The Canadian governments official responses to immigration from various countries and during various periods. Debates: This category provides insight into the Canadian publics attitudes towards immigration. Dreams: While every immigrant experience was unique, personal diaries and letters, and family photographs and histories reveal that immigrants shared many hopes and fears. Canadian Immigration Specific Topics: Anti-Slavery Movement in Canada http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/anti-slavery/index-e.html To commemorate the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Anti-Slavery Society of Canada in 1851, Library and Archives Canada created this online exhibition to tell the story of the Anti-Slavery Society in Canada, early

Black settlement and communities, and the effect of the American Civil War. The website includes many letters, pamphlets, paintings, and drawings about these topics. Chinese Canadian Historical Photo Exhibit http://www.ccnc.ca/toronto/history/index.html This website provides a history of Chinese people in Canada from 1858 to current day. The website has organized Chinese-Canadian history into seven distinct time periods and includes a photo gallery, historical information, a timeline, a historical summary and resources for further reading. Early Chinese-Canadians 1858-1947 http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/chinese-canadians/index-e.html This bilingual website includes the history of Canadas early Chinese immigrants. Find out why they came to Canada and how they contributed to Canadas developing economy, the co mmunity ties they formed, and how immigration policies and attitudes restricted their lives. Examine historical photographs, government documents, and letters about early Chinese immigrants in Canada. Watch a 1918 film clip of a funeral procession, listen to a 1905 recording of a Cantonese folksong, or learn about the head tax records. Japanese Canadian History.net http://www.japanesecanadianhistory.net/ The Japanese Canadian history website is mainly designed for teachers but there are also resources for students on the internment of Japanese Canadians from 1942 to 1949 and the attainment of redress in 1988. Internment and Redress: The Story of Japanese Canadians is a resource guide for t eachers of grade 5 Social Studies, and Internment and Redress: The Japanese Canadian Experience is a resource guide for Social Studies 11 teachers. Germany to Canada Migration http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Migrations/english/index.html This online exhibition is the result of collaboration between several schools and museums in Germany and Canada and is meant to highlight nine themes of German migration to Canada from 1750 to 1975. The website includes narratives and many historical artefacts including photographs, maps, letters, and diaries that help reveal the shared history between the two nations. In Quarantine: Life and Death on Grosse le, 1832-1937 http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/grosse-ile/index-e.html?PHPSESSID=g78vmard94688466cris3us9a2 By 1830, an average of 30,000 immigrants arrived annually in the City of Qubec, the main port of entry to Canada, at a time when major cholera and smallpox epidemics were sweeping through Europe. In order to help control the spread of the diseases, the quarantine station at Grosse le, located in the St. Lawrence River downstream from the City of Qubec, was established in 1832 and operated until its closure in 1937. Library and Archives Canada has used the lists of births and deaths at sea, hospital registers, journals, letters, photographs and maps to tell the story not only of the quarantine station, but also of the individuals who experienced life on the island. New Brunswick Irish Portal: Irish Famine Migration to New Brunswick http://archives.gnb.ca/Irish/Default.htmlThis bilingual portal tells the story of the Irish arrival and settlement in the province of New Brunswick and includes eleven galleries such as Ireland 1845-1852, The Passage Out, Across the Broad Atlantic, and Arrival. Each features a variety of letters, documents, photos, and artists conceptions. Pier 21: Canadas Immigration Museum, Online Story Collection http://www.pier21.ca/research/collections/the-story-collection/online-story-collection/ This collection includes PDF copies of stories from immigrants and veterans who passed through Pier 21 and is divided into ten major categories: Immigrants, British Home Children, Veterans, War Brides, British Evacuee Children, Jewish War Orphans, Child Migrants, Displaced People and Refugees, Hungarian Revolution Refugees, Pier 21 Staff and Volunteer Stories.

Remembering Black Loyalists: Black Communities in Nova Scotia http://museum.gov.ns.ca/blackloyalists/ This online exhibit introduces the people, places, objects, events, and stories of the more than 3,000 Black persons who came to Nova Scotia as a direct result of the American Revolution between 1783 and 1785. Saskatchewan Settlement Experience http://sasksettlement.com/index.php This website documents the history and settlement of Saskatchewan from 1870 to 1930. The history of Saskatchewan is presented through more than 2,000 records, including photographs, documents, maps, and audio and video files. The topics covered include Landscape, Aboriginal Peoples, Steps to a Homestead, Life on the Prairies, Agriculture, Labour, Transportation and Communication, Women, Education, and Religion. The Shamrock and the Maple Leaf: Irish-Canadian Documentary Heritage http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/ireland/index-e.html This is an online exhibition of Irish-Canadian documentary heritage held by Library and Archives Canada where you will discover photographs, letters, books, music, and other evidence of Irelands influence on Canadian history and culture. Susanna Moodie and Catherine Parr Traill http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/moodie-traill/index-e.html Susanna Moodie and Catharine Parr Traill are two of Canadas most important 19th -century writers. In 1832 they immigrated with their Scottish husbands to Canada, where they recorded their lives as pioneers in books which remain famous to this day. Using original photographs and other illustrations, this website is designed to help students enter into the worlds of these two remarkable sisters. Ties that Bind: Building the CPR, Building a Place in Canada http://mhso.ca/tiesthatbind/index.php The Ties That Bind: Building the CPR, Building a Place in Canada online virtual exhibit explores the history of the Chinese Canadians from their presence in Canada before Confederation, during the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, through more than 60 years of legislated discrimination under the Head Tax and Exclusion Act, to the present. The website has been designed and written for a general audience as well as for teachers and students at the primary, middle and secondary school levels. There are two ways to explore the site: (1) through the histories of the railroad worker descendants by listening to audio segments, viewing image galleries, and reading biographical summaries or (2) through six themes such as Working Conditions, Head Tax, and Identity and Success. Under a Northern Star http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/northern-star/index-e.html This website presents seven unique collections held at Library and Archives Canada that document the diverse historical experience of African Canadians and includes historical papers, photographs, and other documents that profile the life and work of people and groups who fought against slavery and racism to build settlements including Mary Ann Shadd Cary, James Douglas, Green Thurman, Black Loyalists, and the Africville settlement. The Underground Railway Years: Canada in an International Arena http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/205/301/ic/cdc/freedom/default.htm This online exhibition provides background, history and context of the Underground Railway in Canada. Each section includes a narrative intertwined with some primary and secondary sources from this time period. William Hinds Overlanders of 62 Sketchbook http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/hind/index-e.html In 1862 artist WIlliam Hind joined the Overlanders, a group of gold seekers who crossed the Prairies in search of the gold fields of the Fraser and Cariboo regions. During the trip Hind produced a sketchbook documenting his travels and some of the difficulties the Overlanders faced on the undeveloped trails of the West. The 92 pages of his sketchbook retrace Hinds journey across the Prairies.

Science and Technology: Canadian Science and Technology Museum http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/collection/index.cfm In the Collection, there are several sections with photographs of artefacts accompanied by text such as Artifact Spotlight and Picturing the Past. McCord Museum http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en/keys/webtours/groupID/1.5#group_1.5 The McCord has a vast collection of photographs and artefacts that you can search. It also has thematic tours, slide shows and video, on many themes including Science, Technology & Commerce. B.C. Hydro Power Pioneers History http://www.powerpioneers.com/bc_hydro_history/history/1860-1929/ This site includes photos, stories based on interviews and newspaper accounts, and a timeline of changes BC Electric and the BC Hydro from 1860 to 1990.