Local history books now available online

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/05/2020 (2043 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A treasure trove of local community history projects is on offer by University of Manitoba Libraries, as COVID-19 concerns delay Manitoba 150 celebrations to 2021.

The university partnered with the Manitoba Library Consortium to digitize more than 800 of the province’s local history books.

“Though in-person events celebrating Manitoba 150 are postponed, exploring Manitoba’s history online through this new collection is the perfect way for Manitobans living in the province and around the world to virtually travel – safely, from the comfort of home,” a news release states.

A quick perusal of the first 40 or so books includes such gems as: “The Brandon Hill Story,” “Sandy Lake: Our Roots,” “Town of Neepawa, Manitoba,” “Binscarth Memories,” “Beckoning Hills Revisited: Ours is a Goodly Heritage, Morton Boissevain, 1881 to 1991,” and “Backtrackin’: A Moment in Time, Inglis & Area Memoirs.”

Searches can be carried out in numerous ways, including by municipality. Birdtail Indian Reserve, for example, is listed and yields the title “Minnewashta Memories 1879-1970.”

The Beulah Women’s Institute is responsible for that one.

On the opening page, they state: “In choosing the name for the cover of our book ‘Minnewashta Memories,’ we feel we have chosen well, as the Minnewashta Cree, spelled ‘Mini Waste’ by the Sioux Indians, our first settlers, wends its way from the northeast corner of our district and empties into the Assiniboine River at the southwest corner. Many are the farmers who have the benefit of a little of it running through their land.

“Then there is the little stream, originating in the north near the vicinity of Hooper Lake, passing through Solomon’s Gully, which was named after the Birdtail Indian missionary, Solomon Tunkansiaiciye.”

Projects can also be found by organization, such as the Deloraine History Book Committee or the Forrest Special Projects Group, which published “Family Trees Rural Roots: A History of Forrest & District.”

Another way to search the collection is by one’s own name, or the names of one’s ancestors. This yields — if one happens to be a Manitoban, stretching back to the 1800s — a rich diversity of mentions.

The partners in this digital project remind readers that historical accounts are exactly that — history — and they urge readers to keep that in mind as they browse through the collection.

“Please note that historical materials contain language and terminology that reflect the culture and context of their creators. Materials may include descriptions and phrases that would now be deemed insensitive, outdated, inaccurate or offensive. The views expressed in historical documents presented here do not reflect the views of the University of Manitoba nor its partners in this project,” according to the news release.

Access to the site is free at https://bit.ly/2XpyJL8

» mletourneau@brandonsun.com

» Michele LeTourneau covers Indigenous matters for The Brandon Sun under the Local Journalism Initiative, a federally funded program that supports the creation of original civic journalism.