Ryerson Canadian History Readers
In the 1920s-30s, Ryerson Press published a series of booklets on
Canadian history that were written for the classroom. A few years
ago, I found about fifty of these booklets at a garage sale. Most of
these booklets are not available online, so I have scanned them and
made them available on my website for downloading.
I have not read all of these booklets, but the ones that I have read portray Canadian history in a straightforward manner that respects both Western and Indigenous knowledge and culture. And many of these books are about Canadian women. They were written in a simpler time when facts were treated as facts and people as people. But don’t take my word for it. Read through some of them and see what you think. I have organized them by topic.
Catholic
Mother Marie of the Incarnation
Education
Objective Tests on Canadian History
Explorers
Hudson Bay to the Blackfoot Country
John Jewitt, captive of Nootka
French Canadian
History
Naval Warfare on the Great Lakes
Indigenous
Pioneers
Politicians
Evolution of Responsible Government
Protestant
Resources
Looking at this more closely, Egerton Ryerson, the first editor of Ryerson Press, was a Methodist minister and educator who helped set up the Canadian educational system in the 19th century. He is currently being castigated for the supposed role that he played in setting up an aboriginal educational system. Wikipedia clarifies, “In 1847, Ryerson was asked by George Vardon, the British Assistant Superintendent General of Indian Affairs, for his ideas as to ‘the best method of establishing and conducting Industrial Schools for the benefit of the Aboriginal Indian Tribes’... Ryerson replied with a five-page handwritten letter, later printed in 1898 as an appendix to a report on residential schools by the Indian Affairs Department. Ryerson rejected the term ‘manual labour schools,’ and his recommendations include academic studies not needed for mere ‘manual labour.’ Ryerson foresaw a system that would assimilate indigenous youth into Canadian and Christian society.” Thus, he was responsible for promoting ‘a system that would assimilate indigenous youth’, something that is currently considered unforgivable in most Canadian circles, but he wanted indigenous youth to be given an education and not just trained as manual workers.
Wikipedia adds that “The term ‘residential school’ does not appear in any of the major scholarly works on Ryerson... Sources of Ryerson’s work in education, similarly, include no mention of residential schools... Ryerson was not directly involved in the setup or running of the residential school system, involved as he was in the Common Schools of Canada West and Ontario and the Normal School. And Ryerson predeceased much of its development.” Thus, even if one regards the Canadian residential schools as unmitigated evil, Ryerson was not responsible. Despite this, a statue of Ryerson on Ryerson University was vandalized and ultimately removed, and Ryerson University has been renamed as well as several parks named after Ryerson.