PROJECT DESCRIPTION

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The recent digitization of upwards of 660,000 military personnel files at Library and Archives Canada gives families, community members, and researchers the chance to reconsider the experience of individuals who joined the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF) more than one hundred years ago. These detailed personnel files reveal much about the period and allow us to consider similarities and differences in their encounters with military service with the CEF. The demographic and familial data in personnel records offers connection to other archival collections and a variety of ways of knowing about the past.

This project enables students, educators, and community members to explore the history of the CEF in the First World War. Our Gregg Centre team has worked with Canadian military personnel files from the First and Second World War for decades. This project expands on that expertise to examine themes of anti-racism, reconciliation, and gender equity to raise awareness and forge a stronger future.

Connect with us to get involved or click here for further instructions.

Project Goals

One of the main goals of this project is to use the military personnel files available through the online collection at Library and Archives Canada improve our understanding of the complexity of the First World War, while highlighting the continuous harm of systemic racism. The ultimate goals are threefold: provide education opportunities for teachers and students across Canada, utilize the power of our extended research team (that includes student and teacher partners) to change the nature of the conversation with respect to the service of Black and Indigenous individuals and women in the Canadian Expeditionary Force and beyond, and finally, to connect our core team and our teacher partners with as many community partners as possible to enhance the conversation around military service, systemic racism, systems of discrimination and inequities.


A note on primary documents:

One of the limitations of this project is that majority of the available primary documents, including military personnel files, war diaries, and census records are written and recorded in English. We recognize this is a barrier for francophone Canadians and teachers and students wishing to work in French. We also recognize this is an indication of the powerful hierarchy of the English language and the individuals in positions of power who are recording information, which is not always taken with the consent of the person whose information is being recorded.

What does it mean to hold reconciliation, anti-racism, and equity as a value in research?

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The Gregg Center emphasizes the agency and experience of individuals in its research on societies before, during, and after major wars. Black and Indigenous community members, as well as women, face discriminatory practices prevalent in society in early twentieth century society and endure harm and hardship between 1914-1918. There are many different perspectives to consider from the viewpoint of Black and Indigenous community members and women with respect to their own experience during times of conflict. Our effort is to highlight the multiple perspectives and power dynamics that are especially prevalent in times of conflict in the past and into the present.

INTRODUCTION TO ANTI-RACISM, RECONCILIATION, INTERSECTIONALITY, GENDER EQUITY AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP DESCRIPTIONS

Black and Indigenous men and white women and their service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force have a contested history that does not adequately highlight their individual experiences, agency, voice, difference, life before and after service, struggles, as well the real value they added to the CEF. We do not wish to contribute to systemic racism and discriminatory practices nor tokenize the experiences or efforts of anyone. This project is founded on the values of anti-racism, reconciliation, gender equity, intersectionality, and community partnership. We also understand that as a university research center primarily staffed by white individuals, our learning continues. We value questions and feedback from community members.

Anti-Racism

At the heart of anti-racism is unpacking how systems, individuals, and institutions exist within structures of power that create hierarchies in the past and in the present. We recognize that many of these structures operate intentionally while others reflect the normative behaviors of the time. We recognize that systems, individuals, and institutions resist change to protect the power hierarchy that benefits them and we seek to deconstruct those behaviors. As an institution, the CEF existed within and perpetuated a hierarchy of power that often disadvantaged non-white members of society, including Black individuals.

Gender Equity

When we speak about gender in relation to this project, we recognize that gender includes a diverse understanding of identities, including individual perceptions, values, and beliefs about what it means to be masculine and what it means to be feminine. Or, what it means to reject gender binaries above all. Within the parameters of Canadian society during the First World War, there were very strict codes of behaviour that reflected gender and racial norms of the time. Most, if not all, Nursing Sisters in the Canadian Expeditionary Force were white, well educated, and privileged members of society. Their position as white individuals in society granted them power over others while their position as women they too existed within a hierarchy of power in which they were both oppressed and had the potential to oppress.

Reconciliation

As part of a larger phenomenon of the attempt to assimilate Indigenous people, Indigenous voices have been marginalized in the history of the CEF. This is a larger part of the legacy of violence that led to the attempt to commit cultural violence against Indigenous people. In the spirit of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission reports, we view this project as one that will not only reveal the truth of systemic racism but also restore the identities of individuals to their respective communities, connecting them to the records Library and Archives holds.

Intersectionality

Coined by scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, the term intersectionality acknowledges that social identify is complicated and cannot be reduced to a single category of analysis and that all individuals have unique ways of experiencing discrimination and oppression. Race and gender are only two of the factors that contribute to the ways individuals interact with systems of power.

Community partnership

Our community partnership model is guided by the following questions: What does it mean to own and shape histories as a community and individual? What happens when someone else owns and shapes your history? How do we give agency back to the community in shaping the history that is relevant to them? To this end, we seek to connect with communities and families about their own connections to learn more. Contact us if you have questions or concerns.

RESEARCH ETHICS STATEMENT:

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We believe in the development of our research ethics in a collaborative way with community partners, other academics, researchers, and individuals. This means that we may have many voices involved and many questions asked of how we proceed. We are open to changing our path based on good reasoning but also the will of the ancestors of those who fought. Overall, we believe in the multiple perspectives and harm that emerged from the First World War (to millions of people around the world) as well as to individuals and their families who served in Canada’s Expeditionary Force. We center the experience of the individual in all its truth while endeavoring to understand the difference ways that different people were affected.

As a predominately white team within a University Research Institution, we recognize our position with respect to community partners and individuals who are the focus/at the heart of this project. We are not studying communities but we seek healing through a mutual conversation about how systemic racism, the “Canadian narrative” and stereotypes created conditions of de-humanization and discounted the service and sacrifice of those marginalized by race, ethnicity and gender. These are harmful beliefs and stereotypes which continue to be perpetuated in society today by the erasure of those voices, names and faces from history. Our intention as a group of scholars and educators is to forge ahead with a collaborative intent, understanding that we may make mistakes in the process. We welcome hearing about them and we are committed to our own learning along the way.

COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP GUIDE:

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The Gregg Centre emphasizes the agency and experience of individuals in its research on societies before, during, and after major wars. The recent digitization of military personnel files from the First World War offers a unique dataset for learners and researchers to explore new themes. This project seeks to highlight the unique experiences of Black and Indigenous community members, and women, in military service through primary documents like military personnel files, war diaries, and census records. The records reveal that there were discriminatory practices in the administrative functions of the Canadian Expeditionary Force that caused harm. Through this project, educators and learners will consider multiple perspectives and power dynamics that are especially prevalent in times of conflict in the past and in the present. At the heart of this project is the goal of having educators, learners, and the general public consider principles of reconciliation, equity, and anti-racism through this historical example.

One of the core goals of this project is to connect classrooms with community members to advance conversations around best practices for employing historical examples in pursuit of reconciliation and anti-racism. Community partnerships are valuable and in many cases essential. Working with Canadian military personnel files raises several ethical questions that you and your students will wrestle with. The records you and your learners access through this project, including but not limited to military personnel files, census records, and other primary records reveal much about the legacies of racism, colonialism, and gender inequity. The entire project is based on finding opportunities to connect with equity-seeking groups and hear other voices.

Our team is committed to anti-racism, truth and reconciliation, and equity as a way to create concrete opportunities for action. This is a way to foster civic awareness and engagement where learners can see the impact of their actions. This project creates opportunities for learners to experience and reflect upon the legacies of the past and how they have a tangible effect on the present.

We recognize that reaching out to community members may make you feel vulnerable. This guide is intended to support your efforts in this as it is crucial to the success of this project. When reaching out to community members, we encourage you to keep the following in mind:

  1. Community organizations and community partners are incredibly busy as they receive many requests for support as well as having their own mandates; don’t be offended or alarmed if you don’t hear back from them.
  2. If they do accept your invitation, here are some guidelines for how you might frame the visit.
    • Prepare yourself in advance by visiting some of the resources outlined below:
      • Consider a pre- and post-visit session with your learning group to discuss:
      1. Who the speaker is and what their relationship is to the community (and why hearing from a community member is important),
      2. How individuals are not representative of an entire group,
      3. Microaggressions and their impact,
      4. How worldview and identity categories influence our experiences and perspectives on historical events.
  3. The questions and ethical issues surrounding this research and how it relates to anti-racism have the potential to cause or exacerbate harm. It is important to enter these conversations with curiosity but also being well informed. Please see below for resources to help prepare for your visit.
  4. Keep in mind the concept of reciprocity. They are giving their time and effort to visit your classroom; how can you offer something in return?
  5. For Indigenous Communities, offer to go to them. The Intergenerational trauma and lasting legacy for survivors makes coming to a school setting intimidating, unsettling, triggering. By offering to go to them or meet in a location of their comfort can also help pave the way for smoother introductions and encourage more community engagement. This is meant to be a service to the communities, not another expectation for them to educate us.

RESOURCES

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