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LOCAL KNOWLEDGE


Local History/Geography Resources

PG Folk Map

Indigenous Placename Map (Bill Poser) Dakelh Keyoh
http://www.billposer.org/DakelhPlacenames/DakelhYunBilingual.html
Lheidli T'enneh Dictionary
http://www.billposer.org/LheidliCarrierDictionary/
History of Prince George (City of PG website)
https://www.princegeorge.ca/Things%20to%20Do/Pages/Learn%20about%20Prince%20George/HistoryofPrinceGeorge.aspx

Prince George Historical Photograph Collection
https://search.nbca.unbc.ca/index.php/prince-george-historical-photograph-collection

Exploration Place (Fraser-Fort George District) Archives and Collections
http://www.theexplorationplace.com/collections/archives-collections

Canadian Encyclopedia: Prince George
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/prince-george/​

BC Archives: Prince George
http://search-bcarchives.royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/prince-george-b-c-history

Prince George Culture & History
https://www.hellobc.com/prince-george/culture-history.aspx

Prince George, BC, history you probably didn't know
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/prince-george-b-c-history-you-probably-didn-t-know-1.2983933

Prince George Citizen - digital archives of all local papers
http://pgnewspapers.pgpl.ca/
Settlers' Effects: Prince George 1805-1972
http://www.settlerseffects.ca/pls/cats_web/web_exhibitions.show_exhibition?weid=54&lang=EN
Plant Indicator Guide for Northern BC
https://www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfd/pubs/docs/Lmh/Lmh46.pdf
Local Indigenous Historical Timelines
​BC Elders version pdf | Lheidli T'enneh version pdf
​Prince George Geoscape Guide
​pdf download
Fort George Herald, Sep 6, 1913 (p. 1 and 6)
pdf download
​
Prince George Local History Slides (from Garvin Moles Collection)
https://photos.google.com/share/...
PG Census Data - Prince George Citizen Feb 11th, 2012
census_data_pg.png
Prince George Heritage Context Study
pdf download
Prince George: Socio-historical, geographical, political, and economic context profile (2014 EQUIP report)
equip_report_2014-11-14.pdf
PDF download
​
recommended print size 11"x17"
Picture
Picture
I've been puttering away at this digital map of Prince George for a year or two; mainly with low-tech freehand and tracing & spotting using Lidar imagery and 1:250000 NTS Maps for references. This map answers some "sense of place" questions for me:
  1. What places stand out for me where I live?
  2. What are some of the names of local landmarks in the Lheidli T'enneh dialect of the Dakelh language?
  3. ​What are some things that a hobbit would notice in this area?

The City of Prince George has some interesting maps and a PGMap app with a variety of uses for students:
https://www.princegeorge.ca/City%20Services/Pages/Maps.aspx

Inquiry

Exploring local history and geography can take many forms. Researchers and students can begin with a topic, or can simply dive into the research material and see what what they find. Once initial research is done, it is important to settle on a question. Based on Prince George and its region, here are some examples or areas or themes from which to derive questions:
TIME PERIODS
  • Early history or Indigenous peoples versus early history of pioneers and settlement
  • Fur Trade era, railway and sawmill era, pulp mills and rapid growth era, modern era, etc.
PEOPLE
  • Early "characters" such as George Hammond, Charles Millar, Six Mile Mary, Granny Seymour
  • Interesting mayors such as W.G. Gillette, Carrie Jane Grey, Harold Moffat
PLACES
  • Parks and their stories, e.g. Fort George Park / Lheidli Tenneh Memorial Park, Moore's Meadow, Ginter's Meadow, Cotttonwood Island, Duchess Park, Paddlewheel Park
  • Streets and Roads, i.e. the history behind the names -- start with The Street Names of Prince George - Our History by Canadian Federation of University Women (2005 edition)
  • ​Neighbourhoods or historic areas, e.g. South Fort George, Central Fort George, Downtown, Millar Addition, College Heights. Island Cache
  • The Reserve at Shelley
  • Local features, e.g. Connaught Hill, The Cutbanks, Hudson Bay Slough
CHANGE OVER TIME
  • evolution of landscapes, layers of history, development and expansion, erasing vs preserving the past
  • evolving use of greenspace and recreational space, how our community responds to need for recreation
ISSUES
  • housing, crime, homelessness, racial tolerance, development concerns, social services vs business in the downtown
INSTITUTIONS
  • schools (elementary, secondary, college, university), hospital/health care, courts and policing, civic government
INDUSTRIES
  • sawmills, pulpmills, stores, oil refinery
TRANSPORTATION
  • trains, planes, automobiles, paddlewheelers (plus scows and barges)

Picture
Aerial view of Prince George, BC, 1958
Picture
Picture
Mr. Peegee, alternately Mr. PG, the iconic "wood-man" of Prince George (made of fiberglass), and the noteworthy Pil Can from Ben Ginter's Tartan Brewery in Prince George
Find more images like these at Exploration Place (Fraser-Fort George District) Archives and Collections
​
Make Mr. PeeGee your Zoom background, courtesy of City of Prince George

Picture
Prince George 1944. Note the WWII army camp at what is now 15th and Central, the general state of development, and the number of bridges. The meander scars (old courses of the Nechako River) are visible winding through downtown
Picture
​Prince George 1957. Note the WWII army camp is mostly dismantled and fading into the forest. The John Hart Bridge is under construction, subdivisions have been added, and buildings can be seen at the site of what is now the jail east of the Fraser River.

Barkerville

John Fraser, son of explorer Simon Fraser, was  buried in Barkerville.
Video - Grave of J.A. Fraser in the Barkerville Cemetery.  As the story goes, Fraser headed west from Canada West (Ontario) to Barkerville after his father died without leaving much of an estate. John was a troubled soul, and hit rock bottom when his main claim appeared to be useless, the mortgage on his family farm back in "Ontario" was foreclosed, and he was rejected by the love of his life. He committed suicide in 1865, and it was during his funeral when news came out to the cemetery that his claim had struck it rich. Right place at the wrong time, I guess.

Check out this amazing collection of Barkerville backstories:
Bonepicker - Youtube page - @GoldRushBackstories
Barkerville Cemetery
Barkerville Cemetery (photo: public domain)

Loon Calls and other Canadian noises

Here's a "Canadian Values Test" you can give to your class -- ask who can make a loon call. After your class goes chaotic for while, ask them where they learned it and when do they get a chance to use it. Ask about what other sounds define what it means to be a Canadian, and have them make them. Works for the little ones all the way up to the too-cool Grade 12s. It's therapeutic.
​File: audio clip of my Social Studies 9 class making loons class
loon_calls.m4a
File Size: 255 kb
File Type: m4a
Download File

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