Thomas McIlwraith – författare

The slogan on Ontario's licence plates, 'Yours to Discover,' was designed to promote travel opportunities within the province. Every year, thousands of tourists drive along country roads, past farmyards and through hamlets, en route to popular vacation spots. In Looking for Old Ontario, Thomas McIlwraith shows that many destinations are closer at hand than one might imagine, and invites travellers to rediscover familiar countryside landmarks by 'reading' them as chapters in a rich historical narrative. Surveyors long ago scored Ontario's land, and generations have since inscribed it with residences, businesses, and institutions. This book, the result of thirty years of field work and archival research, is a reflection on and an interpretation of the ways in which the land and its inhabitants interrelate. Looking for Old Ontario guides readers through the vernacular landscape of the province, examining barns, fences, jails, post offices, inns, mills, canals, railways, roadsides, cemeteries, and much more. McIlwraith emphasizes ordinary features of the cultural landscape which communicate social meaning to the observant eye. The landscape tells us that Ontario has been inhabited by thrifty people; this we can conclude by looking at the economical use and reuse of construction materials. Yet the landscape also tells us that Ontario's residents have been inclined to show off: consider the province's unusually large number of elegant brick dwellings. To read a landscape is to think about such connections, and McIlwraith's contemplative style differentiates his work from manuals or handbooks.Since landscape interpretation is a highly visual subject, Looking for Old Ontario is extensively illustrated with photographs, drawings, and maps. It will be useful to general readers interested in recognizing the broader meanings of their communities' heritage, as well as to students of geography, history, and planning.

Detailing the history of the aboriginal village of Iskut, British Columbia over the past 100 years, ‘We Are Still Didene’ examines the community's transition from subsistence hunting to wage work in trapping, guiding, construction, and service jobs.Using naturally occurring, extended transcripts of stories told by the group's hunters, Thomas McIlwraith explores how Iskut hunting culture and the memories that the Iskut share have been maintained orally.McIlwraith demonstrates the ways in which these stories challenge the idealized images of Aboriginals that underlie state-sponsored traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) studies. McIlwraith instead illuminates how these narratives are connected to the Iskut Village's complex relationships with resource extraction companies and the province of British Columbia, as well as their interactions with animals and the environment.

Detailing the history of the aboriginal village of Iskut, British Columbia over the past 100 years, ‘We Are Still Didene’ examines the community's transition from subsistence hunting to wage work in trapping, guiding, construction, and service jobs.Using naturally occurring, extended transcripts of stories told by the group's hunters, Thomas McIlwraith explores how Iskut hunting culture and the memories that the Iskut share have been maintained orally.McIlwraith demonstrates the ways in which these stories challenge the idealized images of Aboriginals that underlie state-sponsored traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) studies. McIlwraith instead illuminates how these narratives are connected to the Iskut Village's complex relationships with resource extraction companies and the province of British Columbia, as well as their interactions with animals and the environment.

The Concise Historical Atlas of Canada is a beautiful record of Canada's peoples and development. The book combines text and graphic material to create an extraordinarily rich picture of Canada's past, and presents a splendid visual record of the roots of our society and the evolution of the intensely regional, culturally diverse nation we know today. Based on the best-selling three-volume Historical Atlas of Canada, the Concise distills the best and most important plates into a single, comprehensive, thematically organized volume. It represents more than 20 years of collaborative effort between highly accomplished cartographers and a wide range of scholars.The goal of the Concise Historical Atlas of Canada is simple: to summarize Canadian history from prehistory through to the latter part of the twentieth century. To accomplish this goal, the editors selected 67 plates from the nearly 200 plates found in the full set. Each plate is a double-page spread of maps, graphics, legends, and text on a single subject or theme, and is accompanied by a bibliographical note at the end of the volume. Collectively, the plates represent both the crucial events and the continuity of life that made Canada. The editors intend their selection to mirror the social and economic experiences of ordinary people more than the political and military activities associated with individual heroes.While the plates selected from the full three-volume set are used without modification, the Concise Historical Atlas of Canada follows its own organizational structure. Plates have been grouped under three headings: 'National Perspectives,' 'Defining Episodes,' and 'Regional Patterns,' each with a new introductory essay. 'National Perspectives' gives overarching views of the land mass and the process of nation building. Among the topics covered are prehistoric and Native Canada, exploration, the establishment of boundaries, settlement and population patterns, and the development of transportation, urbanization, the economy, and society. 'Defining Episodes' refers to important historical events such as dramatic migrations, wars, and depressions - turning points of national importance. 'Regional Patterns' focuses on smaller parts of the Canadian experience, presents specific case studies of historical trends, and considers events and developments in greater detail over limited periods.The Concise Historical Atlas of Canada is a unique tribute to our history and a significant contribution to Canadians' understanding of one another. It provides a comprehensive overview of the life of ordinary people, one that can as usefully be read for pleasure as for research. Fully cross-referenced, it also serves as a guide to the three-volume set enabling readers to pursue topics of special interest in greater depth.

The slogan on Ontario's licence plates, 'Yours to Discover,' was designed to promote travel opportunities within the province. Every year, thousands of tourists drive along country roads, past farmyards and through hamlets, en route to popular vacation spots. In Looking for Old Ontario, Thomas McIlwraith shows that many destinations are closer at hand than one might imagine, and invites travellers to rediscover familiar countryside landmarks by 'reading' them as chapters in a rich historical narrative. Surveyors long ago scored Ontario's land, and generations have since inscribed it with residences, businesses, and institutions. This book, the result of thirty years of field work and archival research, is a reflection on and an interpretation of the ways in which the land and its inhabitants interrelate. Looking for Old Ontario guides readers through the vernacular landscape of the province, examining barns, fences, jails, post offices, inns, mills, canals, railways, roadsides, cemeteries, and much more. McIlwraith emphasizes ordinary features of the cultural landscape which communicate social meaning to the observant eye. The landscape tells us that Ontario has been inhabited by thrifty people; this we can conclude by looking at the economical use and reuse of construction materials. Yet the landscape also tells us that Ontario's residents have been inclined to show off: consider the province's unusually large number of elegant brick dwellings. To read a landscape is to think about such connections, and McIlwraith's contemplative style differentiates his work from manuals or handbooks.Since landscape interpretation is a highly visual subject, Looking for Old Ontario is extensively illustrated with photographs, drawings, and maps. It will be useful to general readers interested in recognizing the broader meanings of their communities' heritage, as well as to students of geography, history, and planning.

Detailing the history of the aboriginal village of Iskut, British Columbia over the past 100 years, ‘We Are Still Didene’ examines the community's transition from subsistence hunting to wage work in trapping, guiding, construction, and service jobs.Using naturally occurring, extended transcripts of stories told by the group's hunters, Thomas McIlwraith explores how Iskut hunting culture and the memories that the Iskut share have been maintained orally.McIlwraith demonstrates the ways in which these stories challenge the idealized images of Aboriginals that underlie state-sponsored traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) studies. McIlwraith instead illuminates how these narratives are connected to the Iskut Village's complex relationships with resource extraction companies and the province of British Columbia, as well as their interactions with animals and the environment.

Detailing the history of the aboriginal village of Iskut, British Columbia over the past 100 years, ‘We Are Still Didene’ examines the community's transition from subsistence hunting to wage work in trapping, guiding, construction, and service jobs.Using naturally occurring, extended transcripts of stories told by the group's hunters, Thomas McIlwraith explores how Iskut hunting culture and the memories that the Iskut share have been maintained orally.McIlwraith demonstrates the ways in which these stories challenge the idealized images of Aboriginals that underlie state-sponsored traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) studies. McIlwraith instead illuminates how these narratives are connected to the Iskut Village's complex relationships with resource extraction companies and the province of British Columbia, as well as their interactions with animals and the environment.

The Canadian Mountain Assessment provides a first-of-its-kind look at what we know, do not know, and need to know about mountain systems in Canada. The assessment is based on insights from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit knowledges of mountains, as well as findings from an extensive assessment of pertinent academic literature. Its inclusive knowledge co-creation approach brings these multiple forms of evidence together in ways that enhance our collective understanding of mountains in Canada, while also respecting and maintaining the integrity of different knowledge systems.The Canadian Mountain Assessment is a text-based document, but also includes a variety of visual materials as well as access to video recordings of oral knowledges shared by Indigenous individuals from mountain areas in Canada. The assessment is the result of over three years of work, during which time the initiative played an important role in connecting and cultivating relationships between mountain knowledge holders from across Canada. It is the outcome of contributions from more than 80 Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals and contains six chapters:IntroductionMountain EnvironmentsMountains as HomelandsGifts of the MountainsMountains Under PressureDesirable Mountain FuturesBy way of these chapters, the Canadian Mountain Assessment aims to enhance appreciation for the diversity and significance of mountains in Canada, to clarify challenges and opportunities for mountain systems in the country, and to motivate and inform new research, relationships, and actions that support the realization of desirable mountain futures. More broadly, the Canadian Mountain Assessment provides insights into applied reconciliation efforts in a knowledge assessment context and seeks to inspire similar knowledge co-creation efforts in and beyond Canada.

The Canadian Mountain Assessment provides a first-of-its-kind look at what we know, do not know, and need to know about mountain systems in Canada. The assessment is based on insights from First Nations, Métis, and Inuit knowledges of mountains, as well as findings from an extensive assessment of pertinent academic literature. Its inclusive knowledge co-creation approach brings these multiple forms of evidence together in ways that enhance our collective understanding of mountains in Canada, while also respecting and maintaining the integrity of different knowledge systems.The Canadian Mountain Assessment is a text-based document, but also includes a variety of visual materials as well as access to video recordings of oral knowledges shared by Indigenous individuals from mountain areas in Canada. The assessment is the result of over three years of work, during which time the initiative played an important role in connecting and cultivating relationships between mountain knowledge holders from across Canada. It is the outcome of contributions from more than 80 Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals and contains six chapters:IntroductionMountain EnvironmentsMountains as HomelandsGifts of the MountainsMountains Under PressureDesirable Mountain FuturesBy way of these chapters, the Canadian Mountain Assessment aims to enhance appreciation for the diversity and significance of mountains in Canada, to clarify challenges and opportunities for mountain systems in the country, and to motivate and inform new research, relationships, and actions that support the realization of desirable mountain futures. More broadly, the Canadian Mountain Assessment provides insights into applied reconciliation efforts in a knowledge assessment context and seeks to inspire similar knowledge co-creation efforts in and beyond Canada.