Indigenous writing is cultural appropriation! Explore how Reverend Evans created symbols, made books to record the Cree language, and taught the Indigenous how to read and write. Art Featured: Rev. James Evans Teaching His System of Cree Syllabic Writing by C. W. Jefferys About Jim McMurtry, PhD
Using an etching of Sitting Bull kicking out Uncle Sam, Jim explores what it means to be Indigenous. He questions why those “first” nations, such as the Sioux who came as late as 1876, have full Indigenous status when Europeans were in Canada long before that. Art Featured: UNCLE SAM FORGIVES SITTING BULL FOR CUSTER…
In the painting today, it looks like white European traders are exchanging goods with First Nations, something that obviously was a mutual benefit to both sides. The indigenous people are happy to get metal products, blankets, and beads, and all sorts of things that you probably already know about. And the Europeans were particularly focused…
As part of the fur trade, there was always the danger of having fractious relations with the people that you’re trading with. So both sides tried to do things to cement the relationship and make the trading successful. Intermarriage brought people together. The trapper was looking for someone to look after domestic affairs such as making…
Four murals which represent courage, enterprise, labour, and justice, painted by George Southwell in 1932, were commissioned and hung in the rotunda of the beautiful B.C. legislature in Victoria, B.C. They depict native men and women, bare-chested and watching or working as clothed colonial men sign documents or supervise. First Nations complained that the murals…
The painting titled “Pocahontas” was commissioned in 1870. How can we think critically about this painting to determine if is an accurate depiction or another example of a false narrator? Mr. McMurtry looks at the history that is known about the time of the story portrayed in the painting, and clues to discover more about…
Although idealized, the painting A Late West Coast Culture Village Scene by M. Francois Girard, was carefully researched under contract with the Canadian Museum of Civilization to illustrate many of the major characteristics of Late West Coast culture. What does this work tell us about life for these people before the coming of the Europeans,…
In this video, Mr. McMurtry will expose false narratives with a look at an iconic painting titled The Scream, by Cree artist, Kent Mugman. This work is intended to be propagandist because it’s not an accurate history. It speaks volumes about the official narrative on Indian residential schools. Art Featured: The Scream by Kent Mugman…
Jim McMurtry has dedicated his life to teaching historical truths. He is a steadfast warrior standing tall in his convictions against the gasping, whimpering left who will eventually expire under the tsunami of prevailing truths. One fateful day in late May 2021, as I was teaching Calculus 12 …, news was feverishly spread about the…
History lessons need more than just story (except in early grades). Historical fiction alone is not a good way to teach history. Here are inaccuracies to watch for. Characters: While historical fiction may be well-researched and the events presented as accurately as possible, the values of the characters will not be. Readers will not like…
