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Two-Spirit people have often been the subjects and victims of archives and archival power. However, efforts toward decolonization and changing ideas in archives have the potential to disrupt this narrative. In this thesis I look at the ways institutional or mainstream archives can work with community groups – specifically Two-Spirit communities – to create effective and lasting partnerships to preserve social memory in a western archival format. I begin by sharing the words of several Two-Spirit people who have spoken about what that identity means to them as a way to emphasize what non-Two-Spirit archivists do not know and cannot know about what being Two-Spirit means. This necessary knowledge also serves as the basis to discuss some of the other implications for archiving Two-Spirit records. I then profile four Queer archives, ONE, ArQuives, Lesbian Herstory Archive and rukus! to provide context for how these archives come together, what their relationships with institutions are like and what some of the causes for collecting are. Last, I discuss practical ways for mainstream or institutional archives to build effective partnerships with Two-Spirit communities using the Two-Spirit Archives at the University of Winnipeg Archives as a case study. I use Michelle Caswell’s survivor-centred approach as a way to offer suggestions for archives wanting to build these kinds of relationships and evaluate the success of the Two-Spirit Archives at the University of Winnipeg.

Two-Spirit people have often been the subjects and victims of archives and archival power. However, efforts toward decolonization and changing ideas in archives have the potential to disrupt this narrative. In this thesis I look at the ways institutional or mainstream archives can work with community groups – specifically Two-Spirit communities – to create effective and lasting partnerships to preserve social memory in a western archival format. I begin by sharing the words of several Two-Spirit people who have spoken about what that identity means to them as a way to emphasize what non-Two-Spirit archivists do not know and cannot know about what being Two-Spirit means. This necessary knowledge also serves as the basis to discuss some of the other implications for archiving Two-Spirit records. I then profile four Queer archives, ONE, ArQuives, Lesbian Herstory Archive and rukus! to provide context for how these archives come together, what their relationships with institutions are like and what some of the causes for collecting are. Last, I discuss practical ways for mainstream or institutional archives to build effective partnerships with Two-Spirit communities using the Two-Spirit Archives at the University of Winnipeg Archives as a case study. I use Michelle Caswell’s survivor-centred approach as a way to offer suggestions for archives wanting to build these kinds of relationships and evaluate the success of the Two-Spirit Archives at the University of Winnipeg.

In Landscapes of Memory: Heritage Place and Historic Sites in Prairie Canada I explore concepts of heritage, place, and memory in the prairie west, examining how heritage value is established, how commemoration reflects social and cultural perspectives and how and why interpretation can change over time. I illustrate the process by which the social construction of heritage value can be part of an “authorized” identity that conforms to acceptable, authoritative, and official perceptions of historical significance. My major argument is that “official” historic sites in prairie Canada – and most importantly their interpretation – are examples of authorized spaces that relate to national and nation-building goals. They are frequently examples of an imagined past, or a heritage defined by modern perceptions often with landscapes that become fashioned as aestheticized space or pleasing landscapes that have become idealized to fit with visitor expectations. I also argue that local political and cultural forces have come to influence the way historic place is understood. I suggest that it is the tension between federal goals and the aims of the local that have resulted in changing and evolving interpretations. This study looks at how our view of the past constructs the heritage of place and community that relate the past to the present. I focus upon how the significance of place is often contested and how, for instance, Indigenous perceptions often challenge conventional views of the past. I discuss the process of commemoration of some critical twentieth century themes in prairie history while referencing examples of recognized heritage places in Western Canada, including cultural topographies, Indigenous landscapes, community-recognized built heritage, and national historic sites in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. More broadly, I look at questions such as who decides what is heritage, who claims authority and why, and how are perceptions of place memory effectively re

In Landscapes of Memory: Heritage Place and Historic Sites in Prairie Canada I explore concepts of heritage, place, and memory in the prairie west, examining how heritage value is established, how commemoration reflects social and cultural perspectives and how and why interpretation can change over time. I illustrate the process by which the social construction of heritage value can be part of an “authorized” identity that conforms to acceptable, authoritative, and official perceptions of historical significance. My major argument is that “official” historic sites in prairie Canada – and most importantly their interpretation – are examples of authorized spaces that relate to national and nation-building goals. They are frequently examples of an imagined past, or a heritage defined by modern perceptions often with landscapes that become fashioned as aestheticized space or pleasing landscapes that have become idealized to fit with visitor expectations. I also argue that local political and cultural forces have come to influence the way historic place is understood. I suggest that it is the tension between federal goals and the aims of the local that have resulted in changing and evolving interpretations. This study looks at how our view of the past constructs the heritage of place and community that relate the past to the present. I focus upon how the significance of place is often contested and how, for instance, Indigenous perceptions often challenge conventional views of the past. I discuss the process of commemoration of some critical twentieth century themes in prairie history while referencing examples of recognized heritage places in Western Canada, including cultural topographies, Indigenous landscapes, community-recognized built heritage, and national historic sites in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. More broadly, I look at questions such as who decides what is heritage, who claims authority and why, and how are perceptions of place memory effectively re

In Landscapes of Memory: Heritage Place and Historic Sites in Prairie Canada I explore concepts of heritage, place, and memory in the prairie west, examining how heritage value is established, how commemoration reflects social and cultural perspectives and how and why interpretation can change over time. I illustrate the process by which the social construction of heritage value can be part of an “authorized” identity that conforms to acceptable, authoritative, and official perceptions of historical significance. My major argument is that “official” historic sites in prairie Canada – and most importantly their interpretation – are examples of authorized spaces that relate to national and nation-building goals. They are frequently examples of an imagined past, or a heritage defined by modern perceptions often with landscapes that become fashioned as aestheticized space or pleasing landscapes that have become idealized to fit with visitor expectations. I also argue that local political and cultural forces have come to influence the way historic place is understood. I suggest that it is the tension between federal goals and the aims of the local that have resulted in changing and evolving interpretations. This study looks at how our view of the past constructs the heritage of place and community that relate the past to the present. I focus upon how the significance of place is often contested and how, for instance, Indigenous perceptions often challenge conventional views of the past. I discuss the process of commemoration of some critical twentieth century themes in prairie history while referencing examples of recognized heritage places in Western Canada, including cultural topographies, Indigenous landscapes, community-recognized built heritage, and national historic sites in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. More broadly, I look at questions such as who decides what is heritage, who claims authority and why, and how are perceptions of place memory effectively re

In Landscapes of Memory: Heritage Place and Historic Sites in Prairie Canada I explore concepts of heritage, place, and memory in the prairie west, examining how heritage value is established, how commemoration reflects social and cultural perspectives and how and why interpretation can change over time. I illustrate the process by which the social construction of heritage value can be part of an “authorized” identity that conforms to acceptable, authoritative, and official perceptions of historical significance. My major argument is that “official” historic sites in prairie Canada – and most importantly their interpretation – are examples of authorized spaces that relate to national and nation-building goals. They are frequently examples of an imagined past, or a heritage defined by modern perceptions often with landscapes that become fashioned as aestheticized space or pleasing landscapes that have become idealized to fit with visitor expectations. I also argue that local political and cultural forces have come to influence the way historic place is understood. I suggest that it is the tension between federal goals and the aims of the local that have resulted in changing and evolving interpretations. This study looks at how our view of the past constructs the heritage of place and community that relate the past to the present. I focus upon how the significance of place is often contested and how, for instance, Indigenous perceptions often challenge conventional views of the past. I discuss the process of commemoration of some critical twentieth century themes in prairie history while referencing examples of recognized heritage places in Western Canada, including cultural topographies, Indigenous landscapes, community-recognized built heritage, and national historic sites in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. More broadly, I look at questions such as who decides what is heritage, who claims authority and why, and how are perceptions of place memory effectively re

Animation simultaneously functions as commercial asset, fine art form, mode of communication, and shaper of culture, and so its archives is worth preserving. A precursory analysis of animation archives in Canada reveals that they are few. Archivists in Canada have faced constant challenges in their attempts to archive Canadian film. Insufficient resources, evolving technology, and splintered responsibility have left much of Canada's film record fragmented or lost, along with the knowledge it conveys.

Animation simultaneously functions as commercial asset, fine art form, mode of communication, and shaper of culture, and so its archives is worth preserving. A precursory analysis of animation archives in Canada reveals that they are few. Archivists in Canada have faced constant challenges in their attempts to archive Canadian film. Insufficient resources, evolving technology, and splintered responsibility have left much of Canada's film record fragmented or lost, along with the knowledge it conveys.

Animation simultaneously functions as commercial asset, fine art form, mode of communication, and shaper of culture, and so its archives is worth preserving. A precursory analysis of animation archives in Canada reveals that they are few. Archivists in Canada have faced constant challenges in their attempts to archive Canadian film. Insufficient resources, evolving technology, and splintered responsibility have left much of Canada's film record fragmented or lost, along with the knowledge it conveys.

Funeral Camp is an exploration of grief and humour through the media of video, performance and installation. This exhibition examines the relationships between death, humour, play and camp and how they relate to aspects of queer spirituality and to queer communities, The themes explored in this body of work include death, nature, culture, witchcraft, play, drag, sadness and glamour. Funeral Camp and the questions I pose are in part, a gay man’s perspective on having survived the AIDS epidemic. As part of my research on these topics I question if it is possible to express humour and grief simultaneously in a body of work. Can works of art be simultaneously camp and deeply emotional at the same time?

Funeral Camp is an exploration of grief and humour through the media of video, performance and installation. This exhibition examines the relationships between death, humour, play and camp and how they relate to aspects of queer spirituality and to queer communities, The themes explored in this body of work include death, nature, culture, witchcraft, play, drag, sadness and glamour. Funeral Camp and the questions I pose are in part, a gay man’s perspective on having survived the AIDS epidemic. As part of my research on these topics I question if it is possible to express humour and grief simultaneously in a body of work. Can works of art be simultaneously camp and deeply emotional at the same time?

This dissertation examines the period of pan-Indigenous activism in Canada and in the United States between 1950 and 1975. The rights era in both countries presented important challenges for both legislators and for minority groups. In a post-war context increasingly concerned with equality and global justice, minority groups were uniquely positioned to exact from the government perhaps greater concessions than ever before. For Indigenous groups, however, the potential of this period delivered only in part due to initiatives like the Great Society and the Just Society which, while claiming to offer justice for Indigenous people, threatened them as perhaps never before, by homogenizing Indigenous people and their demands with those of other minority groups. As such, I argue that the broader political and social context of the rights era served to inform, but not to dictate, the shape and content of the Indigenous rights movement. The relationship of Indigenous activism to other forms of activism during the rights era was both complicated and contentious, with Indigenous activists conceiving of their struggle in markedly different terms than other marginalized groups. Within this context, I examine the formation of both mainstream and alternative organizations, as well as their responses to the challenges of radicalism, of youth culture and of gender. I argue that the failure of mainstream organizations to properly address the grassroots contributed to a crisis of legitimacy within an increasingly crowded organizational milieu. As both the documentary record and oral accounts demonstrate, what many have demarcated as a new period of “pan-Indian” unity, therefore, was also marked by important division and protest that has often been overlooked in laudatory accounts of the activism of the period. These internal critiques also serve to explain why the mid-1970s signaled an important change in organizational tactics in both countries, at least in the way they had been pra

This dissertation examines the period of pan-Indigenous activism in Canada and in the United States between 1950 and 1975. The rights era in both countries presented important challenges for both legislators and for minority groups. In a post-war context increasingly concerned with equality and global justice, minority groups were uniquely positioned to exact from the government perhaps greater concessions than ever before. For Indigenous groups, however, the potential of this period delivered only in part due to initiatives like the Great Society and the Just Society which, while claiming to offer justice for Indigenous people, threatened them as perhaps never before, by homogenizing Indigenous people and their demands with those of other minority groups. As such, I argue that the broader political and social context of the rights era served to inform, but not to dictate, the shape and content of the Indigenous rights movement. The relationship of Indigenous activism to other forms of activism during the rights era was both complicated and contentious, with Indigenous activists conceiving of their struggle in markedly different terms than other marginalized groups. Within this context, I examine the formation of both mainstream and alternative organizations, as well as their responses to the challenges of radicalism, of youth culture and of gender. I argue that the failure of mainstream organizations to properly address the grassroots contributed to a crisis of legitimacy within an increasingly crowded organizational milieu. As both the documentary record and oral accounts demonstrate, what many have demarcated as a new period of “pan-Indian” unity, therefore, was also marked by important division and protest that has often been overlooked in laudatory accounts of the activism of the period. These internal critiques also serve to explain why the mid-1970s signaled an important change in organizational tactics in both countries, at least in the way they had been pra

In this thesis statement I explore Sikh-Punjabi masculinity in the diaspora. I am concerned with questioning the construction of my identity and the possible impact of new forms of masculinity on the next generation of diasporic Sikh-Punjabi youth. I use found text and video to examine these new identity constructions. As a foundation for these explorations into masculinity, I am concerned with unveiling concealed and erased memories and realities as related to Sikh-Punjabi diasporic communities. This thesis looks at my work along with the work of other artists.

In this thesis statement I explore Sikh-Punjabi masculinity in the diaspora. I am concerned with questioning the construction of my identity and the possible impact of new forms of masculinity on the next generation of diasporic Sikh-Punjabi youth. I use found text and video to examine these new identity constructions. As a foundation for these explorations into masculinity, I am concerned with unveiling concealed and erased memories and realities as related to Sikh-Punjabi diasporic communities. This thesis looks at my work along with the work of other artists.

This thesis examines the evolution of archival theory in light of the ascendance of human rights in Western society. Archives are situated as integral instruments in the protection of human rights within a Western context due to the European preference towards written evidence and bureaucratic systems. The thesis uses a negative case study to demonstrate the power of the record in affecting the human rights of citizens, but also situates access to the government archive among human rights.

This thesis is a systematic study of significant American television animation programs produced between 1948 and 1980, with special mention given to selected works produced by three influential studios: Hanna-Barbera, Jay Ward and Filmation. It considers how outside forces such as network television censorship, grassroots political activism, and other social and political forces served to limit how the genre developed, and the extent to which the producers chose to test the limits to get their points across. It provides a discussion of masculine images in television animation of the 1950s and 1960s, and of the reactions of television animation producers to outside concerns regarding "violence" in children's programming, and the threat of censorship related to this, in the 1970s. My thesis demonstrates that television animation producers, as a result of the need to remain actively involved in production, were forced to change and adapt with the times around them.

This study explores radical pacifists’ intellectual engagement with the black freedom movement by examining the New York-based magazine Liberation between 1956 and 1965. It argues that two priorities shaped Liberation’s responses to the movement: the concern to promote the philosophy and practice of nonviolent direct action, and the concern to advocate radical social change in the United States. Until 1965 Liberation promoted the civil rights movement as a potential catalyst for the nonviolent reconstruction of U.S. democracy. Liberation became a forum for exploring the common ground as well as the tensions between radical pacifist priorities and those of various black freedom activists. The tensions are particularly apparent in Liberation’s reflections on the challenges of linking peace activism with the freedom struggle in the early 1960s, and in its 1964-65 debate over civil rights leaders’ strategy of coalition with the Democratic Party in the context of the escalating war in Vietnam.

In Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a transnational tourist town located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, masculinities are expressed and embodied in multiple ways as a result of particular interactions that take place at the convergence of the global and the local. This thesis interrogates the masculine performances of Western tourist men in the context of a hierarchy of desirability complexly located at the intersections of sexuality, tourism, and globalization. Specifically, I argue that tourist men construct their masculinities in contestational and oppositional ways to those of local Caribbean men - constructions mediated through their homosocial encounters with men (both local Caribbean and foreign men), as well as their heterosexual intimate relationships with local women – in order to increase their statuses as more sexually desirable subjects in Puerto Viejo’s sexual landscape.

This thesis examines the evolution of archival theory in light of the ascendance of human rights in Western society. Archives are situated as integral instruments in the protection of human rights within a Western context due to the European preference towards written evidence and bureaucratic systems. The thesis uses a negative case study to demonstrate the power of the record in affecting the human rights of citizens, but also situates access to the government archive among human rights.

This thesis is a systematic study of significant American television animation programs produced between 1948 and 1980, with special mention given to selected works produced by three influential studios: Hanna-Barbera, Jay Ward and Filmation. It considers how outside forces such as network television censorship, grassroots political activism, and other social and political forces served to limit how the genre developed, and the extent to which the producers chose to test the limits to get their points across. It provides a discussion of masculine images in television animation of the 1950s and 1960s, and of the reactions of television animation producers to outside concerns regarding "violence" in children's programming, and the threat of censorship related to this, in the 1970s. My thesis demonstrates that television animation producers, as a result of the need to remain actively involved in production, were forced to change and adapt with the times around them.

This study explores radical pacifists’ intellectual engagement with the black freedom movement by examining the New York-based magazine Liberation between 1956 and 1965. It argues that two priorities shaped Liberation’s responses to the movement: the concern to promote the philosophy and practice of nonviolent direct action, and the concern to advocate radical social change in the United States. Until 1965 Liberation promoted the civil rights movement as a potential catalyst for the nonviolent reconstruction of U.S. democracy. Liberation became a forum for exploring the common ground as well as the tensions between radical pacifist priorities and those of various black freedom activists. The tensions are particularly apparent in Liberation’s reflections on the challenges of linking peace activism with the freedom struggle in the early 1960s, and in its 1964-65 debate over civil rights leaders’ strategy of coalition with the Democratic Party in the context of the escalating war in Vietnam.

In Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a transnational tourist town located on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, masculinities are expressed and embodied in multiple ways as a result of particular interactions that take place at the convergence of the global and the local. This thesis interrogates the masculine performances of Western tourist men in the context of a hierarchy of desirability complexly located at the intersections of sexuality, tourism, and globalization. Specifically, I argue that tourist men construct their masculinities in contestational and oppositional ways to those of local Caribbean men - constructions mediated through their homosocial encounters with men (both local Caribbean and foreign men), as well as their heterosexual intimate relationships with local women – in order to increase their statuses as more sexually desirable subjects in Puerto Viejo’s sexual landscape.

This thesis is a study of the gender/sexuality construction in the Winnipeg Beach resort area in the period between 1900 and 1965. I argue that the resort functioned as a venue for the conduct of heterosexual relations in the 20th century and saw the transition between three distinctive systems of courtship during that period. These systems of courtship shaped the social and physical space of the resort area creating three distinctive periods at Winnipeg Beach: the first period lasted from 1900 to approximately 1915; the second from 1915 to the mid 1950s; and the third from the 1950s on. I also argue that the Canadian Pacific Railway company played a distinctive role in the Winnipeg Beach environment by actively promoting the area as a heterosexual contact point. This thesis relies heavily on oral interviews to illustrate how people constructed the Winnipeg Beach environment during the 20th century.

This thesis is a study of the gender/sexuality construction in the Winnipeg Beach resort area in the period between 1900 and 1965. I argue that the resort functioned as a venue for the conduct of heterosexual relations in the 20th century and saw the transition between three distinctive systems of courtship during that period. These systems of courtship shaped the social and physical space of the resort area creating three distinctive periods at Winnipeg Beach: the first period lasted from 1900 to approximately 1915; the second from 1915 to the mid 1950s; and the third from the 1950s on. I also argue that the Canadian Pacific Railway company played a distinctive role in the Winnipeg Beach environment by actively promoting the area as a heterosexual contact point. This thesis relies heavily on oral interviews to illustrate how people constructed the Winnipeg Beach environment during the 20th century.

This thesis is a study of the gender/sexuality construction in the Winnipeg Beach resort area in the period between 1900 and 1965. I argue that the resort functioned as a venue for the conduct of heterosexual relations in the 20th century and saw the transition between three distinctive systems of courtship during that period. These systems of courtship shaped the social and physical space of the resort area creating three distinctive periods at Winnipeg Beach: the first period lasted from 1900 to approximately 1915; the second from 1915 to the mid 1950s; and the third from the 1950s on. I also argue that the Canadian Pacific Railway company played a distinctive role in the Winnipeg Beach environment by actively promoting the area as a heterosexual contact point. This thesis relies heavily on oral interviews to illustrate how people constructed the Winnipeg Beach environment during the 20th century.

This thesis is a study of the gender/sexuality construction in the Winnipeg Beach resort area in the period between 1900 and 1965. I argue that the resort functioned as a venue for the conduct of heterosexual relations in the 20th century and saw the transition between three distinctive systems of courtship during that period. These systems of courtship shaped the social and physical space of the resort area creating three distinctive periods at Winnipeg Beach: the first period lasted from 1900 to approximately 1915; the second from 1915 to the mid 1950s; and the third from the 1950s on. I also argue that the Canadian Pacific Railway company played a distinctive role in the Winnipeg Beach environment by actively promoting the area as a heterosexual contact point. This thesis relies heavily on oral interviews to illustrate how people constructed the Winnipeg Beach environment during the 20th century.