A travelling exhibit on the War of 1812 will be at the University of Saskatchewan over the next few months.
The exhibit on loan from the Canadian War Museum will look at four different perspectives of the war, including the Americans, Canadians, British and First Nations.
According to an exhibit write up, Canadians felt the war was successful because they survived an American invasion, Americans believed it was a successful defense against the British Empire, the British viewed the war as irrelevant as they were dealing with Napoleonic expansion of France at the time and the Native Americans viewed the war as a desperate fight for freedom and independence to defend their homelands.
“When we first started looking at this exhibit we wanted to do a linear narrative… where you start with the causes, look at the battles and end with the outcome. But what people really care about in the War of 1812 is who won,” said Dr. Peter McLeod, Historian from the Canadian War Museum and curator for the exhibit. “It’s very unusual. In most wars there are all kinds of controversy, but usually no one argues about who won.”
McLeod says each perspective offers a unique view on the history of the war and the exhibit will examine those perspectives.
The First Nations perspective looks at the ‘Spirit of Alliance’ that was formed between the First Nations and the British Crown in fighting off American expansion. The Saskatoon exhibit will have a special addition to that perspective as the Whitecap Dakota First Nation has loaned artifacts and stories detailing their history in the war.
“We were very pleased when the Whitecap Dakota approached us with their story of the war and for us that filled a major gap in the western presence in the exhibit,” said McLeod. “They fought as allies during the War of 1812 and it’s this alliance that begun the relationship with the British Crown that continues to this day.”
The exhibit examines the sometimes rocky history of the “Spirit of Alliance” between First Nations and the Crown. McLeod says that once the war was over, the Crown didn’t value their agreements with the First Nations people because they no longer viewed them as allies against the Americans. It was only recently that First Nations’ involvement in the War of 1812 was officially recognized by the Canadian government.
The exhibit will be featured at the Diefenbaker Canada Centre at the University of Saskatchewan until June 21.