NEWS RELEASE
ORILLIA MUSEUM OF ART & HISTORY
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The Orillia Museum of Art & History (OMAH) hosts the 21st annual Sir John A. Macdonald Dinner: A Celebration of Canada, at the Hawk Ridge Golf and Country Club on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019.
We are honoured to have Donald Smith, a highly respected historian, author and professor emeritus at the University of Calgary, as guest speaker.
Smith has made First Nations history his life’s work and passion. His talk will review Sir John A. Macdonald’s First Nations policy, a topic that today arouses a multitude of opinions. Smith’s talk will follow the style of Canada's first prime minister, short and conversational in tone.
Smith, who taught Canadian History at the University of Calgary for 35 years, brings an in-depth knowledge of the historical context of Canada’s first prime minister.
Macdonald, he emphasizes, was a man of his times, and the times are not ours. Comparison will be made with his Liberal Party opponent, George Brown, the dour Presbyterian founder of the Toronto Globe.
When attacked by Brown for his drinking Macdonald shot back that Canada would rather have “John A.” drunk than George Brown sober.
As a prelude to his talk, Smith notes: “Macdonald’s outlook toward First Nations is complex, and cannot be easily summarized. Although his actual knowledge of Indigenous Canada remained limited, he had some contact with a handful of Indigenous people, including a prominent Anishinabe (Ojibwe or Chippewa) chief in the Orillia area.
"The contradictions of Macdonald’s policy include his ruthless repression of the First Nations in the North West immediately after the unrest in 1885; and yet, that same year, he extended the federal franchise to adult male Indians in Eastern Canada, who met the property requirement — without obliging them to lose their Indian status.
Smith will include a documented visit by Sir John to Orillia at a time of lively exchanges in opposing political views.
Smith’s two books on the history of the Anishinabe (Ojibwe or Chippewa, Mississauga) in 19th-century southern Ontario will be available for purchase at the end of the evening.
Tickets for the dinner are $60 each and can be purchased at OMAH. Payment by cash, cheque or credit card is accepted.
Tickets sold out before Christmas last year.
We appreciate the support of attendees and our generous sponsors for this important fundraiser that supports OMAH’s programs that benefit Orillia, the surrounding townships and Rama First Nation. Join us to hear a dynamic speaker and to enjoy good food and fellowship.
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