Released on June 9, 2017
Here’s your chance to find out what was going on behind the scenes during the battles of the Riel Resistance. The Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan is unveiling those secrets today as part of International Archives Day.Two new exhibits have been opened at the Archives that explore Saskatchewan’s history from 1878 to 1900, including one that features government communications during its efforts to capture Louis Riel.
“Preserving the past plays an important role in not only understanding what shaped our province, but how we can build a better future for all Saskatchewan people,” Central Services Minister Christine Tell said. “These new exhibits will further enhance the rich educational and historic resources available at our Provincial Archives.”
The new 1885 CPR Telegraph Ledger exhibit features a Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) telegram ledger containing thousands of communications sent during the 1885 Riel Resistance between General Frederick Middleton’s forces operating in Saskatchewan and Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald’s government in Ottawa. The telegrams provide details of the conflict from the Battle of Fish Creek, to the capture of Louis Riel and the Battle of Steele Narrows.
“This exhibit offers valuable insight into the mindset of those involved in the conflict,” Archivist and Manager of Records Processing Jeremy Mohr said. “The telegrams, together with photographs and other records from the Provincial Archives collection help bring the conflict and its participants to life.”
The railway ledger is believed to have been removed from the CPR’s headquarters in Winnipeg sometime after the Resistance, making its way into a private collection in Florida, before being donated to the Provincial Archives. Financial assistance for the digitization of the ledger was received from the Saskatchewan Council for Archives and Archivists and SaskCulture.
The second exhibit expands the Saskatchewan Historical Newspapers Online website, featuring many local newspapers in print from 1878 to 1900. The new section comprises 11 publications, more than 1,300 editions and 6,400 pages of newsprint, including a digitized copy of the two-volume Illustrated War News, published in 1885. You can visit the Historical Newspapers website at http://sabnewspapers.usask.ca.
Both exhibits highlight the importance of archival digitization projects in ensuring that valuable historical sources are preserved and made widely available to researchers for years to come.
For more information on the Provincial Archives and all the interesting things it has to offer, visit www.saskarchives.com/collections/exhibits.
-30-
For more information, contact:
Curt Campbell
Provincial Archives of Saskatchewan
Regina
Phone: 306-787-8819
Email: ccampbell@archives.gov.sk.ca