The Crown Imperial : The Emergence of Canadian Cultural Nationalism

1. The Crown Imperial: The Emergence of Canadian Cultural Nationalism Or the performance of whiteness in the Okanagan in 1953 to celebrate the crowning of Elizabeth II May 2008 Philosophers’ Café Daniel Keyes

2. “The settler ‘is an exhibitionist’ faced with the problem of being outnumbered he develops ways of displaying power over the native.” (Root 231 quoting Fanon 53). “There is truth in Queen Elizabeth which the modern world should not neglect: ‘In pompous ceremonies a secret of government doth consist’” (Massey On Being Canadian (1948): 183)

3. Allen Filewod in Performing Canada: The Nation Enacted in the Imagined Theatre Pageantry theatricalised the public sphere through the iconic power of state ceremonial. Even in a provincial backwater like Toronto, a “grand Military Review,” such as the one held in 1901 for the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York in Toronto, could parade 10, 000 military troops in a mass patriotic spectacle. (19)

4. 1907 Pamphlet produced by the Okanagan Trust Company “you would not wish to find yourself surrounded with garlic eating, foreign speaking neighbours, with whom you could have nothing in common socially. The class of people coming to NARAMATA is not of that type. They are the very best Canadian stuff (8)

5. Filewod demonstrates how pageants in the 1890s through to the 1920s were used to articulate a new imperium of racial destiny . . . This was the empire in practice, played through the community efforts of its (white) citizens. The stage on which the school children recited the script of their teachers was, through the medium of imagined theatre, a platform for countless others, to form an imperial stage on which regiments marched, pageant-master restaged episodes of glory, and playwrights offered verse dramas. (19)

6. Massey On Being Canadian (1948) The typical Canadian: resembled in many ways both Englishman and American, but there could not have been mistaken for either. They were Canadians, and with a small margin of error[,] one could spot them in the streets as such long before their badges could be identified. They could have come from anywhere in Canada. Something their bearing told the story—a combination of qualities—on the one hand a naturalness and freedom of movement, a touch of breeziness and an alertness which suggested the new world. They also showed self control, an air of discipline and good manners, and they had generally taken some trouble about their appearance. They were rarely found lounging they seemed always to have some purpose in mind. (3)

7. Massey On Being Canadian “To no country in the world does tolerance mean more than to our” (24)

8. Sunera Thobani’s Exalted Subjects (2007) • In the foundational moment of Canadian nationhood, the British and the French were cast as the true subjects of the colony, while the Indian was expelled as the enemy outsider. Constituted as ‘preferred races’ within the bureaucratic apparatus of the settler state, the settlement activities of these true subject accomplished the violent dispossession of Aboriginal populations—a dispossession duly constituted and preserve as ‘lawful’ to this day” (11).

9. Massey’s radio broadcast from Ottawa on Coronation day June 2, 1953 The Coronation is the most moving historical pageant of our time. But to us, it is something more than the history which is our history. It is part of ourselves. It is linked in a very special way within our national life. It stands for all qualities and institutions which mean Canada to every one of us and which for all our differences and all our variety have kept Canada Canadian. . . . The Queen wears the “Sign[,]” which unites us all. (1)

10. Crown Imperial’s Climax The Marquis of Lorne and Lieutenant Governor Laird bringing the western plains into the “motherland” by having the Crowfeet and another chief sign a treaty. The narrator explains: “Canadian history was made this day. Pioneers from there moved ever westward, claiming peaceful occupancy and freedom from attack by warring Indian tribes.”

11. June 2, 1953 Editorial in Kelowna Courier • “We are sure, it [Crown Imperial] must have brought to our foreign-born citizens a better understanding of our background of our British connections and of our unique and personal allegiance to the monarchy. It must have stimulated the patriotism and understanding of our children” (1) .

12. Today Rather than seeking authenticity elsewhere, we need to transform how we look at our histories and traditions and find ways to unravel these from all the racist versions to which we have been subjected. We need to confront the painful histories as a way to begin abandoning the essentialist notions of “white” identity as well as positions that construct Native cultures as the imaginary space that can save us from ourselves. (Deborah Root in "’White Indians’: Appropriation and the Politics of Display.” 232)

13. Globe and Mail Travel advertisement Spring 2007 • Kelowna is “an epicurean’s nirvana” • The only reference to aboriginal culture is to the Turtle Island Gallery, “a purveyor of authentic Aboriginal Art and Wares” (TK1). • History is constituted in this supplement as being available at the Laurel Packing house where “[y]ou can learn about our wines and our heritage as a fruit-growing region” from citizens who are characterized as ranging from “trendy youths to hip boomers” (TK1).

14. CTV poll April 2008 • 88 per cent of Canadians said they felt their community was welcoming to people from visible minority groups. • However, the survey also showed that 45 per cent of Canadians felt new immigrants hold onto their customs and traditions for too long.

15. BC:150 Year Celebration As the original inhabitants of B.C., Aboriginal peoples have lived here for thousands of years. In 1858 and the years following, First Nations people faced great challenges to retain their heritage. Because of their perseverance and dedication to continuing the rich traditions of their ancestors, and their willingness to share these experiences, all British Columbians today can celebrate the culture of First Nations as part of what makes B.C. truly unique. There are many things to celebrate. From the contributions of Aboriginal peoples, to the stories of the pioneers who followed the gold rush and set down roots here, this is a time to honour the diversity and widespread achievements of the people who built this province, while also setting our sights on all of the opportunities that the future holds.

16. Premier Campbell and Governor Schwarzenegger From the “Green” summit May 31, 2007. A video clip provided by the premier office so news agencies can generate their story.

17. Questions • Has the management of diversity in the Okanagan and British Columbia changed since the 1950s? If so, how? • How does Whiteness operate today as an invisible, yet dominant and privileged position? • Do public celebrations of local, provincial, and national history account for the colonial past? • How might we imagine a celebration of Kelowna or BC that might reconcile the past and present?