Legacies of Confederation: Endangered Orchids

Legacies of Confederation: Endangered Orchids

When Manitoba became part of Canada in 1870 the stage was set for one of the largest land transformations in history. In the last 150 years nearly all of Manitoba’s wild prairies fell to the plough. The little patches that remain as ranch land, private nature preserves, and federal and provincial crown lands are home to a suite of increasingly rare organisms, among them two spectacular prairie orchids: Western Prairie Fringed Orchid (Platanthera praeclara) and Small White Lady’s-slipper (Cypripedium candidum).  Models of these two species are on display in the Manitoba Museums’ Legacies of Confederation: A New Look at Manitoba History exhibit.

Close up on the top of a plant with fringed white flowers at the top of a tall stem.

Found only in moist, tall grass prairies with calcium-rich or alkaline soils, the Western Prairie Fringed Orchid is one of Canada’s legally protected endangered species. The only place where it is found in Canada is at the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve near Gardenton (click here for more details). Standing at almost a metre tall, this orchid produces an intoxicating fragrance to attract pollinating sphinx moths at night. The Canadian population is the largest in the world so its survival largely depends on our willingness to protect it.

 

Image: The endangered Western Prairie Fringed Orchid’s largest population is in Manitoba.

Close up on a plant with widely unfurling petals opening for a white ball-like centre mass.

Manitoba’s other endangered orchid, the Small White Lady’s-slipper, is a bit more widespread. It occurs at the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve but there are also populations further west, near Brandon, and further north, close to Lake Manitoba. It is a bit more common in the USA but still rare over most of its range. It prefers moist prairies with calcium-rich soils. The Small White Lady’s-slipper attracts small bees in the spring with its delicate scent but does not offer a nectar reward so pollination is infrequent.

 

Image: The Small White Lady’s-slipper is an endangered species in Manitoba and Canada.

In addition to their very specific habitat requirements these orchids produce seeds that are so tiny that there is virtually no nutrition available for young seedlings. In order to grow they need to form an association with a special fungus, called a mycorrhiza, which will help them get water and nutrients from the soil. The dependence of these two orchids on insect pollinators and soil fungus, along with the loss of habitat, has led to their endangerment.

It’s hard to believe that there was a time when people thought that species extinction was impossible. Humanity underestimated the power that our technology gave us over nature, and to some degree we still do. A conservation ethic did not really emerge until it was clear that there were no “lost worlds” left where rare species might still linger. The extinction of several Canadian bird species including the Labrador Duck (Camptorhynchus labradorius), Great Auk (Pinguinus impennis), Eskimo Curlew (Numenius borealis) and Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), largely due to overhunting, finally made Canadians understand our destructive capabilities and helped inspire the modern wildlife conservation movement. One of the benefits of confederation has been our collective will to ensure that some of Canada’s forests, tundra, prairies, lakes and ocean habitats are protected for all Canadians to benefit from–the 2-legged and the 4-legged and even the ones with no legs at all.

Dr. Diana Bizecki Robson

Dr. Diana Bizecki Robson

Curator of Botany

Dr. Bizecki Robson obtained a Master’s Degree in Plant Ecology at the University of Saskatchewan studying rare plants of the mixed grass prairies. After working as an environmental consultant and sessional lecturer…
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Legacies of Confederation: The Document that Shaped Canada 

2017 marks Canada’s 150th birthday, and to commemorate this anniversary all seven museum curators collaborated on the creation of an exhibit that really highlights what was happening here in Manitoba at the time of Confederation, and the effects of this political shift. Our Legacies of Confederation: A New Look at Manitoba History opened last week, and runs throughout 2017 so you’ll have plenty of time to check it out. 

As with any exhibit, there is never enough space to tell all of the stories we want. Instead, each curator will be blogging about an artifact or specimen in the exhibit, or perhaps things that didn’t make it into the exhibit. This post falls into the latter category, as I had the fantastic opportunity to view what I think is one of the most important documents for Canadian history and one that shaped Canada as we know it today. 

Last summer during my UK research trip I made a stop at the National Archives in Kew specifically to view this document.  I had made an appointment in advance (always advised!) but was very excited to finally visit this incredible institution. 

What document am I talking about?  The Deed of Surrender (ref # CO42/694).  This document outlines the sale of Rupert’s Land (which King Charles II granted the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1670) to the Canadian Government.  And here’s why this document is so important, look at this map of Rupert’s Land territory and just think about how different our beloved Canada would look if this transaction had not taken place!

Exterior of the national Archives in Kew, UK.

National Archives (UK)

A map of Rupert's Land overlaid over the continent of North America.

Rough outline of Rupert’s Land (grey area). 

The Deed was signed November 19th, 1869 but due to some political disruption right here in Red River, it did not come into effect until July 15, 1870, the same day as the Manitoba Act.  The HBC received £300,000 for the land and was able to keep some land along what was called the ‘fertile belt’ (an area bounded by the 49th parallel to the south, the Rockies to the West, the North Saskatchewan River, and Lake of the Woods to the east).  HBC was also able to retain the lands around their trading posts and was guaranteed the right to trade without taxation. 

Some might ask why HBC was willing to sell their vast empire for such a small price, it seems like a lot of money (especially in those days) but when you consider the natural resources of this 3.9 million square kilometers (roughly 1/3 of Canada today) territory, Canada got it for a steal.  Especially when you look at what the US paid Russia for Alaska in 1867, a whopping $7.2 million!

So, what motivated the HBC to go along with this? 

Since this post is already lengthy I’ll give you an over-simplified answer.  HBC had no interest in governing or additional colonies throughout the territory (to get the full, fascinating scoop I highly recommend HBC Heritage Services and the Canadian Encyclopedia. 

How did a very newly formed Canada afford what has been considered the largest real estate transaction in Canadian history?

They received a loan from Britain to facilitate the deal.  Hence, the Deed of Surrender is a British Document regarding a transaction between the Crown and a British company, which is why the original is preserved for us at Kew. 

 

A note on the document: the three pages of vellum are stitched together and the entire thing folds into a pouch (which is why there are creases on each page).  My photos have been watermarked at the request of the archives, but if you’re not in the UK and want to see the Deed the HBC Archives has a copy. 

Middle section of the first page, outlining the territories included in the surrender.

Photograph of a large sheet of paper filled with very formal cursive writing. Points of the deed are numbered in the left margin, third through fourteenth.

Page 2 of the Deed 

Photograph of a large sheet of paper filled with very formal cursive writing. The writing starts off, “To all whom these presents shall come unto, or concern, the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England,”.

Page 3 of the Deed, the price and date can be seen at the bottom 

Photograph of the basckside of a folded piece of paper with formal cursive writing and signatures on it, starting, “Sealed under the Common Seal of the within mentioned Governor and Company”.

Even the folded parts to form the pouch contain relevant information and signatures.

Photograph of the front side of a folded set of papers. Formal cursvie reads, “The Governor and Company of Adventurers of England trading into Hudson's Bay / to / Her Majesty Queen Victoria. / Surrender”. In the upper right corner reads, “Dated 19th November 1869”.

The front of the pouch.

A blue seal with a crest bearing two rearing elks either side of a shield with four beavers on it.

The back of the pouch, sealed with a crest. 

Dr. Amelia Fay

Dr. Amelia Fay

Curator of Anthropology & the HBC Museum Collection

Amelia Fay is Curator of Anthropology and the HBC Museum Collection at the Manitoba Museum. She received her BA in Anthropology from the University of Manitoba (2004), an MA in Archaeology…
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Legacies of Confederation: The Participation Awards!

Medals that commemorate important events in a nation’s history fill every history museum collection around the planet. Collectors and antique traders adore medals, but let’s be honest: when they’re on display they don’t have the impact of a giant dinosaur skeleton. Medals are small. But that didn’t stop politicians and government officials from clamouring for shiny objects when Canadian Confederation was officially enacted in 1867.

In our exhibit “Legacies of Confederation: A New Look at Manitoba History” we have on display not one, but two Confederation medals, minted in 1869, that commemorate the founding moment of the Dominion of Canada.

The Confederation Medal is seemingly the first honour of Canada, approved by Queen Victoria in 1868. John A. Macdonald himself, then Prime Minister of Canada, signed the recommendation on behalf of the Minister of Justice and ordered 551 medals: “One Gold [for the Queen], fifty Silver and five hundred Bronze Medals, without delay.” After a delay of a year or so the medals were delivered, and given out to various institutions and VIPs around Canada, which was comprised at the time of Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. But these medals were not meant to be worn. They sat in small boxes or stands on desks and shelves, proof of the importance of their owners.

Close up of a Confederation medal showing "Britannia" wearing a helmet and with a lion at her feet resting its head on her knee, surrounded by four women.

Confederation Medal (reverse), 1869. The woman on the left represents “Britannia”. The girls, her subjects, represent Ontario (sickle for agriculture); Québec (canoe paddle for trade); Nova Scotia (shovel for coal mining); and New Brunswick (axe for forestry). H9-37-134. © The Manitoba Museum.

Obverse side of a Confederation medal showing a profile of Queen Victoria wearing a crown. Text encircling her on the medal reads, "VICTORIA D: G: BRIT: REG: F: D:".

Confederation Medal (obverse), 1869. H9-37-134. © The Manitoba Museum.

Queen Victoria of England is shown on the front, or “obverse” of the medal. The imagery on the reverse side is a bit strange for a proud young nation. The woman on the left represents “Britannia”. The girls, her subjects, represent Ontario (sickle for agriculture); Québec (canoe paddle for trade); Nova Scotia (shovel for coal mining); and New Brunswick (axe for forestry). While the symbolism of the time indicated loyalty, to the modern mind it might look like the relationship between the infant Dominion of Canada and the British Empire was based on resource exploitation, and that Canadians were subservient, immature subjects to the Crown.

Around the perimeter of the medal is a Latin phrase: Canada Instaurata 1867 Juventas et Patrius Vigor (Canada Inaugurated 1867, Youth and Patriotic Strength).

The first four provinces are represented on the medal, and rightly so, but what Confederation meant for the rest of the continent was not in evidence. After all, the year 1869, when the medals were completed, is also the year when Canada acquired Rupert’s Land from the Hudson’s Bay Company. This was quickly followed by surveyors who trespassed on the land of Métis farmers at Red River, which resulted in a swift and bold resistance movement. The medal and its message were eclipsed by events Confederation itself had set in motion.

One legacy of Confederation is the Treaties that were negotiated by First Nations leaders and the Canadian government. Confederation and the numbered Treaties are intimately linked. It makes sense then that the first Treaty medal (made for Treaty Nos. 1 & 2) was a version of the Confederation medal. It has an extra ring around its centre that reads “Dominion of Canada Chiefs Medal 1872” on the obverse and “Indians of the North West Territories” on the reverse. These medals were rejected by Indigenous leaders because the silver plating wore off and they were considered too cheap for the meaning that they conveyed. This medal was replaced by a sterling silver Treaty medal with a new design.

Dr. Roland Sawatzky

Dr. Roland Sawatzky

Curator of History

Roland Sawatzky joined The Manitoba Museum in 2011. He received his B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Winnipeg, M.A. in Anthropology from the University of South Carolina, and Ph.D. in Archaeology…
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