Grace McNutt explores our connection with statues and whether tearing them down truly “erases” history.
“I study the history of the emotional connection we have with statues, what statues symbolize to us, and why we react so intensely when they are torn down.”
@GraceMcNutt
In the wake of the 2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), a series of recommendations were made to Canadian cultural heritage institutions to address the ongoing colonial attitudes present in Canadian history. These recommendations were taken particularly seriously by Parks Canada, who in 2019 published a new National Historic Sites System Plan entitled “Framework for […]
This article was originally published on The Conversation Canada on April 24, 2022. As countries reckon with racism, colonialism and genocide, a recurring target of reappraisal are statues. Across North America and Europe, statues have been dismantled, toppled and vandalized — and this is a valid critique. Commemoration often blindly celebrates historic figures through statues […]
Statue removals are ideological battlegrounds. Many of Canada’s historic heroes have also contributed to national tragedies and traumas. As the dialogue of history opens itself up to more perspectives, these figures are being reassessed. Many Canadians are open to this revaluation, but not everyone, and this has resulted in some dramatic protests. Statues of Canada’s […]
This article was originally published on The Conversation Canada on February 15, 2022 One of the first things that happened when the so-called “freedom convoy” arrived in Ottawa was that anti-vaccine mandate protesters defaced a statue of Terry Fox near Parliament Hill. The statue was draped in Canadian flags and had a sign that read […]
