Subjects, Settlers, Citizens: The 1870s Mennonites in Historical Context

Convocation Hall, University of Winnipeg

Centre for Transnational Mennonite Studies

I observed many of the proceedings at the Subjects, Settlers, Citizens conference. The event served as a sesquicentennial (150th) anniversary of the beginning of Mennonite arrival to Manitoba. The intention was to situate the arrival of the Mennonites within a larger, trans-national, historical context. The event also included a birthday celebration for the D.F. Plett Historical Research Foundation.

Thinking about trans-national histories, and the 1870s, I was mostly drawn to presentations that explored the intersections between the various settler reserves defined in the 1870s, and the impact of the signing of Treaties 1 and 2. Jonathan Dyck’s The Secret Treaty, a graphic history (!) that explores Treaty relations in the West Reserve was heavily featured at the event, and appears to have (at least momentarily) expanded the field of Mennonite Studies.

I was struck by various approaches that several presenters took to integrating Mennonite arrival into the larger Settler-Colonial project of Manitoban history, as some avoided it completely. It was still an eye-opening experience that highlights the numerous historical forces at play in that time period.