Historians, First Nations leader question Quebec history museum concept

MONTREAL — The Quebec government’s commissioning of a new museum dedicated to the history of the Quebec nation raises questions about how history is told and who it includes, say two historians and the leader of a prominent First Nations group.

Premier François Legault was forced last week to defend comments he made in April about the opening of a new history museum, in which he suggested the province’s history began with the arrival of French explorers Jacques Cartier and Samuel de Champlain in the 16th and 17th centuries.

Although he emphasized the presence of indigenous people in Quebec territory in his speech, he was accused by the Quebec-Labrador Assembly of First Nations of trying to erase their history.

Steven High, professor of history at Concordia University, said the prime minister’s comments were a reminder that history is a political subject that raises difficult questions.

“Whose history shall we focus on? Is this a history of triumph or one of tragedy? Where does history begin, who is included and who is excluded?” he said in a telephone interview.

“In Quebec, this has always been related to certain questions in terms of the national question.”

In response to the criticism, Legault told reporters that the new Musée national de l’histoire du Québec, which will open in 2026, will focus on the history of the French-speaking nation of Quebec. “The idea is to show the history of the nation that was French-Canadian and now Québécois, which started with Champlain,” he said Wednesday in Quebec City, adding that the museum will not exclude indigenous people.

In his initial April 25 announcement about the museum, Legault also said he hoped the $92-million project would inspire pride in Quebec through exhibits celebrating artists like Céline Dion and Les Cowboys Fringants, as well as authors, sports heroes and successes in business.

While the new museum’s programming will be determined by a committee of experts, High said he thinks focusing on notables is an old-fashioned approach.

“It’s a return to the old ‘great man’ history that’s not critical, not really interested in raising questions or hard things, which is not what history really does,” High said.

Quebec-Labrador Assembly of First Nations Chief Ghislain Picard told The Canadian Press in an interview that the museum announcement is another example of how indigenous people and their realities are “an afterthought” for the Quebec government.

He said his group had not been informed of the announcement and, as far as he knew, none of its members had been included in the panel of experts shaping its content.

“It’s so easy to pick up the phone and call any indigenous leader in the province and say, ‘By the way, this is what we’ve planned,'” he said. “First Nations need to at least be informed.”

Picard said it would be impossible to tell the history of the province without mentioning the contribution of the indigenous people.

“For me, history has told us that if it wasn’t for our peoples, there wouldn’t even be a Quebec history,” he said.

The Assembly of First Nations also criticized historian Éric Bédard, who was present at Legault’s announcement in April and was quoted as telling reporters that history begins with writing and that therefore “indigenous people represent a bit of Quebec’s prehistory.”

Ronald Rudin, professor emeritus of history at Concordia University, said this vision represents a “return to an earlier period.”

“It’s been a long time since we thought history began when Europeans showed up in North America,” he said in a telephone interview, noting that Canadian courts have accepted oral history as evidence for decades.

Rudin said that working only with written history leads to a focus on rich and powerful men to the exclusion of women, working-class people and indigenous peoples, whose stories have often not been documented in writing.

“I think (members of the government) need an introductory history course, because they’re not saying anything that we don’t teach students in their first year at university,” he said.

Bédard, the historian whose words have been criticized, declined an interview request. In a May 7 interview in Le Devoir, he said the new museum’s programming would be determined by a scientific committee and would not just present a “jovialist” view of history.

In an email to The Canadian Press, he said his comments about prehistory at the April announcement were made while trying to answer what he called a simple but difficult question: when does Quebec history begin the?

“In our discipline we are accustomed to begin history with writing, hence my answer,” he wrote. “I never said that after the arrival of the French, there would be no more indigenous people.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on May 12, 2024.

Morgan Lowrie, Canadian Press