Lost Stories

The Lost Stories Project engages Canadians in the process of commemorating their history. This project brings together members of the public, artists and filmmakers to explore little known stories about the Canadian past. Stories solicited from the public are handed over to artists who have the task of transforming them into inexpensive, site-specific works of public art. Finally, the creative journeys of the artists are documented by a series of short films published on this website.

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Stories and Films
These five "lost stories" were never completely lost, but were preserved in the memory of communities that often had difficulty in having their experiences incorporated into the mainstream narrative of Canadian history. These episodes provide an opportunity to hear the voices of people with relatively little power: First Nations, Inuit, Acadians, people with disabilities or disease, and immigrants of colour. The Lost Stories Project worked with these communities so that their stories can now be discovered by a much larger audience.
Leprosy on
Sheldrake Island
Yee Clun and Regina’s
“White Women’s Labour Law”

Teaching Lost Stories
 

Teaching Lost Stories

Teaching Lost Stories consists of a set of lesson plans and historical documents that encourage critical thinking about the history that is literally all around us. Teachers and students consider why some stories from the Canadian past have been commemorated through historical markers such as monuments, while other stories have been ignored. Along the way, students are challenged to tell stories about the past through markers of their own.

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