Assumptions have been made, challenges have been met and plans have been altered. As I begin to wrap up my timeline project, I cannot help but reflect on all that I have learned and produced in these mere 6 weeks, and what I hope to leave behind for years to come. In both social work and ethnography, one’s work and image is on the line for others to digest – for good and for bad.

As James Clifford notes on page 7 of Writing Culture: The Poetics and Politics of Ethnography, “the maker… of ethnographic texts cannot avoid expressive tropes, figures, and allegories that select and impose meaning as they translate it. In this view… all constructed truths are made possible by powerful “lies” of exclusion and rhetoric.” In other words, there is a paradox with the ethnographer. Their objective is not to lie, but they do not necessarily tell the entire truth. An ethnographer must be selective, because it is not possible to capture every aspect of a given study.

Similarly, I have been troubled with how to represent a holistic history of the West End. If I do not mention a particular event or group of people, is it because I do not agree with its message? Or simply do not find it relevant? If an account is not found in these binders, did it not happen?

 Vancouver Public Library Historical Archives

Obviously the Vancouver Archives (both through the City of Vancouver, and the public library) would acknowledge that they exist only through the donations and participation of archivists, journalists and citizens. However, what was deemed important when archives were collected may be inapplicable by today’s standards. Or, a piece of information that was discarded in the past could be an essential piece to understanding the present.

Another crucial point that Clifford makes on page 10 of his introduction, is that ‘“Cultures” do not hold still for their portraits,” indicating that it is very difficult to makes claims that do justice to the past, and that will hold true into the future. The West End as we see it today has a completely different landscape and demographic than 50 years prior, and I would imagine, would be the same case for 50 years from now. To articulate how a space “feels” in the present is difficult enough, let alone describing how the West End “felt” or “will feel”.

With all of these feelings and concerns bellowing up, I have need to remind myself that the most crucial element of this project is to fulfill the need of the Gordon Neighbourhood House, and to make sure that they will be satisfied. After some discussion and debate, we have decided to include the histories that were going to be left out due to their potentiality as “controversial” subjects. While I would consider this a victory for the course of the project, there are inevitably some “truths” that will still be left out.

References:

Clifford, James.

1986   Writing culture: the poetics and politics of ethnography. Berkeley. University of California press.

I have been partnered to work with the Gordon Neighbourhood House based in the West End, and my project for this organization is to help commemorate the GNH’s 70th anniversary, and trace some of the West End’s history in a timeline. While brainstorming ideas, I couldn’t help but mention histories that are often forgotten, such as the case of the last Native woman to live in Stanley Park – Aunt Sally – and her claims to that land. My supervisor Julio Bello found this story fascinating, and decided that this would be a story worth reviving.

In my project, I hope to reveal some “untold” stories, beginning in 1900 with First Nation’s histories, through the decades and highlighting differing immigrant shifts and its impact on the West End. I plan to meet with UBC professor Jean Barman, the author of Stanley Park’s Secrets. Her work has given me an altered perspective on one of Vancouver’s most famous landmarks. I hope to gain insight from her stories of the West End, and her experiences compiling all of this information – both personal and archival. Barman is not only interested in the Native histories that seem to have been written over by “official” text books, but she also focuses on the interaction between the “inhabitant” and the “immigrant”. Through her accounts, it becomes clear that different immigrants/settlers deal with similar situations in drastically different ways, which proves that the term “immigrant” is not a homogenous category. Some immigrants have been deemed fit to live in Vancouver, while others have not.

This relates to a similar point by Peter S. Li in his book Destination Canada[1]. On page 39 he mentions how many of the terms that Canadian policy makers and academics use are problematic. The word “immigrant,” for example, carries a host of connotations that not all people are aware of. The understanding of how “immigrant” should be used is inconsistent, and is highly contingent on what social circumstance the assessor and/or the newcomer find themselves in. There are a number of standard procedures that all outsiders must abide by. However, it would be a gross understatement to say that all immigrants receive the same treatment from embassies, borders, officials, and the general public of Canada. I wonder what entering Canada must have been like 100 years ago, 50 years ago, 10 years ago? I wonder when experience abroad became less acceptable to Canadian professions? Why do we praise certain histories through plaques and statues, while others are silenced and forgotten? These are some of the many questions I hope to uncover throughout the next few weeks of my research.

I have emailed many West End establishments with the goal of collecting as many personal photos and stories as possible. So far I have contacted the group in charge of the Pride Parade, the West End Community Centre, the Heritage Building Foundation, and the Davie Village Community Garden Committee. I hope to incorporate these personal “histories” within the timeline of the “official” or “archival” history of the West End, Vancouver, Canada, and beyond.

The cover of Stanley Park’s Secret: The Forgotten Families of Whoi Whoi, Kanaka Ranch and Brockton Point by Jean Barman.