Join us for a journey of national historic significance.

Travel back to the Viking Age to uncover the remnants of a thousand-year-old Norse encampment. We’ll hear about their incredible journey from Greenland to northern Newfoundland from a diverse group of experts including historians, archaeologists, and interpreters at L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site.

Learn more: 

Do you have a suggestion for a new National Historic Person, Site or Event? We’d love to hear it! Visit https://parks.canada.ca/commemorate for details on how to submit a nomination.

A transcript and bibliography for this episode is available on our website: https://parks.canada.ca/recollections

Welcome to Ruby's Place in Dawson City, Yukon, “the Paris of the North.” Through the remarkable lives of Madam Ruby Scott and her employees, we’ll hear about Dawson’s Gold Rush heyday and the boom/bust cycle of both the mining and sex work industries. At the heart of the story is Ruby's Place, an elegant false-front building conserved as part of the Klondike National Historic Sites… despite the threats from climate change.

Learn More: 

Do you have a suggestion for a new National Historic Person, Site or Event? We’d love to hear it! Visit https://parks.canada.ca/commemorate for details on how to submit a nomination.

A transcript and bibliography for this episode is available on our website: https://parks.canada.ca/recollections 

In this episode, we’ll travel to the Pacific Northwest islands of Haida Gwaii, home to the Haida Nation for more than 13,000 years. Our focus: a collaborative archaeology project at an evacuated village on the remote island of SGang Gwaay, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, that was devastated by hurricane-force winds in a 2018 storm. Many voices tell the rich history of Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve, National Marine Conservation Area Reserve and Haida Heritage Site. 

Special thanks to Consulting Producer Camille Collinson.

Learn More:

Do you have a suggestion for a new National Historic Person, Site or Event? We’d love to hear it! Visit https://parks.canada.ca/commemorate for details on how to submit a nomination.

A transcript and bibliography for this episode is available on our website: https://parks.canada.ca/recollections 

For over a century, an unassuming island in the St. Lawrence River played a major role in the immigration journey from Europe to North America. A scene of hope and tragedy, punctuated by a series of deadly crises, Grosse Île was home to a quarantine station that served as the gateway for millions of newcomers. Witness to pandemics, health emergencies and the development of modern medical science, Grosse Île and the Irish Memorial National Historic Site is a powerful reminder of the immigrant experience. And it all kicked off with a volcanic eruption on the other side of the planet.

Learn More:

Do you have a suggestion for a new National Historic Person, Site or Event? We’d love to hear it! Visit https://parks.canada.ca/commemorate for details on how to submit a nomination.

A transcript and bibliography for this episode is available on our website: https://parks.canada.ca/recollections

In this episode, we find traces of the lives of enslaved people at the 18th-century French Fortress of Louisbourg in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. By piecing together the unique story of Guinea-born Marie Marguerite Rose, we’ll learn about those who lived and died in enslavement…as well as the rise and fall (and rise again) of the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site.

Special thanks to our Consulting Producers: Dr. Karolyn Smardz-Frost and Dr. Afua Cooper of A Black People’s History of Canada Project: https://www.blackpeopleshistory.ca/

Learn More:

Do you have a suggestion for a new National Historic Person, Site or Event? We’d love to hear it! Visit https://parks.canada.ca/commemorate for details on how to submit a nomination.

A transcript and bibliography for this episode is available on our website: https://parks.canada.ca/recollections 

A special episode from our friends at the Discover Library and Archives Canada podcast - Bill Mason: Wilderness Artist.

If you enjoyed our ReCollections episode Grosse-Île: The Quarantine Island, check out their The Shamrock and the Fleur-de-Lys episode to learn more about Irish immigration to Québec.

Bill Mason's films: Pukaskwa National Park and Paddle to the Sea.

Plan a visit to Pukaskwa National Park in Ontario.

Discover Library and Archives Canada podcast is available wherever you get your podcasts. Subscribe for lots more stories about the treasures in their collection.