claudiusfoughtawhale

claudiusfoughtawhale t1_j11aeym wrote

Yup. My Dad grew up in the area that the Riel Rebellion was fought in, and so those stories were a big part of their history growing up, while for me living in a different part of the country it was just one short unit we studied one year. It's a big country, so I'm sure there are lots of regional 'myths' as well.

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claudiusfoughtawhale t1_j0ak5jc wrote

Here in Canada, I think our school system has traditionally tried to do it by tying us into a story of "Western Civilization". As a kid we started our study of history with ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, then Medieval Europe, then Renaissance/Enlightenment/Napoleon Era etc. So for a white kid in a mostly-white small town, the stories of Egypt, Greece and Rome were 'our' mythology. We also have some historical events like Vimy Ridge that have become Canadian myths in a sense, but we don't take them very seriously, at least not today.

I've been out of the school system for a while but I know there are much more earnest efforts today to bring in Indigenous stories, history, knowledge etc - we had only a few units here and there when I was a kid. We are also becoming more and more diverse as a country, and that means more people bringing with them the wonderful stories and myths of their own cultures.

Sometimes I do miss the sense of ancient history and I wonder what it would be like to grow up in one of those countries. We're certainly missing out in the museum and art gallery department! But I also feel like I can admire and enjoy the histories and mythologies of all peoples, our shared human heritage.

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