From past student evaluations:

Thanks again for such a great experience! Please don’t ever stop doing this course- the field of history wouldn’t be the same without history done in this fashion!

This is the best course – at any level – I have ever taken. It strikes an effective balance between time in the classroom, experiential, and problem-based learning. It was a wonderful example of what lies beyond the current standard of transmission based learning.

I truly believe that this course is the BEST possible introduction to immersive, subversive, ways of learning Indigenous history in Canada.

I am more culturally sensitive, look at my craft as a historian in different light, and, furthermore, have established a network of wonderful people which I will interact with for years to come.

I’m always going to be grateful for what the course taught me about patience and respect for other people, and for introducing me to how to handle awkward, tense and unfamiliar ground.

I feel like I am more prepared to move forward in my own research, and that I have developed necessary skills that are required in my career. It has also made me a more conscientious historian, and better able to approach communities for my own research purposes.

"I have wanted to do a field school since I began my undergrad and this experience transcended my expectations. I learned so much that it is difficult to bring each lesson to mind, and I’m sure that there are many that I don’t even realize that I leaned. I am so happy that I decided to take the class."

"This course is excellent, I count myself very lucky to have taken it and I hope that it will run for many years to come."

"I liked the course and I thought it was a great experience. It was like nothing I would have experienced anywhere else."

"A wonderful experience and a valuable entry to approaches to history respectful of First Nations. It also felt good to be doing history that seemed applicable, that people might actually care about...!"

"It’s great. It’s an amazing introduction to Sto:lo culture and ethnohistory, and a really good time as well. It’s also stressful and intense at times, but I don’t think you could eliminate that entirely without also taking out a lot of what’s best about the course."

"This course changed the way I will approach the rest of my academic work. Each of the course instructors taught me something new, and helped me develop a skillset and critical stance I previously did not have."

"The immersive environment really encouraged me to understand the practical significance of writing history in a way even the best lecture or tutorial does not offer. While I knew that I would learn about ethnohistorical methods, especially conducting oral history interviews, I didn’t expect to see improvement in my writing; the comments that John and Keith made on my project were thorough and incredibly helpful."

"The best experience I have had at university."

"I cannot say enough positive things about this class! It was such an intense and wonderful experience that changed how I think about my role as a student, my research and the vibrancy of community. I've never experienced such generosity of time, knowledge, and spirit within an academic context. It really was an experience in humanity."

"An unparalleled and transformative experience that will shape my fuuture scholarly interests and approaches, as well as the ethics and ideas I bring to both."

"I felt truly blessed to have participated in such a wonderful experience...we also had the chance to contribute something worthwhile."

"This course was an incredible academic and personal experience. It was absolutely the most important experience I have had at school. The ethnohistory fieldschool was the perfect way to introduce students to the discipline as well as tangibly demonstrating how historical research can be effectively done within a community in a way tat benefits both the researcher and the people they are studying."

"It was not a "course", it was nothing less than a foundational experience for me."

"What I will remember most about this course is the people that I spent it with. The other students, John, Keith, our home stay, and the Sto:lo nation were the force that moved this course beyond an academic structure into a type of transformative experience."

It was one of the most important and profound experiences I have had in my personal and academic lives. My only complaint is that I wish I didn't have to leave.

This was a life-changing experience that I'm never going to forget. I knew before taking the course that I wanted to work with oral history and focus my research on Aboriginal histories in Canada…. Ethnohistory field school encouraged me to do something with my studies that hopefully effect change today.

It was a wonderful, positive, and insightful experience. It marked me and challenged my knowledge and perception, both through the seminars, community events, field work, and co-habitation with classmates.

10 out of 10 one of the best experiences of my academic career and one that has changed the way I think about Canada.

I will never forget the relationships and interactions. I will remember my colleagues, the staff and faculty and the community members who were all central to my learning experiences on field school. I am so grateful to have been able to partake in this experience.

Field School Alumni

2022

L-R : Naxahatsi Sonny McHalsie (SRRMC), Keith Carlson (Co-Instructor), P. R. (UVic), Nick Paquin (UVic), Jamey Jesperson (UVic), Olivia Abram (USask), Aliyah Friesen*, Jacalyn Drummond, Meghan Robinson*, Michaela Sapielak (UFV). Front John Lutz (Co-Instructor) Lawrence Ignace *. ( * Guests)

2019

L-R Alessandro Tarsia (USask), Jill Levine (UVic), Allison Eccleston (UVic), Harris Ford (USask), Juliana Medeiros (USask), Keith Carlson (co-instructor), Jenna Casey (USask), Kristina Celli (UVic), Katie Hughes (UVic).

2017

L-R Sean Macpherson (UVic), Davis Rogers (USask), Sarah Taekema (UVic), Keith Carlson (Co-Instructor), Gord Lyall (UVic), Tarisa Little (USask), John Bird (USask), Angelique Tardival (USask), Olivia Bird (USask), Andrea Van Noord (UVic).

2015

L-R Back Davis Rogers (USask), Colin Osmond (USask), Noah Miller (UVic), Daniel Palmer (USask), Sonny McHalsie (Sto:lo Research and Resource Management Centre), Sarah Nason (UVic-UCalgary), Jesse Robertson (UVic-Carleton), John Lutz (Co-Instructor), Chris Marsh (USask), Tenille Campbell (USask). Front L-R Whitney Bajric (UVic), Michelle Brandsma (USask), Erin Gallaher Cohoon (USask). Missing Sabina Trimble (UVic).

2013

L-R Back: Dallas Posavad (USask), Sabina Trimble (Mt Royal), Jamie Witham (UVic), Anne Janhunen (USask), Patrick McBride (UVic), Adar Charlton (USask), Sarah Nichols (Alumni 2007); Jennifer Fedun (USask); Megan Harvey (Alumni 2009); John Lutz (Co-Instructor); Dave Schaepe (Stó:lõ Research and Resource Management Centre). L-R Front: Rhea Lonsdale (USask), Orion Keresztesi (UVic), Ella Bedard (UVic), Maddie Knickerbocker (Alumni, 2011).

2011

Back L-R Martin Hoffman (UVic), Ashley Forseille (UVic), Catilin Copage (UVic), Maria Melenchuk (USask), Tylor Richards (UVic), Keith Carlson (C0-instructor).
Front: Maddie Knickerbocker (SFU), Claire Thomson (USask), Ryan Buhay (USask), Ben Clinton-Baker (UVic), Stephanie Bellissimo (USask), Darren Charlie (Master Drum Maker).

2009

Back, L-R John Lutz (Co-instructor), Abe Lloyd (UVic), Keith Carlson (Co-instructor), Davon Alder(UVic), Justin Opheim (UVic); Mid: Margaret Robbins (UVic), Stephanie Danyluk (USask); Front: Robyn Moore (USask), Carolyn Bartlett (USask), Kate Martin (UVic), Megan Harvey (UVic).

2007

L-R. Dave Schaepe, (Stó:lō Research and Resource Management Centre), Keith Carlson (Co-instructor), Andrée Boisselle (UVic), Katya McDonald (USask), Lesley Wiebe (USask), Sarah Nickel (USask), Emmy Campbell (UVic), Mandy Fehr (USask. Front: Ana Novakovic (USask), Devon Drury (UVic). Missing: Amber Kostuchenko (USask).

2005

Jody Bergerman (USask), Anastasia Tataryn (USask), Liam Haggarty (UVic), Jon Clapperton (UVic), Jodi Crewe (USask), Heather Watson (USask), Keith Carlson (Co-instructor), Mackinley Darlington (USask. Missing: Henry Nikolaus (UVic), Cinnamon Pandur (USask), Karl Preuss (UVic).

2003

L-R: Alan Long (USask), Janet Dunnet (UVic), Elizabeth Scott (USask), David Sulz (UVic), , Byron Plant (UVic), Adam Rudder (UVic), Melissa McDowell (USask), Sylvan Lutz, Heather Woolard (USask).

2000

L-R: Gabe Haythornthwaite (UVic), Amber Kostuchenko (SFU), Tina Rafter (UVic), Kathy McKay (UVic), Rob Hancock (UVic)

1998

Left-Right: Sonny McHalsie (Stó:lō Nation), Heather Gleboff (UVic), Koni Benson (UVic), Christie Shaw (UVic), Mike Ashley (UVic), Jody Woods (UBC), Samara Brock (UVic), Melissa Curry (UVic).