The Middle North podcast examines the history and culture of the geographical region between the 49th parallel and the far north. Through interviews with scholars and cultural creators it examines the constructed and imagined ideas of wilderness and order. It presents stories and histories about life and community, and the inherently human aspects of living and studying the middle north.
It extends the first series, "Policing and the Border" (2021). That series explored the history of policing in the United States and Canada. For that series see below.
Media technology produces space and shapes our sense of place. For many people advances in communications technology promise identity and nationhood liberated from the tyranny of geography. As such the history of communication offers an opportunity to reconsider the construction of identityand community in the Middle North.
In this episode I speak with Dr. Maureen Atkinson about her research into post-WWII radio and her reflections on the definition and identity of the Pacific Northwest. Drawing upon the radio archives held in Prince Rupert we discussed issues in early radio from the presence of women to Indigenous voices in radio. I learned that people like Iona Campagnolo used radio to challenge national narratives of the strangeness of the north. Through radio coverage of events like the the opening of Ksan village in Hazleton in the 1970s and the Grandduc Mine disaster of 1965 this episode highlights the importance of local history .
31 Mar 2026
Episode 8: Recreation at Residential Schools in the Far North
The horror of residential schools is a part of Canada's past. In Canada's north, just as in other settler colonial contexts, Indigenous children were ripped from their communities, taken from their parents and, in the name of civilization, subjected to genocidal forces. The aim of these schools was to erase Indigenous culture, identity and peoplehood. This episode looks beyond the middle north, to explore the history of residential schools in the far north. It takes advantage of a recently created podcast on recreation in residential schools in the North West Territories. "How I Survived" was created to tell the "stories of strength, resilience and spirit, and creativity of former students and Survivors." (https://www.howisurvived.ca/). Join us to learn more about the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the history of sport education, and remarkable histories of Indigenous resilience in the North. It is a fascinating true story that helps us understand a complex history.
2 Mar 2026
Episode 7: Storytelling in Denedeh: Film, Comics and Horror Fiction with Richard van Camp
In this episode, we speak with Richard van Camp about storytelling, community, and Denedeh (the land of the Dene). Drawn to story-telling for its power, Van Camp talks to us about history and fiction. His stories of the Weetago (or Wendigo) are remarkable visions of the Strange Things Done in the Middle North. Listen to hear how being outside and community offers an answer to the hungers of the present day.
For access to Richard Van Camp's interviews in Fort Smith, Northwest Territories, with the Metis Elders, go to this URL: https://fortsmithmetis.ca/for-the-children/
3 Oct 2025
Sawmills and Small Communities in the Upper Fraser Valley: Interview with Dr. Greg Halseth
The sawmill communities of the Upper Fraser Valley provide a perspectives that may help our reflection on social, economic and environmental processes that shaped the Middle North. Dr. Greg Halseth introduces some of this history and an Oral History Project that work that he and a team of researchers conducted twenty years ago. These oral histories are now available at the Archive of the University of Northern British Columbia and shed light on the particular lived experience of the Upper Fraser Valley after the arrival of the railroad.
28 Jul 2025
Episode Five - The Bennet Dam and Flooding the Tse'kene Heartland
Dr. Daniel Sims speaks about his research into the disruption caused by the creation of the Bennett Dam and the Williston Reservoir. It was built to provide electrical power mainly for southern communities. As shown by this research, the impact of the Dam surprised many of the experts and the tragic legacy continues to impact the First Nations communities of Tsay Keh Dene, Kwadacha, MacLeod Lake and Takla.
10 Jul 2025
Episode Four - Filming by Haida for Haida: Edge of the Knife
The Edge of the Knife is a Haida language film that is an act of language revitalization. The film tells the story of the Gagiit, or the wildman, the interview discusses the creation of the film and the involvement of community in the process. Producers and script-writer Gwaai Edenshaw tells us about filming this unique story in this unique place.
2 Jul 2025
Episode Three - Community Archeology through the Field School in the Middle North
In an interview with Dr. Farid Rahemtulla of UNBC we discuss some of the opportunities for new approaches to the field of Anthropology through community based archeology field schools. As discussed here, by tackling the colonial and western ideas of knowledge, new understandings of deeptime reveal sophistication and complexity that would not be otherwise visible.
23 Jun 2025
Episode Two: Notorious Georges and the Making of Crime in Northern BC
The Georges, historically, like Prince George today were often reported to be notorious. In an interview with Dr. Jonathan Swainger, professor emeritus at the university of Northern British Columbia we talk about his new book, and the "making of crime" in Northern BC.
26 May 2025
Episode One - Introducing the Middle North
The Middle North is a region that is often associated with the frontier. It is imagined as a place on the edge of "civilization." This episode introduces some of the key ideas and theme for this new series.
2 Jun 2021
Benjamin Hoy - Drawing a Border Across Indigenous Lands
According to historian Benjamin Hoy, the US-Canadian border was a line of Blood and Dirt. This is the title of his recent book, the subtitle is Creating the Canada-United States Border Across Indigenous Lands published by Oxford University Press in 2021. The book foregrounds what he refers to as the lived experience of the border, and provides us with access to the perspectives that many Indigenous people have left for us. This book shows this was a complex history. Yes, both countries used violence, hunger and coercion to displace Indigenous communities and their ideas of territory and belonging. At the sametime it foregrounds their own efforts to come to terms with, and even build the border. We learn how federal governments, with this customs officers, border agents, police patrols, and surveyors encountered and interacted with Indigenous peoples and negotiated a border.
11 May 2021
Blacks and the Border Interview with Dr. Amani Whitfield
An important part of the history of the Canadian US border is the history of slavery. Many Canadians believe that antipathy for slavery, following from what we might call the moral capital of Abolitionism, put their nation on the right side of history. In fact, frequently refugees were not welcomed, and their migration into Canada was often subjected to legal and social regulation and rejection. Dr. Harvey Amani Whitfield is the leading authority on slavery in the Maritime provinces, and together we discussed his books Blacks on the Border: the Black Refugees in British North America, 1815-1860 and North to Bondage: Loyalist Slavery in the Maritimes. In this episode we speak about what the border meant to Blacks, both refugees and slaves, and white British colonists in the Maritimes.
23 Apr 2021
Elusive Refuge with Dr. Laura Madokoro
In her recent book Elusive Refuge: Chinese Migrants in the Cold War, Laura Madokoro describes the intense international debate around refugees from China that transformed notions of humanitarian responsibility and refugee protection. In this interview we talk about the politics of legal definitions of migration, border controls, international policing, and the problems and benefits of settler colonialism as a framework.
30 Mar 2021
Extradition and Abduction with Dr. Bradley Miller
In 1842, the Webster-Ashburton Commission, which also led to the drawing of the international boundary, laid the first legal framework for a treaty of extradition between Canada and the United States. Despite such treaties, borderline crime continued to challenge the legal order and therefore both British and American sovereignty. Extradition treaties have always been tied to issues of territorial sovereignty, but there are other informal ways of policing the border. Bradley Miller’s book explores the challenge of the border. Borderline Crime: Fugitive Criminals and the Challenge of the Border 1819-1914, was published in 2016 by the Osgoode Society for Canadian Legal history. The book is a remarkable and important study of the history of the challenge of the border and shows how governments and people struggled to deal with crime and criminals which crossed the Canadian-American border.
19 Mar 2021
Salmon and Bandits on the Salish Sea with Dr. Lissa Wadewitz
Competition for access to and control of the abundant salmon on west coast leads us to a history is rife with bandits, smugglers, and other lawbreakers. The issues surrounding licensing, environmental protection, and fisheries management are obviously pertinent to the history of law-enforcement, and make for a fascinating study of policing the border. In her book, The Nature of Borders: Salmon, Boundaries, and Bandits on the Salish Sea, Lissa Wadewitz, has explored the history of policing salmon fishing. Starting from the Indigenous Peoples that fished the Salish Sea and the rivers that ran into it, she explores how the area has long been the site of intensely managed fishing practices. When settler colonial states drew the boundaries along the 49th parallel they largely ignored the behaviour of the salmon. As a result their efforts to police the salmon fishery were woefully inadequate. As the canned salmon industry grew and illegal fishing escaped detection, bandits competed and stole fish from each other, nation states were unable to responsibly manage the salmon fishery. Overfishing, social tensions and international mistrust were piled on to environmental devastation and by the first quarter of the twentieth century it was clear that the fishery was in decline. In this interview we talk about the complications of jurisdiction, dispossession, and the challenges of policing this precious resource. We talk about the challenges of accessing historical sources in the history of policing illegal activities and joys and goals of writing about the histories of environmental regulation and its failures.
15 Mar 2021
Policing the Detroit-Windsor Borderland with Dr. Holly Karibo
The connectivity of a border is why it is so heavily policed. In the early twentieth century the Detroit-Windsor border became the busiest crossing point between Canada and the United States, setting the stage for social and economic links between these two cities for years to come. In many respects, the Detroit-Windsor border connected, rather than divided these two spaces. And it was composed of multiple overlapping jurisdictions, discourses and senses of belonging. Crossing the border became easier when the Ambassador bridge opened in 1929. And in 1930, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel opened. It was the height of prohibition and alcohol, heroin, and prostitution markets were well-known reasons that many crossed the river. Windsor developed the reputation of being Sin City North. In this episode I speak to Dr. Holly Karibo about her book Sin City North: Sex, Drugs, and Citizenship in the Detroit-Windsor Borderland. It describes how the bars and brothels of Windsor and Detroit were filled by a united desire to experience freedom of crossing the river. This episode introduces listeners to a book that describes the growth of vice economies that emerged in the post-war era by following the smugglers and sex tourists, as well as the police officers and investigative journalists.
11 Mar 2021
Policing on the Great Plains with Dr. Andrew Graybill
The Texas Rangers and the Canadian Mounted Police are two of the most distinctive and recognisable constabularies in the history of policing. Both were central to settling the west and the subjugation of Indigenous Peoples on the Plains. The famous red serge and the Sheriff’s star are essential props that evoke the history of bringing law and order to the frontier. In this podcast I interview Dr. Andrew Graybill on his book, Policing the Great Plains: Ranger’s Mounties and the North American Frontier 1875-1910, published by Nebraska University Press in 2007. Graybill brings their histories together to show that the Rangers and the Mounties preformed nearly identical functions. By comparing their histories Graybill gets beyond the romantic image to show a shockingly similar history of subjugating Indigenous Groups and dispossessing peoples of mixed ancestry. Further he argues that both forces need to be seen as part of the emergence of industrial capitalism, and explores how both were key to defending the property of cattle ranchers and policing industrial strikes.
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