This will be an in-person event that is free to view. The lecture will be broadcast live via ZOOM for those who cannot attend in person and will be recorded and then posted to the Museum's YouTube at a later date.
2 speakers and their topics
Josh Wetendorf
Propaganda at the Lakehead: Ukrainian Canadian Political Rivalries in the Thunder Bay Press During the Second World War
Bio:
Josh is a graduate student in the History MA program at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay. His research interests include Ukrainian history and queer history. For his master’s, he is examining disinformation used by Soviet-aligned organizations in Canada from 1939 to 1945. His work analyzes how these groups depicted Ukrainian nationalist and pro-independence organizations as fascists to influence public opinion and create divisions within Ukrainian Canadian communities.
Description:
In May 1942, newspapers in Fort William and Port Arthur reported on a public dispute within the Ukrainian Canadian community over loyalty, conscription, and Canada’s war effort. This talk examines how Ukrainian communist and Ukrainian nationalist groups at the Lakehead sought to shape public opinion during the Second World War through their engagement with English-language newspapers. Focusing on news reports, editorials, and letters to the editor, the talk analyzes how local newspapers presented political disagreements within the Ukrainian community and how journalists framed the competing claims advanced by each group. By examining the language and strategies that appeared in wartime reporting, the talk shows how ideological conflicts were transmitted to a broader public through the Thunder Bay press, reflecting wider tensions that emerged in Canadian cities during the war.
Maya Oversby
Counter-mapping with Beadwork
Bio:
Maya is Red River Métis and second-generation Irish and English. She was born and raised in Dryden, Ontario, on Treaty Three Territory, and is now a respectful guest on the territory of Fort William First Nation, a signatory to the Robinson–Superior Treaty of 1850, in what is commonly known as Thunder Bay. She holds an Honours Bachelor’s degree in Outdoor Recreation and Land-based Therapy and a Master’s degree in Social Justice Studies from Lakehead University. Maya currently works as a contract lecturer in the Departments of Outdoor Recreation and Indigenous Studies at Lakehead University and hopes to pursue a PhD in the near future. Her research interests include beadwork as a form of resistance, kinship visiting, food sovereignty, land relations, Lyme disease, and climate justice.
Description:
During her Master’s studies, Maya completed a creative project on counter-mapping through beadwork. Using Indigenous research methodologies such as Kinship Visiting and the Kitchen Table methodology, she facilitated conversations around land sovereignty, colonialism, water, and borders. The project involved a series of gatherings where participants beaded while engaging with maps of various places and regions. One focal area was the Revell Lake region between Ignace and Dryden, where a proposed Deep Geological Repository is planned to store Canada’s high-level nuclear waste currently kept above ground. Through counter-mapping and beadwork, the project demonstrates a powerful and relational approach to expressing resistance to environmental exploitation and advancing climate justice.
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- Free Museum Admission during the event
- Refreshments will be available
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Parking
The Thunder Bay Museum has a free parking lot on the East side of the building, with only 16 spaces. On-street parking and other lots nearby are available.
This lecture session is part of the Society's long tradition of holding free public lectures. From September to March, talks on a wide range of topics are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Thunder Bay Museum.
The 2025-2026 Thunder Bay Museum lecture series is sponsored by the Lakehead University Department of History.
ZOOM INFORMATION
Join from PC, Mac, iPad, or Android:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85808903729
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Webinar ID: 858 0890 3729
International numbers available: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/keI9H6i22c