Jesse Robertson wins CHA Best Article Prize in Labour History!

Congratulations to Jesse Robertson! “Lightkeepers on Huu-ay-aht Shores: Indigenous Labour and Knowledge in the History of Coastal Navigation,” BC Studies, 222 (2024).

Jesse Robertson provides valuable new insights into the crucial role of indigenous maritime labour on Vancouver Island in “Lightkeepers on Huu-ay-aht Shores: Indigenous Labour and Knowledge in the History of Coastal Navigation”.  This article covers a long period from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth century. European colonists benefited from Indigenous knowledge about coastal waters, and Robertson illustrates how interaction between colonists and Indigenous people led to overall understanding about navigation in the area around the southern end of Vancouver Island became based on Indigenous knowledge. Robertson’s work will hopefully inform future studies focusing on labour processes and practices rooted in colonist and Indigenous interaction.