Dr. Lianne Leddy (back row, far right) joins all 2023 Governor General scholarly research award recipients with Her excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon (front, centre right).
Lianne Leddy Confronts Historical Narratives of Postwar Period Prosperity
“As an Anishinaabe woman and scholar, this recognition is tremendously meaningful,” says Dr. Lianne C. Leddy, associate professor of history at Wilfrid Laurier University (Laurier). Laurier is one of the partners in the Tri-University Graduate History Program. At a ceremony on November 22, Dr. Leddy received the 2023 Governor General’s History Award for Scholarly Research from Her Excellency the Right Honourable Mary Simon, Governor General of Canada.
The award recognizes the scholarship of Dr. Leddy's book Serpent River Resurgence: Confronting Uranium Mining at Elliot Lake. The work documents the destructive legacy of uranium mining on Serpent River First Nation in northern Ontario, of which she is a member.
“I first came to this story, which is rooted in my family history, at my grandmother’s kitchen table. This award honours not only the book itself, but also the community’s story of resistance and resilience in the face of 20th century extractive colonialism. I’m heartened by this moving recognition of Indigenous voices and experiences,” says Leddy, in an online interview.
The award is administered by the Canadian Historical Association (CHA) in partnership with Canada’s National History Society. The selection committee praised the book, calling it “a significant historiographical contribution that speaks to urgent political issues we grapple with today”.
