Creating Kashubia, History, Memory, and Identity in Canada’s First Polish Community by Joshua C. Blank (review)

The focus of this study is that part of Renfrew County in Ontario that was settled by several waves of Kashubs between 1858 and 1910 from what is today Poland. In Polish-Canadian history, Renfrew County is the “first settlement” region and, therefore, of special significance to over one million Canadians who claim Polish heritage. By the 1890s, there were about 1000 Kashubs in Renfrew County, and, by 2012, there were as many as 15,000 Canadians claiming Kashub heritage. Blank is a former resident of Barry’s Bay in Renfrew County and claims, as an insider, to understand its historical memory, oral history, and internal community dynamics. He also visited Poland as part of his research project to write a more complete history of the emigration of the Canadian Kashubs. Blank raises some interesting questions about the research and writing of ethnocultural history that leads him to challenge the existing historiography and the claims made about ethnicity and identity relating to the history of the Kashubs.

The book is divided into two main parts: the first part is entitled Revisiting Historical Memory and the second part is entitled Cultural Redefinition. In the first part, Blank investigates how the early written and oral histories were developed and how they shaped the popular Kashub settlement narratives. He investigates in depth the “push-and-pull” factors in the emigration movement as well as the “heroic pioneers” and the “exile” schools of the historical narratives. Among the push factors in the country of origin, Blank correctly identifies the expanding German nation-state with its growing and efficient bureaucracy that encroached on the semi-autonomous religious and social existence of the Kashubs, who viewed this intrusion as oppressive. Among the pull factors, the author investigates the lack of consensus among some scholars, for example, regarding the sources of information that spread in Europe about promised free land in Canada. He presents the debate whether the promised land in Renfrew County was suitable for settlement or a great disappointment.

In the second part, he explains how a few community leaders actively contributed to the evolution of Polish ethnic consciousness and the reinvention of Kashub self-identity. He analyzes the recent resurgence in historical consciousness and a reinvention of ethnicity and whether the descendants of the original settlers are “Polish” or “Kashubian.” In some ways, this parallels a similar evolution of identity among some inhabitants in today’s Poland. New organizations in Renfrew and also in northern Poland have been created to promote the local Kashub identity. This is reflected in local activities, events, and celebrations. The relatively small size of the present population in Renfrew County tends to lend a parochial flavour to this history.

Writing for the larger national and international audience, Blank provides a survey of the history of Kashubs in their country of origin. This approach is characteristic of Canadian authors of some early ethnic histories of other “non-historic peoples” concerned about the lack of popular knowledge and understanding of their ancient heritage in Europe. With over a century of survival in Renfrew County, Blank examines the prospects for the continued existence of the Canadian Kashubian identity, despite the loss of language. He suggests that ethnic identity can survive if it remains fluid on an individual and group level. The long-term goal, no doubt, is the preservation of the critical mass of Kashubs in Renfrew County to ensure the survival of community identity.

In his conclusion, Blank explores the construction and persistence of ethnic identity through non-static and re-invented traditions and customs, though a discussion on the use of electronic sources to maintain and promote Kashub identity both locally and internationally would have been helpful. For example, Ukrainian Canadians have produced genealogical databases, folklore discussion groups, dictionaries, and encyclopedias that are available on the Internet and used across...