| OTTAWA,
December 14, 2000 -- A descendant of an Ottawa Valley
pioneer family, Joan Ritchie of New Jersey has donated her
great-uncle’s letters from the Canadian poet Pauline Johnson
(1861-1913) to the National Archives of Canada. The Archibald
Kains papers include eighteen letters from Pauline Johnson, an
important nineteenth century poet of Mohawk and English descent
who was born and raised on the Six Nations Reserve near
Brantford, Ontario. Most of the letters date from 1889 and 1890,
a period not previously well-documented in Johnson’s life.
They describe her burgeoning literary career as well as her
enthusiasm for the theatre. They also reflect her passionate
defence of aboriginal rights and her belief in equality for
women. The recipient of the letters, Archie Kains (1865-1944),
was raised in London, Ontario, but became a prominent banker in
the United States. He was a youthful admirer of Pauline Johnson’s,
who escorted her around New York and introduced her to the art
of painting. Their flirtatious correspondence appears to have
ended with his engagement to another woman, whom Archie Kains
married in 1895. A final letter, dated 1912, when Pauline
Johnson was in difficult financial circumstances and dying of
cancer in Vancouver, reveals that Kains sent her money to help
ease her last remaining months of life. Archie Kains died in
Ottawa in 1944, and the Kains papers have now been returned to
Canada by his American descendants. |
Pauline
E. Johnson,
Brantford, Ontario, ca. 1885-1895.
National
Archives of Canada
C-085125 |
The material
donated by Joan Ritchie has been accessioned at the National Archives
as the Archibald Kains fonds (accession 2000-01315-5). Other documents
relating to Pauline Johnson can be found by searching ArchiviaNet, the
National Archives’ on-line database. McMaster University in
Hamilton, Ontario, holds the Pauline Johnson fonds, and has produced a
Web site on Pauline Johnson in co-operation with Industry Canada (www.mcmaster.ca/library).
For more
information contact:
Pauline Portelance
Media Relations Officer
Telephone: (613) 996-6128
E-mail: media@lac-bac.gc.ca
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