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Editor’s
note: Kevin Wilson is a Masters student in the Department of History
at the University of Victoria. The following is his account of research
and writing he is undertaking, in conjunction with other BCICS researchers
on Malcolm Island. Support for Kevin’s research comes from
several sources including the Co-op and Credit Union sector, the
Sointula Museum, the Community University Research Alliance (CURA),
the University of Victoria’s Co-operative Education programme,
and the Center for International Mobility in Finland.
At the beginning of January this year I started working with
BCICS on a research project focusing on the community of Sointula,
Malcolm Island. Malcolm Island lends itself well to co-op studies
in a number of ways: it has the longest consecutive running co-operative
store in Western Canada, the Sointula Co-op (1909 to the present);
BC’s first fishing co-op, the British Columbia Fishermen’s
Co-operative Association (BCFCA -1929-1932); and it has developed
a number of other co-operatives in the past several decades, including
tree planting, shellfish, and multi-stakeholder co-operatives.
My main focus has been on the island’s historical development.
Specifically, I have been tracing the ideological development
of the people living on Malcolm Island, noting cultural changes,
and, in particular, detailing the changes that have occurred in
the co-op store over the years. This has given me the opportunity
to engage several research methods. I have examined primary documents
in the Provincial and National Archives, conducted interviews,
and looked through records at the Sointula Museum. During this
time my original focus has been expanded somewhat and I am now
working as a co-author in the development of popular book about
the people of Malcolm Island, from the early Finnish settlement
to the present day. The prominent themes in the book include the
intellectual and cultural traditions of communitarianism as they
have played out on Malcolm Island, co-operative and communitarian
strategies, changes that took place between 1960 and 1995, and
the activities since 1996, when the effects of Mifflin Plan instituted
by the federal government served to devastate the island’s
fishing industry.
For those not familiar with the community, there is a great
deal of fascinating material to study. The community began as
a socialist utopia in 1901, settled by Finnish immigrants under
the leadership of the charismatic Matti Kurikka.. Throughout the
twentieth century, Malcolm Islanders have devoted much of their
time to larger issues and organisations, leaving a record of strong
union support, socialist politics, and a connection to Finnish
communities throughout Canada. However, any study of Malcolm Island
would be incomplete without a heavy focus on the Sointula Co-op
store. Beyond being simply a successful consumer co-op, the store
has acted as the uniting force in the community over most of its
existence; from its all day community meetings, to its role as
a bank, property owner, and fishing gear supplier, the co-op has
been the heart of the community, and a primary focus for me.
Kevin
Wilson
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