Dr. Joseph Oleskiw or Jósef Olesków ( uk , Іосифъ Олеськôвъ (historic spelling),
Осип Олеськів (modern spelling), ''Osyp Oleskiv'', September 28, 1860 – October 18, 1903) was a
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
professor of
agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...
who promoted
Ukrainian immigration to the
Canadian prairies
The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...
. His efforts helped encourage the initial wave of settlers which began the
Ukrainian Canadian
Ukrainian Canadians ( uk, Українські канадці, Україноканадці, translit=Ukrayins'ki kanadtsi, Ukrayinokanadtsi; french: Canadiens d'origine ukrainienne) are Canadians, Canadian citizens of Ukrainians, Ukrainian desce ...
community.
Ukraine
Joseph Oleskiw was born in the village of Nova Skvariava (Nowa Skwarzawa), near
Zhovkva
Zhovkva ( uk, Жовква ; pl, Żółkiew; yi, זאָלקוואַ, translit=Zolkva; russian: Жо́лква, 1951–1992: ''Nesterov'') is a city in Lviv Raion, Lviv Oblast (region) of western Ukraine. Zhovkva hosts the administration of Zho ...
, in the
Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
province of
Galicia (now western Ukraine). His father, a
Greek (Eastern) Catholic parish priest, was a member of the
rural élite. Oleskiw studied
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
and agriculture at the
University of Lemberg
The University of Lviv ( uk, Львівський університет, Lvivskyi universytet; pl, Uniwersytet Lwowski; german: Universität Lemberg, briefly known as the ''Theresianum'' in the early 19th century), presently the Ivan Franko Na ...
(Lviv, Ukraine). He was appointed professor of
agronomy
Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...
at the teacher's college in
Lemberg
Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
.
Early immigration
Ukrainian immigrants who had travelled to
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
and
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, enticed by the free transportation they had received, sent back word that conditions there were worse than in their homeland. After hearing of the struggles of
Ukrainian immigrants in Brazil, Oleskiw investigated alternative choices. He determined that the Canadian prairies were the most suitable for the Ukrainian farmers. This led to Oleskiw writing two
pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
s in
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
– "On Free Lands" (''Pro Vilni Zemli'',
spring 1895), and "On Emigration" (''O emigratsiy'', December 1895) – and one in
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
*Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
. Oleskiw sought and obtained the endorsement of the
Prosvita Society
Prosvita ( uk, просвіта, 'enlightenment') is a society for preserving and developing Ukrainian culture and education among population that created in the nineteenth century in the Austria-Hungary Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria.
By the ...
that a non-commercial, non-profit effort to help the immigrants should be implemented.
[Martynowych, p. 62.]
The journey
Oleskiw left for
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
along with Ivan Dorundiak, a representative of the farming community, on July 25, 1895 on a fact-finding journey that would span three months. Along the way, at length he met with
Sir Charles Tupper
Sir Charles Tupper, 1st Baronet, (July 2, 1821 – October 30, 1915) was a Canadian Father of Confederation who served as the sixth prime minister of Canada from May 1 to July 8, 1896. As the premier of Nova Scotia from 1864 to 1867, he led ...
, at that time Canada's
High Commissioner in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
.
The correspondence between Oleskiw and the
Canadian Government
The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in-C ...
was conducted with the aid of the
London embassy.
[Marunchak, p. 30.] Because of Oleskiw's efforts, on the one hand, and the Canadian government's direct involvement, on the other, the flow of Ukrainians to Canada was much more targeted and organized than that to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
Canada
On August 12, 1895, they arrived in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
. On reaching
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
, Oleskiw met with H.H. Smith, Commissioner of Dominion Lands under the ''
Dominion Lands Act
The ''Dominion Lands Act'' (long title: ''An Act Respecting the Public Lands of the Dominion'') was an 1872 Canadian law that aimed to encourage the settlement of the Canadian Prairies and to help prevent the area being claimed by the United Sta ...
'', who assigned Hugo Carstens, who spoke
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
, to act as an interpreter and guide for Oleskiw and Dorundiak's tour of
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada ...
.
Oleskiw was particularly interested in the area of
Stony Plain,
District of Alberta
The District of Alberta was one of four districts of the Northwest Territories created in 1882. It was styled the Alberta Provisional District to distinguish it from the District of Keewatin which had a more autonomous relationship from the N ...
, due west of
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, where a number of German settlements had been started. In the region of Beaverhill Creek, northeast of Edmonton, he encountered 16 Ukrainian families who had recently taken up homesteads. Following an inspection of
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...
, he returned to Winnipeg and then traveled to
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
via the United States.
Immigration to Canada begins
Oleskiw believed in selective emigration. His first group of settlers were thirty hand-picked families, led by his brother Vladymir (''Volodymyr''), who arrived in Canada in
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
on April 30, 1896. The majority of these immigrants settled in
Edna, District of Alberta, northeast of Edmonton.
Later that summer, seventeen Oleskiw families led by
Cyril Genik
Cyril Ivanovich Genik ( uk , Кирило Іванович Геник, 1857 – February 12, 1925) was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian-Canadians, Canadian immigration agent. He is a Persons of National Historic Significance, Person of National Histor ...
, and nine who had left on their own from
Bukovina
Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter BergerT ...
, also settled in
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
in the
Stuartburn district. The first representatives of the intelligentsia – Cyril (Kyrylo) Genik, Ivan Bodrug, and Ivan Negrich – guided contingents of Dr. Oleskiw's settlers to Canada in 1896 and 1897. Genik preferred Stuartburn, a district not recommended by Oleskiw; as it was close to the large
Mennonite
Mennonites are groups of Anabaptist Christian church communities of denominations. The name is derived from the founder of the movement, Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland. Through his writings about Reformed Christianity during the Radic ...
settlement near
Gretna, and commercial farms in
North Dakota
North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the Native Americans in the United States, indigenous Dakota people, Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north a ...
and
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, where those Ukrainians who needed cash might earn some extra money. Fifteen families from Galicia settled in an area recommended by Oleskiw, northwest of
Dauphin, Manitoba. As the
Riding Mountains resembled the
Carpathian foothills, some families also found their way into this area.
Thus began the massive, continuous influx of Ukrainian immigration to Canada.
Due in part to the widespread distribution of Oleskiw's literature, Ukrainians became the largest
Slavic group in Canada, with a population of at least 170,000 by August 1914.
[Isajiw and Makuch, p. 333; Swyripa, "Ukrainians", p. 1862.] Although Oleskiw promoted emigrants based on their assimilationist tendencies, the mass of Ukrainians that followed them tended to retain their
cultural heritage
Cultural heritage is the heritage of tangible and intangible heritage assets of a group or society that is inherited from past generations. Not all heritages of past generations are "heritage"; rather, heritage is a product of selection by soci ...
.
Later life
Oleskiw was married twice and had two sons and two daughters from his first marriage. In 1900 Olesków was appointed principal of a teacher's college in
Sokal
Sokal ( uk, Сокаль, romanized: ''Sokal'') is a city located on the Bug River in Chervonohrad Raion, Lviv Oblast of western Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Sokal urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. The population is appro ...
. The departure from Lemberg, political pressure and the death of his first wife led him to withdraw from emigration promotion after his move. Three years after the appointment to Sokal, he died suddenly at the age of 43.
Legacy
![Ukranian Village 2012080293 Bust of Josef Oleskiw](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b3/Ukranian_Village_2012080293_Bust_of_Josef_Oleskiw.JPG)
Oleskiw's accomplishments in organizing Ukrainian immigration to Canada were threefold. First, he diverted to Canada thousands of Ukrainians destined for Brazil. Second, in attempting to regulate the number of peasants leaving
Western Ukraine
Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austria ...
in any given year, he tried to prevent Galician land prices from falling drastically; though in this he was only partially successful. Third, in organizing the immigrants’ journey, he sought not only to prevent exploitation by unscrupulous officials and ticket agents but to secure the Canadian government's co-operation in the early stages of immigration.
[Martynowych, p. 64.]
Today Oleskiw Park and the
Oleskiw neighbourhood in
Edmonton
Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
,
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
are named after him.
See also
*
Iwan Pylypow
Iwan Pylypiw or Ivan Pylypow ( uk, Іван Пилипiв, September 28, 1859 – October 10, 1936) and Vasyl Eleniak were the first Ukrainian immigrants to Canada in 1891–93.
Pylypow was born in the village of Nebyliv in Kalush county (''povi ...
*
Cyril Genik
Cyril Ivanovich Genik ( uk , Кирило Іванович Геник, 1857 – February 12, 1925) was a Ukrainians, Ukrainian-Canadians, Canadian immigration agent. He is a Persons of National Historic Significance, Person of National Histor ...
*
Block settlement
A block settlement (or bloc settlement) is a particular type of land distribution which allows settlers with the same ethnicity to form small colonies. This settlement type was used throughout western Canada between the late 19th and early 20th ...
*
Ukrainian Canadians
Ukrainian Canadians ( uk, Українські канадці, Україноканадці, translit=Ukrayins'ki kanadtsi, Ukrayinokanadtsi; french: Canadiens d'origine ukrainienne) are Canadian citizens of Ukrainian descent or Ukrainian-born pe ...
*
Clifford Sifton
Sir Clifford Sifton, (March 10, 1861 – April 17, 1929), was a Canadian lawyer and a long-time Liberal politician, best known for being Minister of the Interior under Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He was responsible for encouraging the massive amount o ...
*
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village
The Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village ( uk, Село спадщини української культури, Selo spadshchyny ukrains’koi kul’tury) is an open-air museum that uses costumed historical interpreters to recreate pioneer set ...
*
List of Canadian place names of Ukrainian origin
The following is a list of place names in Canada (primarily Western Canada) whose name origin is in the Ukrainian language. Some places – especially in Saskatchewan – were named by ethnic Germans from Ukraine.
Most of these places were rural ...
References
Bibliography
* Martynowych, Orest T. ''Ukrainians in Canada: The Formative Period, 1891-1924''. Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies Press, University of Alberta, Edmonton, 1991.
* Marunchak, Michael, H. ''The Ukrainian Canadians: A History'', Winnipeg, Ottawa: Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences, 1970.
* Gerus, Oleh W. "Nestor Dmytriw", Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
* Subtelny, Orest. ''Ukrainians In North America, An Illustrated History'', University of Toronto Press, Toronto, 1991.
*
*
*
External links
Kurelek, An NFB Film, 1967*
*
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''*
CKUA
The CKUA Radio Network is a Canadian donor-funded community radio network based in Edmonton, Alberta. Originally located on the campus of the University of Alberta in Edmonton (hence the UA of the call letters), it was the first public broadcaste ...
br>
heritage trails articleSection from Michael Ewanchuk's book: ''Reflections and reminiscences: Ukrainians in Canada, 1892-1992''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Oleskiw, Joseph
1860 births
1903 deaths
Austro-Hungarian writers
Ukrainian male writers
Ukrainian Austro-Hungarians
Agriculturalists
Ukrainian agronomists
Ukrainian academics
Ukrainian diaspora in Canada
Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada)
People from Lviv Oblast
People from the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria