He was the author of Early Voyages and Northern Approaches, the first volume in the Canadian Centenary Series, a collection of historical texts by leading historians to commemorate the centennial of Canada in 1967.
[1] Returning to Manitoba, Oleson began his teaching career at the Jon Bjarnason Academy, a private Icelandic school in Winnipeg.
In support of this thesis, Oleson relied on his interpretation of archaeological evidence, such as the structure of stone shelters in the eastern Arctic which he saw as similar to Icelandic structures; the development of a sea-culture including whaling from small boats, which he saw as similar to Norse practices, and a body of academic historical research from Icelandic scholars, which was not generally available to Canadian researchers.
Several reviewers challenged Oleson's interpretation,[6][7] particularly William Taylor, who was one of the leading experts in Arctic archaeology at the National Museum of Canada,[8] as well as Wilcomb E. Washburn from the Smithsonian Institution.
"[10] The general editors of the Centenary Series were somewhat taken aback by the criticism and sometimes hostile reaction to Oleson's book, but were hampered in their ability to respond by his death.
The approach which they took was to re-issue the book five years later, and to include some of the critical response to the thesis of cultural fusion as a forward to the text.
Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Volume I (numerous entries): Introductory Essay: The Northern Approaches to Canada [in collaboration with W. L. Morton]; Bjarni Herjólfsson; Saint Brendan; John Cunningham; Eirikr (Eric) upsi Gnupsson; Eirikr Thorvaldsson (Eric the Red); Leifr heppni Eiriksson (Leif the Lucky); Nicholas of Lynne; Snorri Thorfinnsson; Thorfinnr karlsefni Thordarson; Nicolò and Antonio Zeno.
Early Voyages and Northern Approaches, Volume 1 of the Canadian Centenary Series (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart Ltd., 1963; re-issued with additional material, 1968).