The late Kenojuak Ashevak , considered one of the pioneers of Inuit art, saw her first-ever print, Rabbit Eating Seaweed, included in the 1959 Cape Dorset collection. The early work points to the distinctive style for which the famed artist would become renown. (Historymuseum.ca) (Photo credit: CBC.ca)
I apologize for not posting for a long time. There has been a change in my life, but it is not a serious change.
Here is my story. A few weeks ago, I told my doctor that my memory was playing tricks on me. Test confirmed mild cognitive impairment. I will lose my driver’s license and my precious little red Toyota.
Do not be alarmed. I was not diagnosed until the early 1990s, but I have suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME since 1976. Victims get lost in mid-sentence and don’t remember words and names. I continued working and had a successful but shorter career than I would have liked. The only difference between the old and the new diagnostic is age. I am now older. But it could simply be that moving tired me out and that taking a mortgage, at my age, was stressful. Life is not always easy.
In short, I could not work on posts for several days because I was making various arrangements that would allow me to stay home for many long years, despite mild cognitive deficiency. Ironically, destiny led me to purchase a lovely apartment in the appropriate building. It has elevators, a heated interior swimming pool, and, as I have told you in an earlier post, it is located very near a small market place that includes a post office and most of the facilities I require.
My next post is on Métis leader Gabriel Dumont and the North-West Rebellion. Métis and Amerindians were losing their land, so surveyors can cut it up into little squares while a railroad was being built that woul take citizens from sea to sea: A Mari usque ad Mare, the Canadian motto.
As a leader, Gabriel Dumont was second only to Louis Riel. They resisted losses brought by Canadian expansion westward. The video inserted below is a fine account of events that took Canada from sea to sea, but a post is necessary.
Gabriel Dumont(Photo credit: The Canadian Encyclopedia)
I published this article on 21st December 2013. My next post would be difficult to understand without the information provided in my earlier post and another earlier post.
We are still in Lower Canada or Bas-Canada. *“Lower” means down the St. Lawrence river, closer to the Atlantic Ocean. Our images are by Cornelius Krieghoff (19 June 1815 – 8 April 1872) who arrived in New York in 1836, immediately after completing his studies. Although Krieghoff had a brother in Toronto, Canada, but he settled in the province of Quebec.
However, we are also reading excerpts from French political thinker and historianAlexis de Tocqueville (29 July 1805 – 16 April 1859), whose two-volume Democracy in America, published in 1835 and 1840, depicts America as it was and, to a large extent, as it has remained: materialistic and much too individualistic.
In 1831, Alexis de Tocqueville and Gustave de Beaumont (6 February 1802 – 30 March 1866), a magistrate and prison reformer, had travelled to North America in order to write a report on prisons in America, which they did.
However, Tocqueville’s curiosity led him to the former New France and induced him to discuss slavery in America. In fact, it is now somewhat difficult to remember that Tocqueville and Beaumont’s mission was to examine the prison system in the New World. Tocqueville and Beaumont were in Bas-Canada from August 23rd until September 2nd. It was a short visit, but Tocqueville’s portrayal of Bas-Canada and the dangers confronting it are exceptionally insightful.[i]
Winter Landscape by Cornelius Krieghoff, 1849 (National Gallery of Canada)
« Le Canada pique vivement notre curiosité. La nation française s’y est conservée intacte : on y a les mœurs et on y parle la langue du siècle de Louis XIV. » (Tocqueville)
“The French nation has been preserved there. As a result, one can observe the customs and the language spoken duringLouis XIV’sreign.” (Note 2)[ii] (Corbo’s translation)
« [I]l n’y a pas six mois, je croyais, comme tout le monde, que le Canada était devenu complètement anglais. » (Tocqueville)
In a letter to his mother, dated 7 September 1831, Tocqueville writes that: “not even six months ago, [he] believed, like everyone else, that Canada had become thoroughly English.” (Corbo’s translation)
« Nous nous sentions comme chez nous, et partout on nous recevait comme des compatriotes, enfants de la vieille France, comme ils l’appellent. À mon avis, l’épithète est mal choisie : la vieille France est au Canada ; la nouvelle est chez nous. » (Note 3)[iii] (Tocqueville)
“We felt like we were at home and everywhere people greeted us as one of their own, as descendants of ‘Old France’ as they called it. But to me, it seems more like Old France lives on in Canada and that it is our country [France] which is the new one.” Thus, Tocqueville was surprised by realities he discovered in Canada. Compared to his visits to other foreign countries, the visit to Lower Canada was a brief one. (Note 4) (Tocqueville & Corbo.)
He notes that the seigneurial system is, for the most part, a “formality,” and that Religion is central to the community.
“The seigneurial system, which would last until 1854, is more of a formality than anything else, even though it is a source of irritation for some. But this does not keep the lands from being properly farmed or from prospering. Religion is central to the community; the clergy holds an important place and proves to be unquestionably loyal to the British authority.” (Corbo)
The Wealth is under English Control
Even though the peasants are prosperous, the real wealth is in the hands of the country’s Englishmen. The Mondelet brothers, who [sic] Tocqueville met in Montreal on August 24th, as well as the anonymous English merchant he met on August 26th, reveal to Tocqueville that, “almost all the wealth and commerce is under English control.” On September 1st, Tocqueville confirms in his notes that “the English have control of all foreign trade and run domestic trade without any opposition.” (Note 7)[iv] (Corbo & Corbo’s translations)
Si les paysans sont prospères, la grande richesse, elle, appartient aux Anglais du pays. Tant les frères Mondelet, rencontrés à Montréal le 24 août, que le marchand anglais anonyme de Québec, le 26 août, indiquent à Tocqueville que « presque toute la richesse et le commerce est dans les mains des Anglais. » (Corbo & others)
Predominance of the English Language & Anglicisms
In both cities, “all the signs [enseignes] are in English and there are only two English theatres.” During his visit to the courthouse in Quebec City, Tocqueville observes the predominance of the English language and the mediocrity of the language of French-speaking lawyers, which is riddled with Anglicisms. (Note 8)[v] (Corbo.)
Tant à Montréal qu’à Québec, la langue anglaise domine dans la vie et sur la place publique: « La plupart des journaux, les affiches et jusqu’aux enseignes des marchands français sont en anglais. » (Corbo & Tocqueville)
So, on 26 August, having visited the courthouse, Tocqueville comes to the conclusion that the French who live in the former New France are a conquered people and that it is an “irreversible tragedy.”
Je n’ai jamais été plus convaincu qu’en sortant [de ce tribunal] que le plus grand et le plus irrémédiable malheur pour un peuple c’est d’être conquis.
“I have never been more convinced than after I left the courthouse that the greatest and most irreversible tragedy for a people is to be conquered.” (Note 10)[vi] (Corbo’s translation)
Having expressed pleasure in finding that New France had become Old France, Tocqueville then fears for the future of the French nation he has visited. He was right. The French-Canadian habitant was still prosperous, but there did come a point when the thirty acres could no longer be divided. In fiction as in history, regionalism died. In his 1938 Trente Arpents, or Thirty Acres,Ringuet, the pseudonym used by Philippe Panneton, chronicled its passing away in a poignant manner. The habitant had nowhere to go. Nearly a million French-Canadians and Acadians left for the United States.
Tocqueville, Alexis de, Œuvres complètes : œuvres, papiers et correspondances, édition définitive publiée sous la direction de J. P. Mayer, Paris, Gallimard, 1951-2002, 18 tomes en 30 volumes.
Alexis de Tocqueville, Correspondance familiale, Œuvres complètes, t. XIV, Paris, Gallimard, 1998) in Œuvres complètes.
Our habitant says “For the love of God,” knocking at his lawyer’s door, and “Go to the Devil,” as he leaves. He is wearing a hat called une tuque and his ceinture fléchée.
Love to everyone and a Happy New Year ♥ ____________________
Allan J. MacEachen, a long-serving Liberal MP and senator from Cape Breton, has died at St. Martha’s Hospital in Antigonish, N.S., on Monday night. (Mike Dembeck/Canadian Press)
My dear friend and former neighbour for 22 years, the Honourable Allan J. MacEachen, died on 12 September 2017, the year Canada celebrated its 150th birthday and the year he turned 96. Mr MacEachen passed away at St Martha’s Hospital in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He had studied at St Francis Xavier University and returned to StFX to teach Economics. He owned a house across the street from the campus, a few steps from my house. In fact, Allan J.’s backyard ran into mine. I didn’t fully own my backyard. We therefore shared the backyard and a barn.
In other words, this post isn’t about Allan J. MacEachen, a foremost Canadian politician and also a statesman. It is about the extraordinary gentleman who lived next door to me and about a very dear friend. Let us begin with the barn.
The Barn
That barn was quite the building. It could have been used as a garage, but it served as storage space. That is where we kept our gardening tools, a lawn mower, ladders, scaffolding, not to mention picks and shovels and tires. Paul mowed the lawn. To be precise, Paul mowed three adjoining lawns: Mr MacEachen’s, Dr Cecil MacLean’s and mine. Dr Cecil MacLean, a graduate of the Sorbonne, was Chair of the Department of Modern Languages. Initially, he was the Carnegie Chair of French.
The barn was somewhat special. For one thing, it had a hidden room. How else could it be so long a building on the outside, but not very deep inside? I was perplexed and I decided to investigate matters. I found a small door, hidden behind an apple tree and vegetation I had to cut my way through. The door had been left unlocked, so, I climbed in and explored. After it was found, I had a lock installed on the door. It was no longer hidden. The next time he came from Ottawa, Mr MacEachen was introduced to his collection of antiques. He was very interested and had some of these antiques refurbished.
I enjoyed looking after our backyard. In the summer, I filled a white urn with red flowers and put a tall green plant in the middle. I sat the urn close to his back door, which is where he parked the car. Finding the right place for this urn was not easy. I walked back and forth until I found what I believe was the best location. I also loved delineating the driveways, his and mine. I had gardeners put little white stones, crushed marble I believe, on one side of the two adjoining driveways. On the other side, we had a very long hedge which I trimmed so it wouldn’t scratch Mr MacEachen’s car.
The Drive from the Airport: poor Mr MacEachen
Before flying down from Ottawa to Antigonish, Mr MacEachen would phone me, or Pearl did. Pearl Hunter was Mr MacEachen’s secretary and, to a large extent, a colleague.
She died on 22 July 2017, which must have saddened Mr MacEachen enormously. We had a marvellous lunch together a few summers ago. There were four of us: Allan J., Pearl, Craig Smith, who was Mr MacEachen’s devoted and constant companion after Mr MacEachen suffered a stroke in 2004, and there was little me. How thoughtful of Mr MacEachen to invite Pearl!
Sometimes, when I knew he was coming to Antigonish, I called in our cleaning ladies: Adèle and her sister. Both lived in Pomquet, a nearby Acadian community. As well, on one occasion, I drove Mr MacEachen’s car to the airport to pick him up. I arrived at the airport safely and on time. However, on our way back to Antigonish, we stopped to eat a doughnut at a Tim Horton‘s and, as we left, Mr MacEachen said that he would drive the rest of the way. Based on this one event, one can tell Mr MacEachen was a born diplomat. He was much too polite to tell me I was a poor driver and I didn’t ask why he wanted to drive.
The Frozen Pipes
One day, when Mr MacEachen arrived home, his heating system had failed and the radiators had burst. I was in Sherbrooke, Quebec, visiting with my family. As for Mr MacEachen’s tenant, Joe, he was also absent. Poor Allan J. could not sleep in his house. He went to see Cecil who considered sending him to my house. But what about the stuffed rabbit lying on my bed: a Steiff rabbit. Mr MacEachen went elsewhere. When his tenant left, I started visiting the house every day. Yet, there was another incident, which is my main story. It is about the intrusion of a raccoon.
The Raccoon
That event is an event to recall. The fellow–I called him Stokely in memory of another raccoon, found his way down the chimney to the bottom of the fireplace. The fireplace was in a beautiful room which the raccoon damaged extensively. The door to that room was closed, so I did not open it during my daily visit. As a result, Allan J. was the first to see the damage. In fact, the raccoon was still in the chimney. We blocked it from the room, but Stokely lived there. I said to Mr MacEachen that I would look after everything with the help of good friends.
Claude said that we would have to smoke Stokely out. Smoke him out? Wouldn’t that hurt him? No, he said. We used Cuban cigars, perhaps a gift from Fidel Castro himself. I protested. Imagine, history going up in flames so a raccoon would leave his comfortable nest in a chimney! But Claude insisted. We only needed a few cigars. Claude had made a grid that would block the chimney. I believe Richard was with us, waiting to see the raccoon emerge and leave. When Stokely came out, he looked in every direction and ran to safety. Richard told Claude to drop the grid.
I had to throw several cushions away and called in professional cleaners. I also had to replace one of the curtains. It had to be custom-made and Mr MacEachen always ran the risk of paying what I called the senatorial fee–by then Mr MacEachen was a senator. The curtain was sown shabbily and I have always regretted not making it myself.
There were other backyard adventures. For instance, the alarm system Mr MacEachen had installed was sensitive and would go off if a curtain moved. The Company would then phone me and I’d run to the house and inspect, sometimes fighting my way through heavy snow. But all was always well.
A Kind Gentleman
Mr MacEachen was very considerate. After Dr Cecil MacLean died–Cecil and I were always together, he told me he would protect me. I did not learn until much later that I needed protection. He knew that I lived alone and went to bed early so that fatigue would not prevent me from teaching the next day. At Christmas, he asked if I had a place to go and brought me a gift. He also made sure I was not left alone on my birthday.
One July, the week of our birthdays, I drove to Lake Ainslie, Cape Breton, where Mr MacEachen had a house. He had invited members of the Robichaud family and a relative of his, a priest. It turned out the Robichaud family knew one of my father’s best friends. As for the priest, he had been in Rome when my mother’s cousin taught theology at what was then called the Angelicum.
Mr MacEachen also toured my house. I had told him that my bedroom was the smallest room in the house. Why was I depriving myself of larger quarters? I led him from room to room. As he looked, he seemed reassured. The house was small but it was a jewel, the smallest room in particular. I had a beautiful blue house, covered with cedar shingles. Many of you know that this is the house I sold during the Summer of 2002. I had fallen ill because my workload had become too heavy.
Mr MacEachen tried to prevent me from selling the house, but I thought it was too late to cancel. Two years later, my disability benefits were terminated. So, once again, Mr MacEachen tried to help me resume my career, but the Vice-President did not listen to him. I wanted to return to my office and it was available. However, I was being sent elsewhere. No, I had never been remiss in my duties despite chronic fatigue syndrome.
They didn’t know me, but Mr MacEachen did.
Conclusion
I knew a more private Mr MacEachen, but I agree with Justin Trudeau. Mr MacEachen (6 July 1921 – 12 September 2017), “made this country.”
The man who said to me: “I will protect you,” protected all of us Canadians. He knew about the social contract and lived it. Citizens pay their taxes and their government makes sure they are safe. Mr MacEachen made sure Canadians were safe.
The Government of Nova Scotia celebrated Mr MacEachen’s life on Sunday 17 September 2017, at the Keating Centre, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish. His funeral took place at Stella Maris Catholic Church in Inverness, Cape Breton and he was buried in the parish cemetery.
May you rest in peace, Mr MacEachen. You have built a country and will always be remembered.
I have moved to my new apartment, but it was a difficult and lengthy move, longer than I anticipated. My challenge was downsizing. The apartment I have bought is spacious, ±1056 sq ft (±98.1 sq meters), but it has fewer rooms than my former apartment. I had to give furniture, books and clothes, but I still have everything I need.
Given my age, this building is a safer environment than the building I left. It has elevators and it is situated within walking distance of a small market place and a café.
The time has come to return to my weblog. I have missed you. I still have boxes containing books to unpack. Some of these books will be given, but I am having bookcases built to house the ones I am keeping.
Following the publication of my last post, I received information from Paul Nicklen, a scientist and a photographer for Sea Legacy and National Geographic magazine. The document Mr Nicklen sent me was on official White House stationary and, I suspect, many individuals were sent a copy. It was signed in the following manner.
Paul Nicklen
Wildlife Photojournalist
Nanoose Bay, British Columbia, Canada.
The document seemed private, which may no longer be the case.
The link below took me to Mr Nicklen’s fascinating but alarming account of the Arctic and the word “yesterday” was the day before yesterday, probably 20 December 2016. The following is a link to the document, but the document inserted itself at the bottom of my post automatically:
I am not a scientist. Therefore I cannot speak personally and accurately about the effects of global warming in the Arctic. I have to rely on the testimonial of experts. All I know is that the Arctic is very rich, but I have now read that:
“The danger of an oil spill would deliver a fatal blow to this pristine and critically important ecosystem.”
Mr Nicklen wrote:
“As a scientist, what I know about the Arctic is terrifying. Currently, it’s warming twice as fast as anywhere else on the planet. As a photographer, I can observe and document these effects first-hand: receding glaciers, struggling wildlife populations, and cities impacted by rising sea levels.
And as the landscape changes, driven by climate change, I am watching the Arctic region become increasingly vulnerable. In particular, we should see the rapid disappearance of sea ice here for what it is: a sign of imminent and catastrophic change. The danger of an oil spill would deliver a fatal blow to this pristine and critically important ecosystem.”
But — with the leadership of President Obama — we’ve taken a step forward.”
I gather that, given the above, Mr Putin cannot come in and drill. The Arctic may be very rich, but it is “off limits” for excellent reasons. We cannot kill the Arctic because we would lose what it has to give. There would be no remedy. In other words, it’s a “Poule aux œufs d’or” (Hen with the Golden Eggs) narrative. (See RELATED ARTICLES.)
Privatization
good and bad
education, an example
healthcare
global warming
The Trump presidency will affect Americans in many ways, but, first and foremost, we must expect privatization. In this regard, citizens of the United States must act. In certain areas, privatization will not be harmful to citizens, but in others, it could wreak havoc.
For instance, limits must be put on the privatization of education. An education cannot be the privilege of the rich. A good education is an extraordinary tool in that it gives everyone more freedom. For instance, it allows informed voting, which was needed on 8 November 2016. The 2016 American Election was so flawed we can call it a disgrace!
However, everything has to be put into perspective and we must then go from plan A to plan B.
Healthcare, for instance, is a “right.” Taxes buy protection and safety. They also buy a good education or job-training, adequate housing and, as we advance, they may also guarantee a universal minimum income.
The well-to-do can also buy safe and effective contraceptives, a vasectomy, tubal ligation, a hysterectomy and an abortion when it constitutes a medical imperative, which is why the Ohio “Heartbeat” Bill is a slap in the face for women belonging the middle-class and poor women. It is the beginning of serious cuts in health-care legislation and must not be voted into law. A five-year old is too young to carry a child. (See Lina Medina, Wikipedia.)
However, if Insurance Companies have a monopoly on healthcare, the United States will be stepping back to an era where cancer was considered a pre-existing condition and the sick were left to die in pain. An insurance company’s first goal is a profit. They are in business. The same is true of pharmaceutical companies.
Mr Trump has stated that he does not “believe in” global warming. Well, global warming is not a matter of faith (I believe in); it is a matter of fact. If the United States does not protect the environment, the world will not survive. This would be the ultimate genocide.
Canada and the United States: an Agreement
On 10 March 2016, Canada signed an agreement with the United States concerning the Arctic and the environment:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Barack Obama hold a joint press conference in Washington, D. C.
Conclusion
As I surfed the Internet yesterday, I saw a comment that caught my attention. Mr Trump likes Russian President Vladimir Putin because he is a good “leader.” What does Mr Trump mean? Mr Trump would have liked to silence the press, a freedom the press will not abandon. Mr Trump may also intimidate a few leaders, but all he does will be screened by the press. Freedom of speech will never have been so free and focused. Moreover, it will still be the government of the people by the people.
Mr Trudeau fils should perhaps remember his father Pierre Trudeau‘s words:
“Living next to you [the US] is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt.”
« Être votre voisin, c’est comme dormir avec un éléphant; quelque douce et placide que soit la bête, on subit chacun de ses mouvements et de ses grognements. »
Addressing the Press Club in Washington, D.C. (25 March 1969)
All 13 provinces and territories are sending Liberal MPs to Ottawa for the 42nd Parliament, part of a broad and decisive win by Justin Trudeau’s campaign. (Sean Kilpatrick/Canadian Press)
Portrait of Sha-kó-ka, a Mandan girl, by George Catlin, 1832 (Caption and photo credit: Wikipedia)
A varied Settlement of the Americas
My post on the Ten Lost Tribes: Native Americans generated more interest than I expected. This theory dates back to James Adair‘s (c. 1709 – 1783) History of the Indians, in 1775, and it is supported by Israeli scholars. (See Ten Lost Tribes, Wikipedia.) However, their entering through the Bering Strait during the last glacialperiod is not the only account of the migration of Amerindians to the Americas. Another account, besides the Ten Lost Tribes, is Welsh prince Madog or Madoc‘s story.
Madoc’s Story: White Native Americans
According to folklore, Madoc ab Owain Gwyneed, a Welsh prince and therefore a white man, sailed to America in 1170. These Amerindians were first mentioned in a cywydd, an epic poem, by the Welsh poet Maredudd ap Rhys (fl. 1450 – 83) of Powys.” The existence of these white Amerindians is, of course, a disputed issue, but there may have been Welsh-speaking “Indians.”
There is a tradition of a “white Indian” settlement at Louisville, Ky., and several 17th- and 18th-century reports were published concerning encounters of frontiersmen with Welsh-speaking Indians. Most anthropologists reject the idea of pre-Columbian European contacts with American Indians, but the evidence is not conclusive. The story is the basis of the epic poem Madoc (1805) by the English poet Robert Southey.[1]
Painting of a Mandan village by George Catlin, ca. 1833 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Mandan Tribe
Their descendants would be the Mandan tribe of South Dakota. Artist George Catlin (26 July 1796 – 23 December 1872), who specialized in painting Amerindians, “thought the Mandan bull boat to be similar to the Welsh coracle.” It should also be noted that the Mandan tribe, established “permanent villages featuring large, round,earth lodges, some 40 feet (12 m) in diameter, surrounding a central plaza.” These earth lodges are displayed in the images above and below. (See Mandan, Wikipedia.)
Mandan Village by George Catlin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
In his 1584 Historie of Cambria, David Powelreported that, dissatisfied with the quarrels that divided his family, Welsh Prince Madoc ab Owain Gwynedd, one of the numerous sons of King Owain Gwynedd, and his brother Rhirid, tried to create a settlement in North America. On board their ships were 100 settlers: men, women, and children, who disembarked.
The brothers sailed back to Wales to recruit more settlers, but the second group of Welsh colonists ported in Mexico. As for Madoc and Rhirid, they never returned to Wales, nor did they visit their North American colony.
We do not know where Madoc’s North American colonists ported, but they intermarried and it is claimed that they are the ancestors of the Mandan tribe, Plains Amerindians who lived on the banks of the Missouri River and its tributaries and spoke a Siouan language, and if their encounters with Welsh-speaking colonists are not imaginary, some may also have spoken Welsh.
The theory according to which the Mandans are descendants of the Welsh has been mostly discredited. But there are reports of encounters. According to Wikipedia, Francis Lewis, a Welshman, was captured by Louis-Joseph de Montcalm during the French and IndianWar (1754 – 1763). During his captivity, Francis Lewis is said “to have had a conversation with an Indian chief who spoke Welsh, which apparently saved his life.” There were other such encounters. (See Madoc, Wikipedia.)
Cheyenne Amerindians using a travois(Photo credit: Google images)
Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de LaVérendrye (17 November 1685 – 5 December 1749), known as La Vérendrye, named the Mandans. He had heard Mantannes. The cart pulled by dogs or horses used by Plains Amerindians, is called a travois, from the French travail FR. La Vérendrye and his four sons opened the territory west of Lake Superior. Two of his sons reached the Rocky Mountains.
The Mandans were farmers and therefore sedentary, but the “buffalo,” or bison, was central to their survival, as it was to all Plains Amerindians. Its destruction by the white led to famine. In fact, it was genocidal. The bison provided meat, clothing, teepees (tents) and other essentials of life.
American General Phil Sheridan said, “Let them kill, skin and sell until the buffalo are exterminated. Then your prairies can be covered with speckled cattle and the festive cowboy.”
Four million buffaloes were killed in Canada and Amerindians participated in the mass slaughter of their very livelihood. I suspect they acted out of fear. (See The BuffaloSlaughter in a People’s History,Canadian Broadcasting Corporation).
King Philip‘s fear that Amerindians would lose the land that fed them was in no way imaginary. John Wadsworth Longfellow made famine the demise of Hiawatha‘s people, which was fictional but not imaginary.
Please click on the images to enlarge them.
A Skin Lodge of an Assiniboin Chief
Fort Clark on the Missouri, February 1834 by Karl Bodmer
A pair of Mandan men in a print by Karl Bodmer, 19th century
“Mató-Tope, a Mandan chief”: aquatint by Karl Bodmer
The art above is by Swiss-French artist Karl Bodmer (11 February 1809 – 30 October 1893)
Yet, their skin colour was lighter than that of other American aboriginals, which is not obvious in the art of Catlin and Bodmer. Their features, however, could be European. It has therefore been speculated that they were of European origin, just as Cherokees would be the descendants of the Ten Lost Tribes. Interest in matters exotic and disappearing aboriginals is one of the characteristics of 19th-century scholarship, literature, and the fine arts. It may have led Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied to study the manners, customs, and language of the Mandan tribe. For instance, prince Maximilian looked for possible similarities between Welsh and the Siouan language of the Mandans.
In 1832,Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied and 23-year-old artist Karl Bodmer, also known as Jean-Charles Bodmer, went up the Missouri River and visited the Mandans and other Native Americans. In 1840, Prince Maximilian published his Travels in the Interior of North America during the years 1832-1834 (Reise in das Innere Nord-Amerikas, 1840). Prince Maximilian’s account of his travels, illustrated by Karl Bodmer, and George Catlin’s paintings may well constitute the only remains of the Mandan tribe, some of whom may have been of Welsh descent. According to the Census of 2010, there are very few Mandans left, a mere 365 full-bloods and 806 of partial Mandan ancestry.
Encampment of the travellers on the Missouri. Maximilian is likely the man on the right in blue smoking a pipe. Aquatint illustration by Karl Bodmer(Caption and Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Conclusion
It would be unrealistic to assume that all Native Americans entered the Americas from the Beringia Land Bridge. Diversity among Amerindians precludes a single point of origin. In all likelihood people crossed the Atlantic Ocean from the moment there was an Atlantic Ocean to cross. This is what human beings have always done. Europeans were fishing off the coast of Newfoundland in the 1200s.
Therefore, although Madoc’s story seems a little fanciful, it has entered the pages of the Encyclopædia Britannica and it is told in a wealth of details in Wikipedia. Although we cannot ascertain there ever lived a Madog or Madoc, it occurred to the British that they should claim discovery of the Americas because Madoc was in the Americas 300 years before Christopher Columbus. (See Madoc, Wikipedia.)
Grey Day, Laurentians by A. Y. Jackson, 1928 (Photo credit:wikiart.org)
It is still summer in Sherbrooke. In fact, summer did not begin until late July, if not later. Yet, we will soon be fascinated by autumn’s palette of colours: shades of red, yellow, purple, burgundy: a study in vibrant colours. This type of scenery was depicted by members of the Group of Seven(see Group of Seven, Canadian Encyclopedia). And so was winter. Above is A. Y. Jackson’s Red Maple (1914), an early painting, but most of the paintings I am showing are winter landscapes depicting Quebec. Jackson was born in Montreal, and it would appear we all belong to the land of our youth.
The Red Maple by A. Y. Jackson, 1914 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Therefore, A. Y. Jackson was an unlikely member of the Group of Seven, of which he was a founding member all of whom portrayed Canada’s wilderness. Matters changed, when Jackson exhibited his Edge of the Maple Wood(1910), shown below. The painting drew the attention of the Group ofSeven’s only wealthy member, Lawren Harris, who purchased it. Jackson could not earn a living in Montreal.
Saint-Tite-des-Caps by A. Y. Jackson (Photo credit: Google Images
Barns by A. Y. Jackson (Photo credit: wikiart.org)
A Quebec Village (Photo credit: Heffel Gallery)
The Group of Seven
Recognition worked its magic and induced A. Y. Jackson to move to Toronto where he first shared a studio with Tom Tompson (Canadian Encyclopedia), the artist featured in my last post.
“Jackson taught Thomson aspects of technique, especially colour, while Thomson taught Jackson about the Canadian wilderness (see A. Y. Jackson, Canadian Encyclopedia).”
Jackson visited Algonguin Park, where Thomson built his cabin, loved its scenery and chose to be a landscape artist. He also went west, to the Rocky Mountains, but by and large, he worked in Ontario areas associated with the Group of Seven such as Algonguin Park, the Algoma district, Georgian Bay and the North Shore (Lake Superior), etc. But Jackson also painted Quebec.
The video we will view shows Tom Thompson, the Group’s precursor, as well as Emily Carr and David Milne, celebrated artists who also loved nature untamed.
The West Wind by Tom Thomson (Photo credit: Wikiart.org)
The “West Wind” is a major character in The Song of Hiawatha. It is Mudjekeewis, Hiawatha’s father, presuming he has a father.
In April 2012, I published a post featuring Tom Thomson‘s “West Wind” (1917). The “West Wind” is also a major character in the art of Tom Thomson (5 August 1877 – 8 July 1977). I sense similarities.
Thomson died before the Group of Seven was formed. However, given the subject matter of his paintings, his style as an artist, not to mention his lifestyle, that of a woodsman, he is considered as a precursor to members of the Group of Seven, arguably Canada’s most renowned group of artists. However, his lifestyle and the very title of the painting featured above also suggest cultural kinship with the Amerindians of the Central Woodland, thus identified by Stith Thompson.[1]
Tom Thomson settled in Algonquin Park in 1914, where he worked as a firefighter and guide, but lived in a cabin, devoting most of his time to his art. Thomson died during a canoeing trip. He was only 39. His premature death has served to transform him into a legend. The legend, however, is his art.
Landscape by Tom Thomson 1915
Evening, Canoe Lake by Tom Thomson, 1916
Pine Island, Georgian Bay by Tom Thomson 1916
The Jack Pine by Tom Thomson, 1917
Testimonials to a virgin past about to be destroyed for profit are numerous. Climate protected the Central Woodland. It was cold and therefore uninviting to loggers. But ‘improved’ harvesting technologies won the day. The Arctic is melting down.
There’s land left, but too much was harvested in a way that could not allow regrowth. It was harvested in the name of profit, and the prospect of profit numbs reason.
Humans kill. They kill in the name of profit. They also kill in the name of God. They kill.
Manabozho created land and whatever land had been lost to a flood, he created again. Such was his godliness.
1885 photo of Robert Harris‘ 1884 painting, Conference at Quebec in 1864, to settle the basics of a union of the British North American Provinces, also known as The Fathers of Confederation. The original painting was destroyed in the 1916 Parliament Buildings Centre Block fire. The scene is an amalgamation of the Charlottetown and Quebec City conference sites and attendees. (Caption and photo credit: Wikipedia)
The French Language in Canada
My next post is about the controversial language laws passed in the Province of Quebec in the 1970s: Bill 22, the Official Language Act, Quebec (1974), and Bill 101, or Charter of the French Language (1977). However, it would be useful to know how many citizens spoke French in the years that followed what many Quebecers still call the “conquest” until the last census.
French-speaking population
1663: 3,000
1712: 20,000
1760: 70,000
2011: 7.3 million
According to Wikipedia, the population of New France was 3,000 in 1663. It grew to 20,000 in 1712 and then jumped to 70,000 in 1760, the year the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (13 September 1760) was fought. (The plains belonged to an individual named Abraham.) At the moment. At the moment, “French is the mother tongue of about 7.3 million Canadians (22% of the Canadian population, second to English at 58.4%) according to Census Canada 2011.” (See French language in Canada, Wikipedia.)
This information takes us to and beyond the Official Languages Act (Canada), which recognized Canada as an officially bilingual country. The Official Languages Act became effective on 9 September 1969.
Although it ceded New France to Britain, by virtue of the Treaty of Paris (1763), France did not do so unconditionally. The inhabitants of New France would continue to speak French and practice their religion (Roman Catholicism). Moreover, they would retain their Seigneurial System, which was not abolished until 1854. (See The Royal Proclamation of 1763, Wikipedia.)
General Sir Guy Carleton(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
British soldiers and Provincial militiamen repulse the American assault at Sault-au-Matelot, Canada, December 1775, by William Jefferys(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Quebec Act of 1774
Motivation
Benefits to Quebec
England could have reneged on its promises, but its Thirteen Colonies, running down the east coast of the current United States, were threatening to become independent of their motherland, Britain. The Declaration of Independence was promulgated on 4 July 1776 and, in 1783, the Thirteen Colonies won the American Revolutionary War, with the support of France.
General Sir Guy Carleton, 1st baron Dorchester
Guy Carleton, 1st baron DorchesterKB, may have felt Britain could need the help of Quebecers and their Amerindian allies in order to fight rebellious “Americans.” This could be the case, but the status the “Quebec Act” gave French-speaking Canadians tends to outweigh other considerations. Moreover, the Act was unsolicited.
Be that as it may, in 1774, the “Quebec Act” was proclaimed. The “Quebec Act” was a British statute which “received royal assent 22 June 1774 and became effective 1 May 1775.” As defined in the Canadian Encyclopedia, the “Quebec Act:”
expanded the territory of the Province of Quebec;
guaranteed religious freedom;
provided a “simplified Test Oath, which omitted references to religion, enabl[ing] them to enter public office conscientiously;”
“restored French civil law;”
“provided for the continued use of the Seigneurial system.”[1]
According to Wikipedia, the following are the principal components of the Quebec Act:
Reference to the Protestant faith was removed from the oath of allegiance.
It guaranteed free practice of the Catholic faith.
It restored the use of the French civil law for matters of private law, except that in accordance with the English common law, it granted unlimited freedom of testation. It maintained English common law for matters of public law, including administrative appeals, court procedure, and criminal prosecution.
It restored the Catholic Church’s right to impose tithes.
“It would be easier to buy Canada than to try to conquer it.” Benjamin Franklin
Rebellious “Americans” did attack in 1775, but “the francophone upper classes allied themselves with the British. As a result, despite the capitulation of Montreal, the siege of Québec failed, prompting Benjamin Franklin’s famous statement that it would be easier to buy Canada than to try to conquer it.”[2]
Until the Révolution tranquille, the 1960s, a very high birthrate, the revenge of the cradle(s)(la revanche des berceaux), and “colonisation,” settling north, also ensured the survival of French in Canada. But it is unlikely that a vibrant French Canada would have developed had it not been for the “Quebec Act” of 1774.
Photo: Adrian Wyld La Presse canadienne Un policier prend position devant le parlement où des coups de feu ont été échangés.
(A policemen gets into position in front of the Parliament buildings where gun shots were exchanged.)
Stunning News
I just picked up the local newspaper and read that, yesterday, a soldier was killed in Ottawa. I have yet to read all fourteen pages devoted to the killing by a would-be terrorist, in Ottawa, Canada’s capital. The above picture was copied from Le Devoir, the leading French-language paper in Canada.terrorist, in Canada’s capital. The above picture was copied from Le Devoir, the leading French-language paper in Canada.
Names, etc.
The suspected killer has been identified as Montreal-born Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, aged 32. The victim was Nathan Frank Cirillo, aged 24. Michael Zehaf-Bibeau was shot by sergeant Kevin Vickers. Two individuals were injured.
—ooo—
I watch the News at suppertime, but yesterday I had flu symptoms and a temperature. I walked in front of the television set without turning it on.
At least one French-Canadian, from Sherbrooke, where I live, has joined Isis. He has been reported missing and may have been killed. An inquiry is under way.
Needless to say Canada’s Muslim population fears retaliation, but they are not to blame.
The above is the reason why I am trusting President Obama. He is in possession of facts denied civilians for security reasons. I understand why President Obama has a friendly relationship with former President George W. Bush. The attacks of 11 September 2001 could cause undue haste.
Allow me to read the details and get back to you.
The scene inside: Attack in the Hall of Honour(Photo credit: The Globe and Mail)
