Lögberg-Heimskringla - 28.07.1966, Blaðsíða 5

LÖGBERG-HEIMSKRINGLA, FIMMTUDAGINN 28. JÚLI 1966
5
Canada and the lcelander
Við þökkum Eric Stefánsson, Sambandsþingmanni, fyrir
ýmiskonar lesefni varðandi íslendinga, er hann hefur sent
okkur frá Ottawa, ekki sízt fyrir eftirfarandi bréf og ritgerð,
er Dr. Thorbergur heitinn Thorvaldson skrifaði í Sask. há-
skólaritið The Sheaf í apríl 1915 og hefur víst aldrei verið
birt annarsstaðar, en hún er eins tímabær nú eins og þá. I. J.
LETTER TO ERIC STEFANSON ESQ. M.P.
Dear Eric,
I waí speaking to you yesterday and told you how im-
pressed I was with an article on the Icelander which appeared
in my graduation Year Book of the University of Saskatch-
ewan. I have had a photostatic copy made and am sending it
herewith.
There will be little new in it for you, but the fact that it
was written over fifty years ago was a prophecy of the future
which has proven to be right.
With kind regards, I am,
Yours sincerely,
J. G. Diefenbaker
Canada and the lcelander
The last decade or two has
brought a movement towards
the strengthening of the rac-
ial bond among the different
peoples of Europe. This move-
ment has usually found its ex-
pression in the reclaiming of a
language partly fallen into
disuse, and in the attempt to
exclude from the daily life of
the people of the race concern-
ed, the language which for pol-
itical reasons had come into
general use. It has swept over
Europe without the least re-
gard to the boundaries artifici-
ally determined by treaties
between the powers. Some-
times it has been the ruling
factor in local politics, or even
determined the political par-
ties of large states; it has caus-
ed deadlocks in the machinery
of government and as in Bo-
hemia (Austria) financial dis-
asters and temporary bank-
ruptcy of the state.
While Europe has thus been
moving away from national
unity as determined by geo-
graphical considerations, to-
wards that unity determined
by race and by language,
America has been attempting
the experiment of assimilat-
ing all the different nation-
alities of Europe. It is only
lately, with the enormous
rush of immigration to Can-
ada, that this problem of ass-
imilation has been brought
vividly to our minds, and we
are asking ourselves again and
again, if Canada is going to
succeed where Europe has
apparently failed. Is the pro-
duct going to be a unified na-
tion or a piecemeal one with
the attendant internal strug-
gle? We can congratulate our-
selves that so far it does seem
that the experience of Europe
is going to be reversed in
America. The reason for this
is probably to be found in the
different attitude of the people
of two nationalities to one
another here and in Europe.
In America we have substitut-
ed the idea of co-operalion for
that of subjeciion in Europe.
Instead of considering this
question of the development of
a unified Canadian nation
from its general aspects, it
might be of interest to con-
sider it from the particular
standpoint of one of the many
nationalities concerned.
The Icelanders were the
first people of other national-
ity than French or British to
come in large numbers to
Western Canada. After spend-
ing a year or two in Ontario a
large party of them, 300
strong made their way to Win-
nipeg in the year 1875.
At that time Winnipeg had a
white population of only 600
and had no railway connection
with any other city . The
prairie did not look inviting
to the settlers as just then a
scourge of grasshoppers had
laid it waste, so that hardly
any grass was to be seen. The
p a r t y therefore proceeded
farther down the Red River
to Lake Winnipeg, and down
along the west shore of the
Lake. There they were pleas-
ed to dind no grasshoppers, a
rich soil, and p 1 e n t y of
fish in the lake. The heavy
forest did not seem to present
itself as a serious difficulty.
The Canadian Government
immediately set aside a large
tract of land on the west shore
of Lake Winnipeg for exclus-
ive settlement of Icelanders.
Soon there were between two
and three thousand people in
the district, which had its
southern boundary 60 miles
north of Winnipeg and stretch-
ed along the lake for 50 miles.
Many privations were, how-
ever, in store for the settlers
and a few years later an ex-
odus from the settlement be-
gan in search for better land.
This led to settlements in
other parts of Manitoba, in
North Dakota and in the ter-
ritories of the North West. The
settlements in Winnipeg and
on Lake Winnipeg date from
1875, that in Argyle, a hun-
dred miles west of Winnipeg,
from 1880, that near Church-
bridge, Sask., from 1886 and
that on the Red Deer River in
Alberta from 1888. The dates
show that Icelanders were real
pioneers in the West. The
settlement on Lake Winnipeg
dwindled until only some 50
families remained, but after
1886 there was further immi-
gration to the district from
Iceland, and later from North
Dakota; so that the settlement
is still the largest one in Can-
ada, with an estimated Ice-
landic population of 6,000. It
is further estimated that there
are between thirty and forty
thousand people of Icelandic
extraction in the various set-
tlements scattered over West-
ern Canada.
How can we judge as to the
extent of the assimilation of
these people in the new Cana-
dian nation? Some may ask
whether they are willing when
the opportunity presents itself
to make sacrifices for the land
of their adoption. We might
reply that as early as 1885 at
the time of the Riel Rebellion
some twenty Icelanders vol-
unteered in Winnipeg and
fought under Middleton at
Fish Creek and Batoche; that
some found their graves in
South Africa during the Boer
War; while a large number of
the sons of the early pioneers
are at present in the trenches
in France as members of the
First Canadian Contingent,
and more are awaiting their
turn as members of the sec-
ond contingent.
A part of the Universily of Saskatchewan Compus,
the Thorvaldson Building in the foreground.
(See article in Logberg - Heimskringla June 16)
The unveiling of ihe plaque at the main entrance to the
Thorvaldson Building, bearing the inscription:
The Thorvaldson Building
This Building is named for
Thorbergur Thorvaldson, C. F.
1883 - 1965
M.A., Ph.D., D.Sc. LL.D.,
F. R. S. C.
Head of Deparlment of
Chemistry
1919-1949
Dean of the College of
Graduate Studies
1946 - 1949
Nineteen hundred
and sixty-six
But judging by the exper-
ience of Europe, we should
rather consider the attitude
of the immigrant race to their
language, and to the language
of this country. Is there any
conflict between these or is
there likely to be a conflict on
that basis? Here again we will
consider the history of the
Icelandic settlements in Can-
ada.
At the time of the settle-
ment on Lake Winnipeg the
modern methods of organizing
schools among the foreigners
were not in vogue. In the year
1887 the settlers organized
two schools in the district. The
subjects taught were the Eng-
lish and Icelandic languages,
arithmetic, geography, history
and music. Later, when some
of the young people of the
settlement had attended
school in Winnipeg for a year
or two, schools were establish-
ed under the Laws of Man-
itoba. Soon these schools were
conducted exactly as those in
the English-speaking districts.
The Icelandic language was
taught in the home as was the
custom in the old country.
The number of public
schools and the interest in
higher education in the Ice-
landic settlements increased
rapidly. Students found their
way to the universities, and
intermediate schools were est-
ablished in some of the settle-
ments. Up till now nearly one
hundred Icelanders have re-
ceived degrees from Canadian
and American colleges and
universities. Usually these
students at the higher educa-
tional institutions cherish the
Icelandic language, while most
of them may be able to ex-
press themselves with greater
facility by means of the Eng-
lish language.
It is a significant fact that
while under the laws of Mani-
toba there might be some two
score English-Icelandic biling-
ual schools, there are actually
none in this province. This
however, does not mean that
the Icelander in this country
does not value his language.
In fact the average Icelander
is extremely proud of it and
cherishes it as the key to an
ancient literature unique in
northern Europe, as well as to
Framhald á bls. 7.
Special guests at the cere-
mony in t h e foreground:
Mrs. Thorbergur Thorvaldson,
Senator and Mrs. G. S. Thor-
valdson, Dr. and Mrs. Thor-
valdur Johnson, Consul Gen-
eral of Iceland G. L. Johann-
son, Prof Haraldur Bessason
and others.