Lögberg-Heimskringla - 20.08.1999, Blaðsíða 11

Lögberg-Heimskringla • Föstudagur 20. ágúst 1999 • 11
New Iceland travelling
exhibit
The New Iceland Heritage Museum
is producing a travelling exhibit to
be used in the long-term promotion of
the museum.
Work has begun on the concept of
the exhibit that is scheduled to open at
the Icelandic Emigration Centre in
Hofsós, Iceland in June 2000. The
Arbær Museum in Reykjavík has also
expressed interest in hosting the exhib-
it. We hope to secure locations in east-
em Canada for the fall of 2000 when
the exhibit returns from Iceland.
A model of the exhibit is currently
at the New Iceland Heritage Museum in
the Gimli Public School 1915. Stop in
and have a look if you are interested in
further details.
Courtesy o/Áfram, The New Iceland
Heritage Museum Newsletter.
Congratulations
on your
40th
Anniversary
as the
Lögberg-
Heimskringla !
Jon Sigurdsson
Chapter IODE
Celebrates the Centennial of
IODE in Canada with a
Special Offer
Veterans oflcelandic
Descent World War II
Available now at $10 per copy
(plus $4 postage)
Also, Icelandic Heritage
Dolls, at $35 and $50 each
To order, contact:
Johanna V/ilson
802-188 Roslyn Road
Winnipeg, MB R3L 0G8
(204) 453-2538
VIEWPOINT
Navigating
Continued from page 4
Canada, found the people so anxious to
demonstrate their new loyalties that he
urged them not to neglect the teaching
of Icelandic values and traditions to
their children. “We have gathered under
the flag of our new land and as British
subjects...” Friðjón Friðriksson began
his address, to which Lord Dufferin
responded, “Nor in becoming
Englishmen and subjects of Queen
Victoria need you forget your time-hon-
oured customs. On the contrary I trust
you will continue to cherish for all time,
the heart-stirring literature of your
nation, and that from generation to gen-
eration your little ones will continue to
learn in your ancient sagas that indus-
try, energy, fortitutde, perseverance,
and stubborn endurance have ever been
the characteristics of the noble
Icelandic race.” Here was multicultural-
ism at its finest—a century ahead of
time. The founders of New Iceland
were not unsophisticated boors seeking
to impose on Canada by setting up their
own autonomous foreign republic while
accepting both land and provisions
from the Candian Govemment—and to
create or convey that impression today
by using the term “republic” denigrates
and dishonours both them and us.
To argue that terminolgy is not sig-
nificant—that the public won’t care or
know the difference—reflects a shallow
and irresponsible view of history and
makes dangerous presumptions about
the capacity of present and future gen-
erations to grasp our heritage and draw
inferences about its relevance or irrele-
vance in Canadian society now and in
the future. Do we, in educating our
young people, want to promote superfi-
cial notions of cultural and political
separatism, ethnocentricity, and lost
sovereignty—so reminiscent of the
ideas which have brought our country
to the very brink of dissolution in recent
years? Or do we want to promote the
values our pioneer forebears
embraced—a progressive aríd responsi-
ble vision of cultures co-existing in har-
mony and mutual respect, jointly
enhancing a common society within the
political context of one country?
The Manitoba government’s 'recent
grant of a million dollars to our com-
munity’s cultural endeavours serves to
focus this issue and illustrate the clear
and present danger of perpetuating dis-
tortions of our history and heritage.
With regard to telling our story to the
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public and educating future generations
about our heritage, the Icelandic com-
munity has been given a golden oppor-
tunity to start fresh and do a first class
job—and with this opportunity comes
the responsibility to ensure that our his-
tory is portrayed accurately and appro-
priately. There is no need to fabricate or
embellish; our history is both rich and
unique enough to stand on its own mer-
its.
Those in the Icelandic community
who hold positions of cultural leader-
ship and responsibility have important
obligations—the duty to know and
understand the past, the responsibility
to preserve, build, and educate in the
present, and the challenge to chart a rel-
evant and viable course for the future.
The basis for all these things and the
common denominator which unites us
in endeavours such as the New Iceland
Museum is our history, and when we
take liberties with the truth as it pertains
to our heritage and our rightful place in
Canada, we venture into dangerous
waters. Perhaps this is best illustrated
by the fact that the New Iceland
Museum recently received an inquiry
from a separatist activist in Quebec who
wanted documentation proving the
existence of “the Republic of New
Iceland”—as flaunted on the intemet by
one of our number - to use as a legal
political precedent for the existence of a
separate sovereign state within the
Canadian state.
Now is the time—before any fur-
ther harm is done by disseminating this
dangerous nonsense—to dispel the ill-
conceived and erroneous notion of a
“Republic of New Iceland” and put it to
rest once and for all.
Now that it’s out there, hopefully it
won’t take nine generations to rid our-
selves of it.
We welcome readers’ responses to this
article.
United Icelandic Appeal
Continued from page 9
license and is an avid outdoors enthusi-
ast.
In addition to chairing the United
Icelandic Appeal, David is also a mem-
ber of Betel Heritage Foundation, and a
long-time member of The Icelandic
Festival, having served as chairman of
the Concessions Committee for sixteen
years.
The United Icelandic Appeal is cur-
rently seeking office space. Its present
phone number and mailing address is:
Box 42093
Winnipeg, MB
Phone: (204) 837-4031
Stay tuned for regular updates and
exciting announcements on the progress
of the United Icelandic Appeal and the
Betel Waterfront Centre fundraising
campaign.
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