The Icelandic Canadian - 01.12.1955, Page 37

THE ICELANDIC CANADIAN
35
obtain for themselves and their des-
cendants the necessities of life, an op-
portunity to continue and develop
their cultural heritage, and the right
to participate in the growth and expan-
sion, political, social, moral and intel-
lectual of the nation of which they
were to become a part. The story is
one of almost incredible hardships,
faced with courage and determination.
For an understanding of the contri-
bution made by the Icelanders and of
the reason why they have so easily and
naturally merged into the body of
Canadian citizenship the opening
chapters of this book list a number oi
fundamental causes. These include the
love of freedom which impelled the
Norse forefathers of the Icelanders to
refuse to submit to the yoke of Harold
the Fairhaired, thus leading to the
settlement of Iceland.
Evidence from studies by Prof.
Steffensen is produced based chiefly
on skull measurements and blood
groupings. His study indicates that the
Icelanders are an admixture of Norse
and Celtic strains. A similar blending
of the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic elements
in the formation of the British nation
is pointed out. The tendency of nordics
to merge with other races and be as-
similated is perha;ps best exemplified
in the settlement of Normandy by the
vikings, though similar settlements
also occurred in the Austrian Tyro;
and in other regions.
Icelanders have from the earliest
times been well acquainted with demo-
cratic processes. Their parliament the
Althing has been recognized as the
Grandmother of Parliaments, antedat-
ing even the Mother of Parliaments of
Great Britain. It is but natural that
the Icelanders of Saskatchewan should
have played a prominent part as lead-
ers in -that province by holding public
office.
Although the Icelanders have
merged easily and naturally into the
life of the Province of Saskatchewan,
they have still retained their love oi
the great and continuing literature of
their homeland.
The place of Icelandic as a living
and as a root language is discussed.
This has been well recognized by the
Icelanders themselves, and provision
made for the continuance of Icelandic
studies by the establishment of a Chair
of Icelandic at the University of Mani-
toba. To this worthy cause the Sask-
atchewan Icelanders contributed gener-
ously.
The tradition among the Icelanders
of a love of learning for its own sake
led to the establishment of schools and
libraries as a first requisite even in
the early settlements. The tradition
of self education—passing on by word
of mouth the best in the literary ef-
forts of the period and of the past lay
at the foundation of Icelandic culture.
Because of their love of learning the
Icelanders have produced many emin-
ent scholars and Icelanders or students
of Icelandic descent have often swept
the boards at Canadian Universities.
The Saskatchewan Icelanders accept-
ed not only the privileges but also the
duties and responsibilities of Canadian
citizenship. Their voluntary enlistment
in great numbers in the armed forces
during both the First and Second
Great Wars is but one evidence of
their loyalty. The story of their war
effort is well depicted in the pages of
this book.
The illustrations consisting of photo-
graphs and drawings are of great
value in indicating, among other
things, the nature of the hardships