13th annual Sharing Our Cultures event celebrates Newfoundland and Labrador's cultural diversity

The public is invited to the 13th official opening ceremonies of Sharing our Cultures - À la découverte de nos cultures, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, March 18, at The Rooms in St. John’s. Admission to Sharing Our Cultures is FREE but regular fees apply for The Rooms’ exhibits. The other two days – March 19 and 20 – are open ONLY to the media and to students who have registered.

This event highlights the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and the province’s Multiculturalism Week (March 18-24). The theme this year is “sharing our languages”/«partager nos langues».

Mr. Les Linklater, Assistant Deputy Minister of Citizenship and Immigration Canada, will bring greetings during the ceremonies. The guest speaker is Mr. Remzi Cej, past participant of Sharing Our Cultures, a Rhodes Scholar, and current Chair of the Human Rights Commission.

Two of the young authors, from Labrador and the West Coast, will read their stories in Cultural Con‘txt’ in English and French, respectively. Cultural Con‘txt’, the latest initiative of Sharing our Cultures, is a publication of stories by students from around the province. There will also be performances by the Mi’kmaq Dancers and Drummers, World Voices choir, and students from Natuashish and Colombia.

From March 19 to 20, about 1,200 Grade Six students from St. John’s, Dunville, and Chapel Arm will visit this unique educational event and engage in bilingual cultural activities, interact with host students, and learn languages from around the world.

This project is supported by Citizenship and Immigration Canada; Office of Immigration and Multiculturalism; The Rooms Corporation; Department of Education; Eastern School District; École des Grands-Vents; CBC Radio-Canada; Memorial University, and Newfoundland and Labrador Teachers’ Association.

For more information please contact: Lloydetta Quaicoe, Project Coordinator (709) 727-2372

ICH Roadtrip Day 1 - Freezing rain, delays, and pearls of wisdom

We started off the ICH road trip with delays in St. John's. Arriving at the airport at 6am, everything was delayed due to freezing rain and slippery runways. Three hours later, we were in the air, heading to a sunny, warm, gorgeous Deer Lake.

We had the first of our oral history and folklore interviewing workshops, at Glynmill Inn, and I was pleased with how it went. Everyone raised thoughtful questions, and we had some interesting discussions around informed consent, and how to make an interview a welcoming, comfortable experience.

We also talked about asking open-ended questions, and how sometimes simple, open questions can return astonishing results. As an example, I showed the class this video, which asks seniors to share their most valuable life lessons.





Tonight, we have our event "Rooted in History" where we talk with some of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia's iconic basket makers. See you there!

And we're off! The ICH roadshow en route to Deer Lake and Corner Brook

We're now officially on the road. Public folklore intern Nicole Penney and I are heading to Deer Lake, for the first of our interviews on traditional mill baskets, then heading to Corner Brook for a workshop this afternoon on oral history and folklore interviewing.

If you'd like to join us this afternoon, the workshop still has openings, just come on down to the Glynmill Inn. Workshop starts at 1pm.

Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Program 2012 - Grants for safeguarding aboriginal culture

Applications are now being accepted for projects that support Aboriginal initiatives safeguarding traditions and culture. This could include language; traditional knowledge and skills; storytelling, music, games and other pastimes; knowledge of the landscape; customs, cultural practices and beliefs; food customs; and living off the land.

The program deadline is April 15. Proposals could involve any of the following:

• Documenting and inventorying cultural traditions 
• Passing on cultural knowledge through teaching, demonstrations, publications, websites and other educational and awareness-raising activities 
• Recognizing and celebrating traditions, and those with traditional skills, through awards and special events 
• Identifying and supporting cultural enterprises that employ aspects of traditional culture (for example, craft production and cultural tourism) 
• Professional Development for cultural workers, educators and knowledge holders 

Established Aboriginal organizations in Newfoundland and Labrador with a cultural focus are eligible to apply. Professionals (Aboriginal artisans, cultural workers and educators) can apply for professional skills development if they have a demonstrated background in culture and have community support.

For further information, please contact Lucy Alway at lucyalway@gov.nl.ca or call: (709) 729-1409. Guidelines are available on the website: http://www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/tcr/heritage/aboriginal_cultural_heritage_program.html

Supported projects include documenting stone Inuksuit in Labrador; developing a Mi’kmaq Medicinal Walk; and offering traditional teachings to Mi’kmaq children in Bay St. George. For a list projects supported since 2008, please visit the website: http://www.tcr.gov.nl.ca/tcr/heritage/supported_projects/index.html .

In the summer of 2011, the Mi’kmaq Youth Mentorship program in Flat Bay provided traditional activities and teachings to 112 children between the ages of two and twelve.

In August 2009, twenty large banners were hung in a variety of sites within the community of Sheshatsuit, including the new school, the old school and the water tower. In addition, banners were hung around the town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay, including at the airport and the military base. This project has helped to initiate discussions among the Innu of how to use photography and videos to revitalize Innu culture.

Graveyard Mystery: photos of unusual tin grave markers from Bonavista Bay, Newfoundland.

In this month's edition of the ICH Update newsletter, Patrick Carroll wrote about a set of unusual tin gravemarkers from Bonavista Bay.  I wanted to include more detailed photos here of the markers, because they are unlike anything I've seen before in Newfoundland and Labrador. 

The origins of these are a bit of a mystery, and both Patrick and I would love to know more about them. If you've come across something like this in your travels, let me know at ich@heritagefoundation.ca  or leave a comment below.

You can read Pat's full article on the grave markers in pdf here.

Wooden Baskets, Tin Grave Markers, and Steam Whistles

In the March 2012 edition of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Update for Newfoundland and Labrador: we announce workshops on oral history and folklore interviewing in Corner Brook and Grand Falls-Windsor; a public lecture on Acadian and Mi'kmaw basketry; an unusual tin grave marker from Bonavista Bay; and a research project on the Corner Brook mill whistle.

Contributions by Dale Jarvis, Nicole Penney, Patrick Carroll and Janice Tulk.

Download the PDF

More photos of tin grave markers here

Rooted In History: The Tradition of Acadian and Mi’kmaw Basketry

Saturday, March 17, 2012
7pm
Arts and Science building, Room 379
Grenfell College

In Newfoundland and Labrador traditionally-made baskets come in many shapes, sizes and styles and can be crafted from a variety of materials. On the west and south coasts of Newfoundland, traditions included Acadian and Mi’kmaw style baskets.

“Baskets once served a very utilitarian role in the province, used for carrying items such as fish, potatoes, eggs and berries,” says Dale Jarvis, a folklorist with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL).

To celebrate that history, the Heritage Foundation is organizing a public talk around the tradition of basket making.

On Saturday, March 17th, at Grenfell College in Corner Brook, HFNL will be hosting a special talk and presentation on Mi'kmaw and Acadian spruce root and ash baskets, with visiting Mi’kmaw elders Margaret Pelletier and Della Maguire, traditional ash basket makers from Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland basket makers Eileen Murphy and Helga Gillard.

The talk will take place from 7-9pm in the Arts and Science building, Room 379, Grenfell College.

Margaret Pelletier was born on the Waycobah First Nation in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Basket weaving has always been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. As a child, Pelletier helped make baskets as a source of income to help support her family. At the age of 18, she entered nursing school in Sydney, NS and three years later started a career as a nurse. Pelletier joined the Maine Basket Maker’s Alliance as a board member which caused her to begin thinking about basket making as a fine art.Throughout the next 20 years, basket and quill work became a hobby for Pelletier, who enjoys creating one of a kind works of art. The natural materials vary in color and texture and Pelletier does the weaving free hand without the use of molds. Her baskets are woven with black ash splints, decorated with curlique designs, and are finished with braided sweet grass. As each basket is delicately woven, each piece takes its place as part of a unique creation made up of intricate designs and artistic forms.

Della Maguire is of First Nation’s Mi’kmaq ancestry and grew up in a home of constant basket making. Her parents Abe and Rita Smith were known as the finest Mi'kmaq basket-making team in Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, she was not part of that process, as watching her parents making baskets seemed to her 'just a part of life' and never once did she realize that their basket making was a cultural form of art. Upon retiring in 2006, Maguire took part in a basket-making workshop and soon realized this was something she needed to pursue. She has taken the art of basket making very seriously and spends her time trying to improve with each basket. Maguire is passing down her skills to her grand-daughters,as she believes it is her duty to continue learning and honing her skills and to share this valuable cultural art. In 2011 she received a grant from Canada Council of the Arts to enhance her skills and currently teaches the craft through workshops of her own.

Eileen Murphy was first introduced to basket making when she attended a class instructed by Mr. Anthony White in 1980. At the time he had been asked to instruct a few students from the new Visual Arts Program, at what was then called the Bay St. George Community College in Stephenville, on the techniques he used in spruce root basket making. Murphy, who is from and still resides on the west coast, enjoys a career as an art educator, teaching for both the local school district and at the Grenfell campus of Memorial University. Her interests surround the fine arts and she enjoys painting and drawing. Textile art is a particular favorite, and Murphy has been weaving baskets from roots, twigs, branches, grasses, vines for the past 32 years. Her interests surround the fine arts and she has spent most of her life surrounded by artisans and crafts persons. Murphy particularly enjoys the traditional arts and crafts of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Helga Gillard grew up and was educated in Englee, White Bay and was the fifth of six children. She went on to attend Memorial University and received a Bachelor of Arts/Ed. Gillard is now retired and living in Main Brook with her husband. Gillard’s interest in baskets was intrigued by locally made birch plaited baskets that were in her home growing up. She is a self taught basket maker, supplemented by basketry workshops held in various Atlantic provinces and interactions with other skilled basket makers. Gillard and has been making baskets since 1988 and joined the Nova Scotia Basketry Guild in 1999. While Gillard has woven many styles of baskets, her primary focus is on rib and split baskets. She also has a keen interest in utilizing materials from her natural environment, such as spruce root and red osier dogwood.

HFNL’s Intangible Cultural Heritage program was created to celebrate, record, and promote our living heritage and help to build bridges between diverse cultural groups within and outside Newfoundland and Labrador.

***

For information contact:
Nicole Penney
ichprograms@gmail.com
Telephone: 709-739-1892 ext 3
http://www.mun.ca/ich/events/

ICH roadshow - coming to Corner Brook and Grand Falls-Windsor

Over the next two weeks, myself and our public folklore intern Nicole Penney are taking the Intangible Cultural Heritage office on the road. We'll be doing a series of workshops, talks and public events in Corner Brook and Grand Falls-Windsor, and conducting a series of folklore interviews on baskets and basket-making as we go.

Friday, March 16th - Folklore/Oral History Workshop, Glynmill Inn, Corner Brook

Saturday, March 17th - Rooted in Tradition - public talk on Acadian and Mi'kmaw baskets, Grenfell College

Sunday, March 18th - Tea 'n' Baskets - bring your mill basket and join us for tea and biscuits at Glynmill Inn

Saturday, March 24th - Folklore/Oral History Workshop, Mount Peyton Hotel, Grand Falls-Windsor

Sunday, March 25th - Tea 'n' Baskets - Mount Peyton Hotel, Grand Falls-Windsor

If you want more info on any of these events, or if you are along our route and have a basket for us to photograph, email ichprograms@gmail.com.

Oral History/Folklore Interview workshop added for Grand Falls-Windsor

Introduction to Folklore and Oral History Interviews Workshop

Saturday, March 24, 2012
Mount Peyton Hotel, Grand Falls Windsor

This workshop is open to anyone with an interest in local history, culture and folklore. It is intended to give a background on how to conduct research interviews in the field, and will give people a chance to try their hand at creating interview questions and conducting an interview. It will provide an overview of the methodology and explore the practical matters of creating, designing, and executing effective oral history research projects. Topics that the workshop will address include project planning, ethical issues, and recording equipment.

The workshop will be taught by folklorist Dale Jarvis. Dale works as the Intangible Cultural Heritage Development Officer for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, helping communities to safeguard traditional culture. He has been working for the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador since 1996, and holds a BSc in Anthropology/Archaeology from Trent University, and a MA in Folklore from Memorial University. He is a past president of the Newfoundland Historic Trust, and has contributed as a board member and volunteer to many local arts and heritage organizations, and is a tireless promoter of the oral tradition.

Date: Saturday, March 24th
Time: 1pm - 5pm
Workshop fee: $40 (preregistration required)
Location: Mount Peyton Hotel, Grand Falls Windsor

To register call Nicole at 1-888-739-1892 ext 3,
or email: ichprograms@gmail.com

photo: Forestry Corps men with nurses, Wandsworth Hospital, London, England, 1917.Courtesy of the Heritage Society of Grand Falls-Windsor, Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland.