Mr Roy Oke's Baskets, Corner Brook, Newfoundland

A photo of Mr. Roy Oke, retired millwright, Corner Brook, circa 1980s, with his mill lunch basket under his arm, carried the traditional way men would carry their lunch baskets. This was Mr Oke's second basket, which he purchased for $15 from a man from Humbermouth. His previous basket, with a fully woven bottom, had started to wear out, so he bought this second basket, which had a wooden base. More photos below, including folklore co-op student Nicole Penney posing with Mr Oke's daughter, Paula Price.

ICH Roadtrip Day 3 - A Corner Brook Mill Recitation by Terry Penney

Yesterday was the first of our two "Tea 'n' Baskets" events, where we invite owners of traditional mill lunch baskets to come out and share their stories.  One of the participants was Mr Terry Penney, who brought along a vintage mill lunch basket (which he still uses to carry his lunch).  Mr Penney also shared a recitation he wrote, entitled "Continuous Production." Give it a listen!

Celebrating Grand Falls-Windsor’s Mill Lunch Baskets

In Newfoundland and Labrador traditionally-made baskets come in many shapes, sizes and styles and can be crafted from a variety of materials. Central Newfoundland has the mill lunch basket. While the origin of this distinctive two-handled splint style lunch basket is unknown, some workers began the tradition of crafting their own, and the lunch basket became a firm part of mill culture.

“It was a regular sight to see men walking to work carrying large woven lunch baskets, laden with home cooked food. Whether they be rectangular or oval, made from juniper, birch, or even steel, these baskets were a symbol of hard work and financial security,” says Dale Jarvis, a folklorist with the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador (HFNL). “Mill lunch baskets were once so popular nearly every pulp and paper mill worker in Newfoundland used one to bring hot meals to work.”

To celebrate that history, the Heritage Foundation is organising a series of events around the tradition of basket making in Newfoundland.

On Sunday, March 25th from 1-3pm at the Mount Peyton Hotel, Grand Falls Windsor, HFNL will be hosting an event called “Tea ‘n’ Baskets”. This free event is an opportunity for those who still have mill lunch baskets to come out and show your basket and share your memories. Bring your basket, refreshments provided. HFNL staff will be on hand to photograph mill baskets, to become part of an educational website.

Jarvis will also be leading a public workshop on oral history while in Grand Falls-Windsor, intended to give a background on how to conduct research interviews. It will give people a chance to try their hand at creating interview questions and conducting an interview. The workshop will take place Saturday, March 24th, at the Mount Peyton Hotel.

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 more information, or to register for the workshop, contact Dale Jarvis at 709-685-3444, or email ichprograms@gmail.com

Tea 'n' Baskets today in Corner Brook! Bring your mill basket, we'll bring the tea.

Today, Sunday, March 18th from 1-3pm at the Glynmill Inn, Corner Brook, HFNL will be hosting an event called “Tea ‘n’ Baskets”. This event is an opportunity for those who still have mill lunch baskets to come out and show your basket and share your memories. 


Bring your basket, we’ll provide the refreshments! HFNL staff will be on hand to photograph mill baskets, to become part of an educational website.

ICH Roadtrip Day 2 - Baskets and more baskets!

Day 2 - Corner Brook

We had a day full of baskets and interviews. Nicole Penney did two interviews in the morning, one on a fabulous Mi'kmaw storage basket, and one on a mill basket. Then we headed off to the NL Emporium, who had a fantastic selection of mill baskets (some shown above), root baskets, ash baskets and even Labrador grasswork.

Last night we held our public symposium on traditional basket making, "Rooted In Tradition," with local basket makers Eileen Murphy and Helge Gillard, and visiting Nova Scotia elders Della Mcguire and Margie Pelletier. We had a fantastic session, and then Della and Margie showed the crowd the baskets they've been working on with local aboriginal women.

We've got hundreds of photos, lots of great audio, and hopefully some video that we'll be posting once we are back in St. John's. Stay tuned.

Today is the first of our "Tea 'n' Baskets" events, at the Glynmill in Corner Brook, where we are inviting people with mill baskets to come, share stories, and have their baskets photographed for Memorial's Digital Archives Initiative ICH collection.

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.