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"The morality of such decisions should be openly challenged,"
Thorsell wrote. "To raise children in circumstances that fearfully
or selfishly restrict their horizons is a profoundly aggressive act.
To establish public policies that endorse or subsidize such behavior
is ethically dubious at best... What a waste of a country; what a burden
on a parent's heart." 9
What effect could those lines have on the future of rural Newfoundland?
What if one hundred years from now historians rely on newspaper columns
written by mainland journalists like William Thorsell. Will the official
history of Newfoundland claim that people in the outports should have
been resettled?
History is never carved in stone. When you pick up a history book or
essay you are not entering into some kind of sacred land. You are not
entering into a dusty old past. Instead, as we have seen, reading history
is like trying to solve a mystery. It takes critical thinking. You've
got to be ready to challenge what the author has to say. It doesn't
matter if you are a Mi'kmaq chief in Conne River or an inshore fisherman
from New World Island. The versions of the past that we choose to believe
have an impact on the events of today.
A Name with which to Face the Future
Michael Joe wanted to be a good chief. He wanted to be useful to his
community. He wanted to help his people. But lately Michael Joe had
been feeling he was missing something important. He asked an elder in
his community what he should do. The old man told him to follow the
old ways and go on a vision quest. A few days later Michael Joe set
out on a spiritual trip to his Grandfather's trapline near the Gander
River. He hoped the spirits would send him a sign. He hoped he'd find
out what was wrong.
Fasting is part of a vision quest. It helps to clear the mind and the
soul. When he arrived at his Grandfather's camp Michael Joe didn't eat
anything. He did not take a drink. He sat on the snow covered ground
and prayed. He stood in the forest and looked out at the beautiful world.
Then he saw it—a white caribou. The strange animal stared shyly
at Michael Joe from the trees. It appeared several times during the
day. It left no prints in the snow.
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