And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Old villain's appearance mars 250th birthday bash for Halifax http://www.thestar.com/back_issues/ED19990622/news/990622NEW02b_NA-GALA22.html Edward Cornwallis put bounty on head of every Micmac Indian By Kelly Toughill Toronto Star Atlantic Canada Bureau HALIFAX - A 250th birthday bash for this glorious old city turned bitter yesterday when the angry feuds that divide Canada erupted again at the place where much of it all began. By sundown yesterday, one Nova Scotia mayor had apologized for the ``ethnic cleansing'' of Acadians and another had enraged native leaders who accused him of breaking his word. The celebration was not supposed to be controversial. Organizers went out of their way to calm potential protesters in the hope people would focus on what a beautiful, vibrant city Halifax turned out to be. But organizers couldn't erase the facts they were commemorating. Micmacs thought they had won agreement from organizers that Edward Cornwallis, the founder of Halifax, would be stricken from the program. ``You don't celebrate a man who promoted genocide,'' says Dan Paul, a native historian who has researched the period. ``He wanted to kill all Micmac, every man, woman and child.'' Officials agreed last winter that Cornwallis would be banned from the festivities, and Halifax Mayor Walter Fitzgerald apologized for ``atrocities'' committed against the Micmac in 1749. But yesterday, Cornwallis was back. Exactly 250 years after he set foot in the harbour, an actor who looked like Elvis Stojko in a silver frock coat took the stage beside the dignitaries to portray the controversial figure. English Canada was launched from this port city, which was founded to counter French influence in North America. Cornwallis, the sixth son of a baron, arrived on June 21, 1749, followed five days later by 2,500 London slum dwellers who would build the first major British settlement north of the 13 colonies. Cornwallis was a nasty bit of work by modern standards. He treated the settlers badly and 1,000 died in the first winter. He cracked down on Acadians, refusing to let them swear the qualified oath to the crown that was the practice when he arrived. But it was his treatment of Micmac Indians that still burns hottest in local memory. He established a bounty for native scalps. He wrote to London that he wanted to ``root out'' all Micmac, then raised the bounty after his first year. Cornwallis left after only three years, but his job of setting up an outpost to counter the French succeeded. Six years after he landed at the harbour's edge, the order expelling Acadians from Nova Scotia was signed in Halifax. The mayor who apologized for the founder's actions 250 years ago seemed to have had a change of heart by yesterday. Walter Fitzgerald leapt to defend the blue-blood who put a bounty on the head of Micmac children. ``Micmac tribes killed white people, too,'' he told reporters after cutting the birthday cake for the crowd. ``They probably killed more than we did, but who wants to get into that? This is supposed to be a celebration. This is supposed to be a party.'' The comments enraged native leaders. ``His remarks were shocking in the extreme and uncalled for,'' said Paul. ``When you're invading somebody's country and they fight back to protect themselves, it's not the same as trying to exterminate an entire people. The Micmac weren't invading England.'' `Micmac tribes killed white people, too.' - Halifax Mayor Walter Fitzgerald After cutting Halifax's birthday cake Lawrence Paul, co-chairman of the Assembly of Micmac Chiefs, said he was ``disappointed'' to hear of Cornwallis' surprise appearance. ``He assured us that there would be no portrayal of Cornwallis and we took him at his word,'' Paul said of Fitzgerald. ``Now his word has been broken.'' For Dan Paul, the controversy over Cornwallis is not just about what was done to Micmacs in the past, but about current conditions. He says that Nova Scotia has never had a Micmac member of the legislature or a Micmac judge. And Micmac bands are still fighting over treaties signed in Halifax by Cornwallis' successors. Thirty Micmac loggers go to court here next month to argue they have the right to timber on crown land that they never ceded to European invaders. Annapolis Mayor Phil Roberts said Micmacs aren't the only ones who won't celebrate the founding of Halifax. ``For many Nova Scotians, this is not a time for celebration, but for sober reflection,'' he said. ``Ethnic cleansing occurred only six years after the founding (of Halifax.) It is opportune to remember . . . so we don't repeat our mistakes.'' Acadians returned to the valleys of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, but never regained the wealth lost when they were expelled. Acadian communities are still fighting to retain schools in the region. Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
