Gerrard brings Icelandic heritage lesson to library

Iceland’s ambassador to Canada, Markús Örn Antonsson, gave a brief introduction to Gerrard. Representatives of the Ottawa branch of the Friends of Iceland were also in attendance. The evening with Gerrard was arranged by the Icelandic Canadian Club of Quebec, in coordination with the Icelandic National League of North America and the Embassy of Iceland in Ottawa.

Gerrard was the exhibit designer for Silent Flashes, a display of photographs which documents the experience of Icelandic immigrants to North America in the late 19th and early 20th century. Gerrard is part of a large Icelandic community in the Canadian west. Susan Stephenson, of the Icelandic Canadian Club of Quebec, points out that the Icelandic experience in North America is richer than many people know. Twenty thousand people, a quarter of the population of Iceland, emigrated to Canada and the United States between the years 1870 and 1910 due to a crippling economic depression.

At the time of this mass emigration, the government of the new province of Manitoba was offering homesteads to attract new settlers. Stephenson notes that “They sent representatives over to Iceland, and said ‘Come, we’ll give you land’. And the Icelanders made this incredible trek with their one box of goods, usually to a port in England, then to Halifax and Montreal, down the river and by pushcart across the prairies, to Manitoba.”

The settlers built the town of Gimli, and declared their home to be ‘New Iceland,’ which remained an independent state for 12 years. In 1887, New Iceland became a part of the expanding province of Manitoba.

Stephenson, whose four grandparents all hailed from Iceland, is one of many North Americans with Icelandic roots who are fascinated by their family origins. The Icelandic Canadian Club of Quebec helps to bring together Icelandic-Canadians, along with new immigrant Icelanders. The Club also welcomes people who, although not themselves of Icelandic extraction, are drawn to the language, history, and traditions of the country.

The Club arranges celebrations on Icelandic holidays, supports Icelandic artists in Canada, and generally shares a fascination with and love for Icelandic customs. As Stephenson said, “We’re all very proud to be Canadians, but it’s also really nice to be able to celebrate your family’s history and to meet the Icelanders that are here. It’s only increased our enjoyment of our traditions.” In the year 2000, the Club also arranged for the donation of a boxed set of Icelandic Sagas to various libraries, including the Westmount Public Library, to mark the thousandth anniversary of the Viking discovery of North America.

More information about Nelson Gerrard and the Silent Flashes project may be found at www.sagapublications.com/.">www.sagapublications.com Susan Stephenson and the Icelandic Canadian club of Quebec may be reached at noricher@ca.inter.net.