Report of the Task Force on the Commemoration of Edward Cornwallis and Commemoration of Indigenous History (review)

This review is unusual. Typically, this journal reviews books, providing a summary of a book's contents and a critical perspective on its strengths and weaknesses, but this is not that kind of review. This is a review of the April 2020 report by a committee the Halifax Regional Municipality (hrm) established in partnership with the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi'kmaq Chiefs (ansmc).

The committee's principal task was to recommend what should be done with the statue of Edward Cornwallis, Governor of Nova Scotia from 1749 to 1752. In 1749 Cornwallis had issued a proclamation offering a bounty for every Mi'kmaw scalp or prisoner. The Nova Scotia Mi'kmaw community had become increasingly critical of the Cornwallis statue. The implicit message seemed to be that the city and the province celebrated Cornwallis' actions, including his efforts to kill Mi'kmaw people. As the controversy intensified, hrm removed the statue and created a task force that would hold public hearings and make recommendations about what to do. It also made the ansmc an equal partner in determining the committee's composition.

There were nine members of the committee. Roderick Googoo, We'koqma'q chief and Monica MacDonald, a public historian, co-chaired. Other members included Nova Scotia MLA Yvonne Atwell, former hrm councillor Sheila Fougere, Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre Executive Director Pam Glode-Desrochers, former Parks Canada researcher and author John Johnston, lawyer Heather McNeill, Mi'kmaw elder and author Dr. Daniel Paul, and Saint Mary's University professor emeritus John Reid.

The report is divided into several sections. After setting out its mandate and the history of the Cornwallis controversy, the report provides a general history of Mi'kmaw-settler relations from first contact to 1749, an historical overview of how colonial governments employed scalp bounties before 1749, the impact of Cornwallis' 1749 scalp proclamation, the expansion of colonial settlement after 1749, and a history of the context in which Cornwallis' statue was established. From there, the report gives an overview of commemoration and of recent controversies regarding historical figures who are publicly identified with slavery, residential schools, and other institutional actions directed towards racialized peoples. These sections set the stage for the committee's summation of its public hearings and of the written submissions it received. These hearings were held in June and October 2019. As the report states, the principal purpose of the hearings was to determine what to do with Cornwallis' statue. At the heart of these discussions was whether "continuing public commemoration of Cornwallis fit with prevailing values in 2020" (48) and what actions the hrm should take in regard to the statue. The report then lists the number of submissions made and the range of opinions offered.

Although some individuals argued that the statue should be restored and suggested different ways this might be done in order to recognize Cornwallis' actions and also commemorate Mi'kmaw history, the committee ultimately rejected these options. Instead, the committee recommended that the statue remain in storage and be placed in a civic museum when, and if, such a museum is established.

Though the report principally focused on Cornwallis, its recommendations did more than that. The committee was cognizant that the Cornwallis issue reflected broader issues regarding how the Mi'kmaw community's history has been ignored, not just in public commemorative sites but also in the educational system. To this end, the committee made other recommendations which would make the Mi'kmaq community and their history more visible in the hrm.

The public nature of the dispute probably meant that some people were unhappy with the report's recommendations. I am not unhappy with the committee's telling of the history. But I am puzzled by its starting principles and its brief discussions of the public meetings and submissions. One does wonder, for instance, about the following statement: "It does...