There is an enormous amount of Newfoundland & Labrador information on the web. These are some of the web pages we have found most useful and informative. The links are organized by topics. Jim Belote (e-mail: jbelote@d.umn.edu)
Newfoundland and Labrador Page Newfoundland Photos #1 NewfoundlandPhotos #2
For thousands of years before the arrival of the Europeans, what is today the province of Newfoundland and Labrador was occupied by a variety of peoples. The Beothuk (see Marshall 1996 ) were the main inhabitants of the island of Newfoundland by time the Vikings arrived for a brief stay a thousand years ago, and five hundred years later when other Europeans arrived, eventually to remain. Unfortunately, the Beothuk did not survive the European invasions beyond the early 19th century. The Micmac came to the island around the time of the Europeans, and some remain today. In Labrador, the Inuit and the Innu have continued their long-time presence and more recently the Metis have emerged as a distinct population.
The Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site contains excellent material on all the above historic groups, in addition to a summary of information on pre-historic populations in the region.
Native Religions of Newfoundland and Labrador is another excellent site with a wealth of information on religious aspects of most of the above mentioned groups.
Check also: News and Information from AOSAMIAJI'JIJ MIAWPUKEK Reserve Conne River, NFLD) (Micmac) Brenda Jeddore's curricular web site of The Mi'kmaq of Conne River, NF The Labrador Inuit Association website The Innu Nation/Mamit Innuat www site The Labrador Metis Nation website
Newfoundland is the only part of North America were there is still clear evidence of Norse settlement.
The Norse in the North Atlantic L'Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site
The European utilization and eventually permanent settlement, and the continuation of that settlement (mainly by the English, Irish and French, along with the Portugese, Spaniards and Basques), of Newfoundland and Labrador was not built on a need for agricultural land, or fine furs, or on the greed for gold or other valuable minerals, or on a search for timber resources needed for ship-building, or the seeking of a place of political or religious freedom, or on the desire to expand Christendom through the conversion of indigenous inhabitants. It was built on the cod fishery--an incredibly rich, world-class resource ( Kurlansky 1997), which may have even drawn Europeans to--or near--its shores (click here for one view of this possibility) before the time of that most lost person in the history of the earth (he was at one point nearly 12,000 miles from where he thought he was), the great explorer, Columbus. Because the cod fishery was generally seasonal (summer), the seal hunt (late winter/spring) became an important supplemental resource by the 1800s (Ryan 1994). Unfortunately, the seemingly limitless resource of the cod fishery came to a precipitous crash in the last decade (Chantrain 1993; Harris 1998; Martin 1992).
THE COD FISHERY
Cod don't vote Newfoundland cod and Goldman Environmental Prize A fisherman's story (GOLDMAN WINNER) Fishing grounds map ... Crisis and Institutional Change: the case of the Northern Cod History of Northern Cod Fishery Info and links on Newfoundland fishing Fisheries committee takes aim at bureaucrats Greenpeace Cod fishery Recent government report (12/98) Impact of cod crash on Newfoundland women New England cod fishery
THE SEAL HUNT
Government management Plan Sealer's Association Newfoundland Greens support seal cull Opposition to seal hunt Seal hunt off Prince Edward Island More opposition Michigan protest International Fund for Animal Welfare
SEALS VS. COD?
One current controversy concerning the crash of the cod fishery is the degree to which a high seal population impacts cod stocks. Did seals contribute significantly to the decline in cod populations? Even if they didn't, do they now play a significant role in impeding cod stock recovery? Finally, if the answer is yes to any of the above, what should be done about it? The following web pages take sides on the issue.
BLAME THE SEALS Seal Predation on Groundfish Understanding the Seal Fishery Minister Talks on Harp Seal Predation on Cod DON'T BLAME THE SEALS Scientists say Canada falsified data Seals and Fisheries, Science and Politics IMMA takes issue with Newfoundland Cod Video Who Killed the Cod and What Should We Do About It? Harp seals and Cod Questions and Answers
NEWFOUNDLAND HUMOR
OK: enough of this heavy stuff for now. Take a break, eh/b'y! Newfoundland Jokes
OTHER
MORE LINKS http://www.geocities.com/photonewfoundland/links.htm
MORE TO COME!
J. Belote Home page (http://www.d.umn.edu/~jbelote)
Last Updated April 4, 2001 Background design: Patterns in summer snowfields, Tablelands
