No more statues of Edward Cornwallis, task force meeting told
'Having a man's statue that represents this genocide is not the way to go towards reconciliation'
The first of four public meetings hosted by the Cornwallis Task Force was held Thursday night in Halifax and a number of speakers made it clear they do not want to see the statue of Edward Cornwallis put up again.
"I'm going to be there if you try to put something up with Cornwallis, I'll be there again and again and again," Trish McIntyre said at the meeting, which was held at the Mi'kmaw Native Friendship Centre on Gottingen Street.
The statue of Halifax's controversial first governor was taken down January 2018.
The task force was set up to make recommendations about how to commemorate Cornwallis and improve the commemoration of Indigenous history as well.
A couple of speakers made a direct connection between the bounty that Cornwallis put on Mi'kmaq people and the violence outlined in the recent report of Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls.
"To not make the connection between the ongoing genocide of Indigenous women and the symbol that Cornwallis represents would be negligent, I feel," said Rebecca Moore.
"Having a man's statue that represents this genocide is not the way to go towards reconciliation," added Denise Pictou-Maloney.
Those speaking at the meeting also indicated that Nova Scotians need a more complete understanding of their past.
"As a recent graduate of high school, I can absolutely [say] that we do not know enough of the history of colonialism," said Mitchell Moxum.
"I think the bare minimum you can do is make it mandatory for every citizen to know the horrors that have been committed on the lands where we stand."
A historian and archeologist from Dartmouth also called for the creation of a Civic Museum to preserve and promote Indigenous history.
"That honours our archeological heritage, our written history and our oral traditions and that's something I don't think we can wait around any longer for," said David Jones.
The next public meeting will take place at Saint Mary's University on Tuesday. The task force also plans to hold a session at the Millbrook First Nation.