My Little Corner of Canada: This and that

JOHN AMAGOALIK

The Matthew

During the third week of June, many Canadians celebrated the 500th anniversary of the arrival of The Matthew on the shores of what is now known as Newfoundland. The arrival of John Cabot and his crew marked the beginning of two histories, one for the newly arrived and one for those who were already here.

For the Europeans, it was the beginning of the exploitation of the riches of these “new found lands,” and the earliest settlements of a young nation that would become the envy of the world. For the Allait (Iqiliit, Indians, etc.) and the Inuit, it was the beginning of colonialism from which we are now only beginning to recover.

Inuit are proud Canadians and recognize their good fortune of being citizens of a country which is not perfect, but a country which stands above others in the quality of life it offers. But we are also very mindful of the price we had to pay for the creation of Canada.

We do not wish to rain on Canada’s celebration of Cabot’s arrival. But excuse us if we do not join your parade. Reconciliation between those who followed Cabot and those whose aboriginal homeland is Canada has slowly begun. It still has some way to go.

The Bite

I thought Roberto Alomar spitting in the face of an umpire was bad. But Mike Tyson biting off a piece of Evandor Holyfield’s ear has to take the cake. Madman Tyson should never be allowed in the ring again.

Konstantinov Awakes from Coma

The prayers of hockey fans from all over the world were answered when Vladimir Konstantinov awoke from a coma after a car accident a few days after Detroit won the Stanley Cup. Konstantinov was like an oak tree during the Stanley Cup playoffs with his bone crunching body checks. A real tree nearly killed him.

Off for the Summer

I could not write this column for the past two weeks because of medical reasons. I hope I have not lost too many regular visitors to this corner.

I will be absent from these pages for the summer, but will be back in the first week of September.