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St. John's ceremony puts spotlight on Shanawdithit for Indigenous Peoples Day

Dozens of activists gathered in a St. John's park early Thursday morning to welcome summer, celebrate Indigenous culture — and call for a local statue to honour the last member of the Beothuk.

In a brief ceremony at Bannerman Park in downtown St. John's, participants formed a circle around a square monument that was built years ago to mark the death in 1829 of Shanawdithit, who related much of what is known about the Beothuk.

Activists have been campaigning for a statue to be built in St. John's to honour Shanawdithit — and have noted that the city is filled with prominent monuments to European explorers like John Cabot and Gaspar Corte-Real.

Shanawdithit died in St. John's at 28, after contracting tuberculosis. She is buried on the south side of St. John's harbour. A small plaque is erected near a water treatment facility.

A statue of Shanawdithit was unveiled 18 years ago in Boyd's Cove, a central Newfoundland community that is known to have been frequently used by the Beothuk.

During Thursday's brief ceremony, participants laid tobacco as a sign of respect on the monument ot Shanawdithit, and listened to a speech by an elder as well as a poetry reading.

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