Honouring Lydia Campbell

I applaud the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada for naming Lydia Campbell to its list of historically significant Canadians and congratulate Lydia’s many descendants for this well-deserved honour.

The Labrador elder married twice and raised 13 children. She died more than 100 years ago and is known for her written record of Inuit life on the land. Sketches of a Labrador Life, her memoir of growing up and raising a family among Labrador’s fast-flowing rivers and wooded bays was published in the late 1800s. Her enchanting recollections and poetic style inspire us still.

Here is a short excerpt of her writings:

“So pretty it looks in the fall when we come home from our summer quarters above 70 miles from here. When we are sailing up in our large boat to see the ducks in our bay when we are nearing the river, and when we get ashore to the pretty river banks and walking up the path under our large trees some 50 and some 60 or more feet high, we often meet with a flock of partridges flying up to the trees. Before we get to the house, so pretty, then is the scramble among the young ones who will see the first turnips and potatoes, and sure enough, all around the house is green with turnip tops and between them and the wall of the house is hanging red with moss berries some falls.”

Lydia’s recognition is likely to include a plaque and a ceremony, though no site or date has been announced.

Congratulations Lydia.

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