Dear Editor,

I’m elated that Halifax City Council has voted to remove the statue of British Colonial Governor, General Cornwallis, from that park in Halifax and put it into storage until they can decide what to do with it.

Please allow me to suggest that they send the statue to England given that Governor Cornwallis was guilty of numerous atrocities against Indigenous Peoples including Search and Destroy orders to wipe out the Mi’kmaw People by putting bounties on the scalps of the Mi’kmaq.
We’re very thankful for Mi’kmaw Elder and historian, Dr. Daniel Paul, whose years of research and effort have resulted in the removal of this offensive statue. I’m also pleased that the Mi’kmaw Chiefs of Nova Scotia have insisted that the statue be removed in support of the efforts of Dr. Daniel Paul and the many grass roots Mi’kmaw People who worked on this very important issue for many years.

It’s obvious that the Federal, Provincial and some Municipal governments in Atlantic Canada mistakenly believe that the British Military conquered the Mi’kmaw People. However, we, the Mi’kmaq, were never conquered nor did we surrender our territory in Epekwitk (PEI) or the rest of the Atlantic Region to the British.

As a result of inaccurate, colonial, racist, Euro-centric attitudes that are rooted in a belief that we were conquered, Mi’kmaw place names that were thousands and thousands of years old were replaced. In addition, the installa ...