Mary came across this striking object hanging on a wall in a shop a while back.

The owner said it came off a French ship that was at Louisbourg during the siege in 1758.

What!?! Yes, that’s the oral tradition passed on by the owner of the item.

Mary told me to go in and take a look. I was impressed. On the other hand, I couldn’t see how such an object could have survived the events of 1758, when so many French ships were sunk and/or burned. And, the use of the tricolore theme—bleu, blanc, rouge—was not a color scheme associated with pre-1789 France. Yet if the object dated from the French Revolution, what is the fleur-de-lys doing there?

Nonetheless, viewed from across the room, the object did look like it originated a few centuries ago. It is certainly worth checking out.

I contacted a few friends still working for Parks Canada, and one came to see the object for herself. What happens next is still unwritten, but I’m hoping the object will be analyzed, and, if justified, end up in the care of an organization that can safeguard it. Maybe that will be the Nova Scotia Museum or the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

The official unveiling of the new “Peace and Friendship Park” name took place yesterday in Halifax (June 21. 2021).

Many Mi’kmaw Elders and leaders were present for the event, as well as the Mayor, a city councilor or two, and two MPs (Jaime Battiste and Andy Fillmore).

These photos catch the moment Elder Daniel Paul and Mayor Mike Savage pulled the tarp off the panel, then them checking out the other side of the two-sided panel.

There were about 150 people in attendance, including several of us who had been on the Task Force on the Commemoration of Edward Cornwallis and the Recognition and Commemoration of Indigenous Peoples. To rename Cornwallis Park as Peace and Friendship Park was one of our recommendations. The full report is available on the HRM website.

It strikes me that this action—and many more that are taking place across Canada—was roughly 500 years in the making. That’s how long it has taken the millions of descendants of the newcomers to the Americas to begin to understand and respect Indigenous perspectives and experiences. Of course, the process is not over. As is often said, reconciliation is a shared journey, not a destination.

I was surprised today to learn that the latest La Parole Newsletter had discovered and referenced one of my entries on the shepherd.com web site. The write-up they highlighted was the one I had done on the Acadian Deportation.

Please click on the link to read the newsletter. The story about my posting is on page 2.

The latest issue of Atlantic Books Today (Spring 2021) is now out.

Among many feature stories the issue presents a short excerpt, along with the cover, from the new book that Jesse Francis and I have been working on—Ancient World, New World. That excerpt is found on page 43.

Here is a link to the full issue.

It is sweet to see that the opening page of the Shepherds.com (book lovers’) web site currently highlights my post about 1960s rock ‘n’ roll books (including “Kings of Friday Night: The Lincolns”).

I’m sure that opening presentation will change in the days ahead, but for the time being it offers great publicity for all books I discuss.

Here’s the link.

https://shepherd.com/