This Day. June 24, 1497 – Britain’s ‘Dominion, Title and Jurisdiction‘ of Canada begins

Indigenous resistance to colonialism continues in the present, including Mi’kmaq defence of their hereditary rights against fracking on their traditional territories.

By Tony Seed

On June 24, 1497, the Venetian navigator Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), commissioned by Henry VII of England, landed in Newfoundland. Believing it to be an island off the coast of Asia, he named it New Found Land. Under the commission of this king to “conquer, occupy, and possess” the lands of “heathens and infidels,” Caboto reconnoitred the Newfoundland coast and landed on the northern shore of what is today known as Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.

In Memoriam – Reginald Maloney

June 6, 1941 – December 3, 2013 | Photo by April Maloney

A Reflection by Tony Seed

On Tuesday, December 3, 2013, Keptin Saqamow Reginald Maloney, 72, left us forever when he passed away in Colchester East Hants Health Centre in Truro, Nova Scotia, surrounded by family and close friends.

A respected Elder, political leader, Chief, proud Mi’kmaq warrior, an ally and a friend, Chief Maloney was a leader in the epochal battle of the Mi’kmaq nation in defence of their hereditary rights and to affirm their right-to-be.