Newfoundland and Labrador confronts its archaic coat of arms
Another archaic symbol of Canada’s colonial past is under the microscope.
The Newfoundland and Labrador government confirmed this week it plans to redesign the province’s 400-year-old coat of arms, which depicts two Indigenous warriors holding a red shield.
At first glance, the stoic Beothuk figures seem innocent enough. But the official description of the pair, written in 1637, calls them “savages,” a term that has prompted the province’s Indigenous Peoples Commission to call for changes in the name of reconciliation.
“It’s not really appropriate,” says commission president Stephen Green.
Last weekend, Green persuaded the province’s governing Liberal party to take the lead in redesigning the coat of arms, in a bid to “further the federal government’s desire to redress the damages done by our colonial past.”
Randy Edmunds, an Inuk from Labrador who represents Torngat Mountains in the legislature for the governing Liberals, says the term ‘savages’ is offensive.
“It was probably standard at the time — the noble savage,” says Edmunds, parliamentary secretary for Indigenous Affairs. “That’s an insult today. We’ve come a long way since then. We are proud and resilient people — we shouldn’t be called savages anymore.”
The provincial government is preparing to start public consultations about a redesign, and those talks will include input from Indigenous groups, he says.
“As an Inuk, as an Aboriginal person, to me it’s important to have our provincial coat of arms represent the Indigenous community,” Edmunds said in an interview. “It goes a long way toward truth and reconciliation.”
David Cvet, a director and former president of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada, says the crude terminology should be put into a historical context.
“When it was originally designed — and I’m not defending anybody — the term ‘savages’ was part of the culture of that time,” said Cvet, who made it clear he was not speaking on behalf of the heraldry society. “Savages was a word to describe unknown peoples ... That was, at the time, a perfectly normal term to use.”
Still, Cvet says it would be reasonable to update the description using modern language, so long as the original 17th century text is kept on file for reference.
“It may not be palatable today, but it is still part of our history ... You don’t want to start erasing history.”
The coat of arms includes a prancing elk, hovering between the two warriors. The animals are not native to the province.
Edmunds says the elk should be replaced with a caribou, which can be found on the island and in Labrador.