Hebron, Newfoundland and Labrador
Encyclopedia
Labrador
Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...
. Founded in 1831, the mission disbanded in 1959. Abraham Ulrikab
Abraham Ulrikab
Abraham Ulrikab was an Inuk from Hebron, Labrador, in the present day province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, who — along with his family — was to become a zoo exhibit in Europe in 1880 as an attraction at the Hamburg, Germany public zoo.Ulrikab, along with his wife and two...
and his family were from Hebron and they were exhibited in zoos in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in 1880.
Early history
The Moravians began establishing missions in Labrador in 1771. The first was located at NainNain, Newfoundland and Labrador
Nain or Naina is the northernmost town of any size in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located about 370 kilometres by air from Happy Valley-Goose Bay. The town was established as a Moravian mission in 1771 by Jens Haven and other missionaries...
. The Moravians sought to evangelize the Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
people in Labrador.
In 1831, the Moravian church established a mission at Hebron, a site located about 200 kilometers north of Nain.
Life was hard at the settlement. Epidemic
Epidemic
In epidemiology, an epidemic , occurs when new cases of a certain disease, in a given human population, and during a given period, substantially exceed what is expected based on recent experience...
s of whooping cough, influenza
Influenza
Influenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
and smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
ran through the community periodically. The 'flu epidemic of 1918 was believed to have wiped out a third of the 1,200-member Inuit population of Labrador. http://www.hvgb.net/~themdays/history.html
By April 1959, there were 58 families at Hebron.
Abandonment
In 1955, a member of the International Grenfell AssociationInternational Grenfell Association
The International Grenfell Association is an organization founded by Sir Wilfred Grenfell to provide health care, education, religious services, and rehabilitation and other social activities to the fisherman and costal communities in northern Newfoundland and the coast of Labrador.The IGA was...
, an organization dedicated to the health and welfare of residents of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, wrote to the Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
government expressing concern about cramped living conditions at Hebron that had led to tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
and a shortage of firewood.
After consultation with Moravian leaders, the decision was made to close the mission. The Inuit would be resettled into larger communities. "I see no other way than to suggest the Mission withdraw from Hebron this summer," said the Rev. Siegfried Hettasch. http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/nunavut980930/nvt80904_04.html The decision was announced at an Easter Monday service in 1959.
By the fall of that year, half of the families had moved on their own. The remainder left soon after the Grenfell nurse was withdrawn and the community store closed in the fall of 1959.
A report written for the Canadian Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples said the relocation led to poverty for several of the Inuit. "They were put in places where they weren't familiar with the local environment so they didn't know where to hunt, fish or trap and aside from that, all of the best places were already claimed by people who originally lived in those communities," said the report's author, Carol Brice-Bennet. http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/nunavut980930/nvt80904_04.html
The buildings of the original mission still stand today, and are in reasonably good condition considering the passage of time, and the site is frequently visited by cruise ships.
Apology
In 2005, Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams apologized to people affected by the relocations. In August 2009, the provincial government unveiled a monument at the site of Hebron with an inscribed apology for the site closure.External links
- History of Labrador
- An article on Hebron that appeared in the Nunatsiaq News
- http://www.heritage.nf.ca/aboriginal/inuit.htmlA Memorial University of NewfoundlandMemorial University of NewfoundlandMemorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...
article on the Inuit.]