Forest trail and Spirit of the Beothuk statue located near the Beothuk Interpretation Center in Boyd's Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
The Beothuk were a group of Indigenous people who went culturally extinct in large part due to European colonization. The last known full-blooded Beothuk, Shanawdithit, died in 1829.
Not knowing about these people when planning my trip, I was talking to a local about how I was looking forward to visiting the Norse / Viking excavation site at L'Anse-aux-Meadows in the North of Newfoundland. A place that helped to rewrite history since the Vikings were proven to predate Christopher Columbus in the European discovery of the Americas. Back in my school days circa 1990s, we were still told it was Christopher Columbus, so this was a big deal to me personally. I had wanted to visit Newfoundland since 2009, but would have to wait until 2024 until finally getting the chance.
Anyways, this local proceeded to tell me about the Beothuk people, and recommended I visit this place called the Beothuk Interpretation Centre in Boyd’s Cove. It was more of a quick detour, but it was quite the humbling experience. I feel a profound sense of sadness just looking at these photos from my archives. In my eagerness to cheer on the Vikings rewriting history, I was ignoring a big chunk of nearly forgotten history with the Beothuk People.
I don't think the Beothuk are talked about much, so I figure I'd take the time to do a little write-up, and express my appreciation for the legacy they left behind. Thank you also to the Beothuk Interpretation Centre for making this space available, and educating the public about this precious piece of forgotten history. For more information, feel free to visit
https://www.seethesites.ca/sites/beothuk-interpretation-centre/ Please note this photo is for personal use only, and prints have been disabled as a result.