Students at a primary school in the Newfoundland town of Grand Falls-Windsor want to change the name of the local museum to set the record straight on the history of one of Newfoundland's native peoples, the Beothuk.
The Grade 2 students would like the Mary March Museum — named after a Beothuk woman who was captured by European settlers in 1819 — changed to reflect the woman's actual name, Demasduit.
Demasduit was renamed Mary March, with the last name referring to the month of her capture, when she was taken into captivity following a settlers' raid at Red Indian Lake that left her husband dead. Her infant child died days after she was taken away.
Student Connor O'Driscoll was so moved by Demasduit's story that he helped collect more than 500 signatures on a petition.
"We feel that it wasn't nice to take her real name away from her," Connor said.
Beothuk woman died after a year in captivity
Little is known about Demasduit's life, including the year of her birth. She was transported to the fishing community of Twillingate and was later brought to St. John's. She died in 1820 after a failed attempt to reunite her with surviving Beothuks.
A painting of Demasduit by Lady Henrietta Hamilton, the wife of the governor of the day, Sir Charles Hamilton, hangs in the National Archives of Canada.
Within a decade of Demasduit's death, the Beothuk were extinct. The last known surviving member of the Beothuk people was Shanawdithit, who died in St. John's in 1829.
The Beothuk were native inhabitants of Newfoundland at the time of the European arrival in the 15th and 16th centuries. They lived apart from white settlers, and occasionally had violent skirmishes.
Researchers believe the Beothuk were doomed by disease, violent contact and an inability to find sufficient resources when they migrated from coastlines to the Newfoundland interior.
Provincial government runs museum
The student petition asks the Newfoundland and Labrador government, which owns the museum, to change the name so that it will show greater respect for a historical figure.
John Sutherland, president of the Beothuk Institute, admires what the children are doing, especially since the advocates are eight years old and younger.
"I think everyone understands the importance of their own name," said Sutherland.
The Beothuk Institute was founded in 1997, to promote understanding of the Beothuk people and their tragic final years.
Institute suggests compromise
Sutherland would like to see the museum's name changed, but perhaps to something broader that will reflect the wider range of exhibits inside.
'Mary March is a terrible name.'-John Sutherland of the Beothuk Institute
"Mary March is a terrible name," he said. "But I'm not so sure that replacing Mary March with Demasduit on the front wall, the outside wall, is the best idea."
He suggested that a Demasduit centre could be designated within the museum, which is near the final living space of the Beothuk.
Sutherland applauded the students and their teacher, Ann Warr, for getting involved.
"This is a lesson in history, but it's also a lesson in how democracy can work," he said.