Ministerial Statement – Minister Reid Shares Importance of Statue Unveilings in Botwood and St. John’s

Press Release

November 20, 2024

The following statement was read in the House of Assembly today by the Honourable Dr. Scott Reid, Minister Minister Responsible for Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation:

Speaker, I rise in this honourable House to talk about two important events that brought Indigenous communities together as we honoured the Beothuk with statue unveilings in Botwood and St. John’s.

On September 30, bronze statues were unveiled in Botwood to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the death of a young Beothuk woman, Demasduit, her husband Nonosabasut, and their newborn child.

It is a tragic story, but confronting uncomfortable truths from our past is necessary on the path to reconciliation.

In St. John’s on October 11, another bronze statue was unveiled on the steps of Confederation Building based on a sketching produced by Brittany Wiseman of Conne River. Created by Morgan MacDonald, this statue is dedicated to the Beothuk and is a significant project to honour their history and culture.

In addition, a mural created by Grand Falls-Windsor artist Craig Goudie was unveiled in the east block lobby. This beautiful canvas depicts a young Beothuk family and will be an important piece of our Indigenous artistic presentations.

Other pieces of artwork have been commissioned and we are working with Indigenous partners to plan for future unveilings. We thank them for collaborating with us to identify Indigenous artists and to deliver such powerful and meaningful commemorative displays.

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