Welsh Society Lodges Protest to Protect Canada's Heritage
By EIFION WILLIAMS
VANCOUVER - In a year when Americans are launching celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition, it is unfortunate that Parks Canada is threatening to close an establishment that commemorates the achievements of Canada's own David Thompson, one of history's greatest explorers and mapmakers.
For part of their trek through the American west Lewis and Clark relied on Thompson's maps and descriptions, for he had explored and mapped much of the same territory before them. David Thompson was employed by the Northwest Company and was based periodically at Rocky Mountain House on the North Saskatchewan River, where there were several Northwest Company and Hudson's Bay fur-trading posts. Thompson's dream was to find a passage through the Rocky Mountains in order to open a trade route to the Pacific.
He finally succeeded by crossing over the Howse Pass and establishing trade with the Indians west of the Rockies, thus securing for the North West Company and, ultimately for Canada, a commercial presence on the Pacific coast. Thompson later became the first white man to explore the entire length of the Columbia River.
In recognition of the historic importance of the area, Parks Canada has maintained the Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site since 1979. Now it proposes to scale back its facilities at the site, which is easily accessible to visitors just off the David Thompson Highway a few miles west of Rocky Mountain House.
A major casualty will be the Interpretive Centre at the site of the old fort, manned by a volunteer group who call themselves Friends of the Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site.
Parks Canada maintains that budgetary considerations make it necessary to close and demolish the Interpretive Centre, where the history of the fur trade and the remarkable achievements of David Thompson are lovingly commemorated by these dedicated volunteers.
Like many other historic sites in Canada the centre needs an infusion of cash to maintain and upgrade its facilities. Parks Canada appears to have different priorities. In the recent annual report by Auditor-General Sheila Fraser the furore over advertising scams overshadowed her criticism of the government’s inadequate efforts to preserve Canada’s cultural heritage.
In Fraser’s words, “We must act now. Our cultural heritage is disappearing. Once a piece of our history is lost, it is lost forever.” Canadians of Welsh heritage are especially keen on preserving this part of our history. David Thompson was born Dafydd ap Thomas to Welsh parents in London. He came to Canada at the age of 14 and worked briefly for the Hudson’s Bay Company before joining the North West Company.
Unlike the rival Hudson’s Bay Company, based in London, the Nor’Westers were based in Montreal and represented a partnership between Englishmen, Scotsmen, French-Canadians and aboriginals, a group that could be considered an early model of present-day Canada.
Like many other issues, decisions regarding the Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site are on hold during the general election campaign. Meanwhile, the Vancouver Welsh Society has sent a letter to the Honourable David Anderson, Minister of the Environment, who is also responsible for Parks Canada, to express the support of the Welsh community for the Friends of the Rocky Mountain House National Historic Site in their efforts to preserve this important part of our history, especially the achievements of David Thompson who, according to National Geographic magazine, was “the greatest explorer and map-maker in North America.”
Rocky Mountain House resident and local historian Pat McDonald, who has written a book on David Thompson, is currently working with other individuals from British Columbia, Montana, Idaho and Washington to celebrate in 2007 the bicentennial of David Thompson’s crossing of the Rocky Mountains into what is now the Pacific Northwest.
McDonald hopes that Sheila Fraser’s heritage report might result in new preservation funding for Canadian heritage assets like the Rocky Mountain House site. But he’s not holding his breath. As he puts it, “In Canada, we’d rather be Clark Kent than Superman.”
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