History to repeat itself

Or whar?

CKOK has a news brief about arts/crafts, The Rooms and Bill Ritchie.
CBC’s Weekend Arts Magazine [WAM] had an extensive interview with Bill yesterday morning.

Bill Ritchie first came to Labrador as a young artist back in the late 1970’s early 1980’s. Bill was a sort of Artist in residence with the fledgling community craft councils program. The program eventually failed for various reasons, and I’m not saying Bill had anything to do with that.
Id say Bill helped some people improve their skills in art immensely; I noticed a vast improvement in some people skills from my first visit in 1978 to my second in 1980.

The Provincial government of the day funneled lots of dollars in funding crafts councils in each community [Federal funds]. The department handling the file had many name reinventions over the years, one being Department of Rural Agricultural & Northern Development [RAND]. My favorite, appropriate for the day, was LSD for Labrador Services Division.

Some communities on the coast ran their craft councils quite well and professionally, some not so.
I became a member of the Nain Craft Council for a couple of years, it was a constant battle, change was not received well by some. There were efforts to improve quality control, workshops on new crafts, efforts to introduce a type of Co Operative arts and crafts movement.

This brings me to Bills interview on WAM. He spoke at length about the Co Op movement in other parts of the north, it’s successes in the arts area and it evolving into all parts of the service and supply industry in those areas.

Bill also spoke of the efforts to introduce Co Ops into Northern Labrador through Memorial University Extension Services, and the efforts failure.
My view is. It failed for various reasons; some being crafts people protecting their turf, not enough effort put into educating the public, the leadership of LIA not supporting the Co Op movement ergo not educating the public.

Bottom line is Bill Ritchie wants to try and introduce discussions on Co Ops with Nunatsiavut Government. Good for him and good luck with that. The same old parochial, protectionist for some, don’t give a shit for the proletariat bunch are still in charge of the successor to LIA.

On a very sad note: Reverend Sigfred Hattasch passed away yesterday afternoon. The Reverend was leaving Nain when I first arrived so I did not know him well. I did have the opportunity to have some good chats with him a few years later when he came into Ottawa to see old Inuit friends there on a visit. While waiting for the friends to come back to the hotel I kept him company, some good ol stories boy!