Mi’kmaq leaders urge calm ahead of protest to remove Cornwallis statue
HALIFAX — Organizers say a weekend protest calling for a statue of Halifax’s controversial founder to be toppled will proceed as planned, despite objections from some Mi’kmaq leaders.
A Facebook event called “Removing Cornwallis” invites protesters to remove a large bronze statue of former governor Edward Cornwallis from atop a stone pedestal on Saturday.
Organizers haven’t said how they will do that, but the event has reignited debate about how Halifax commemorates its colonial history, as well as how the province’s Mi’kmaq community affirms its past.
Cornwallis, as governor of Nova Scotia, founded Halifax in 1749 and soon after issued a bounty on Mi’kmaq scalps in response to an attack on colonists. The Mi’kmaq have long called for removal of tributes to Cornwallis, some calling his actions a form of genocide.