FULL CIRCLE: First Contact Vikings and Skraelings
in Newfoundland and Labrador exhibit opens in Corner Brook

Charles J. Furey, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, opened the FULL CIRCLE: First Contact, Vikings and Skraelings in Newfoundland and Labrador exhibit at the Canada Games Centre - Annex in Corner Brook today.

Also participating in the ceremony were Gerry Byrne, M.P. for Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte representing Herb Gray, minister responsible for the Government of Canada�s Millennium Partnership Program (CMPP), Sagamaw Misel Joe, Miawpukek First Nation and Kathy Elliott, chair, Corner Brook Museum and Archives. Kevin McAleese, chair of the Full Circle curatorial team acted as host for the event where there were more than 200 invited guests at today�s ceremony.

"FULL CIRCLE: First Contact presents an ancient story of human exploration and settlement. The voyage of the Vikings and their arrival in Newfoundland 1,000 years ago is not only a significant milestone in human history but yet another chapter to the province�s rich cultural heritage," said Minister Furey. "FULL CIRCLE is an undertaking of which the province is very proud and magnificently illustrates our significance within one of history�s most intriguing episodes of the past.

"This inspiring and educational exhibit will reach out to more than 1,800 school children in Corner Brook and surrounding communities as school groups will be organized to tour the exhibit. It has also been developed so that families, children and adults can make it more than a one-time experience as a rich program of events has been developed over three weekends."

"The success of this undertaking highlights the enduring partnership between the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Government of Canada, designed to preserve the province�s rich cultural heritage," said Byrne. "The Government of Canada is proud to support FULL CIRCLE: First Contact by providing a partial financial contribution of up to a maximum of $252,000 through the Canada Millennium Partnership Program and by partially funding three staff positions with the exhibit."

CMPP-supported projects promote our history, our youth, our arts and culture, our environment and the development of our communities. The program funds up to one-third of eligible project costs, while other organizations and the private sector provide the remaining two thirds.

"The FULL CIRCLE: First Contact exhibit is part of the ongoing education of the public about who the aboriginal people were and who they are. It is also about non-aboriginal peoples who visited the province 1,000 years ago," said Chief Misel Joe.

FULL CIRCLE: First Contact is a travelling exhibit of the Newfoundland Museum and is presented under the patronage of UNESCO. The exhibit displays an array of 300 Nordic and Aboriginal artifacts, Viking legends and artistry. It is presented in English and French. Visitors are guided through the exhibit with a self-directed personalized audio unit and headset. International journalist and historian, Gwynne Dyer, narrates the contact story. After the exhibit closes in Corner Brook, it begins its three year tour to museums throughout North America.

FULL CIRCLE: First Contact is an event of Vikings! 1000 Years: Make the Journey, a project of the Department of Tourism, Culture, and Recreation, Parks Canada and the Viking Trail Tourism Association. The Government of Canada, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Canada Millennium Partnership Program are the funding partners for Vikings! 1000 Years. The three major corporate sponsors for the Vikings! 1000 Years celebrations are Petro-Canada, NewTel and Newfoundland Power. Supporting sponsors include Dominion, Eimskip, FMC Kongsberg Subsea, Atlantic Lottery Corporation, the Multi-Materials Stewardship Board, Interprovincial Airlines and JVC Canada. The Nordic Council of Ministers has provided generous financial support to FULL CIRCLE: First Contact.

Visit the three partners web sites:

• Tourism Newfoundland and Labrador www.gov.nl.ca/vikings/ or www.gov.nl.ca/tourism/
• Viking Trail Tourism Association www.vikingtrail.org
• Parks Canada www.parkscanada.pch.gc.ca (See L��Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site) Canada Millennium Partnership Program

Vikings and Skraelings in Newfoundland and Labrador
A Travelling Exhibit of the Newfoundland Museum

 First Contact

 In the early summer of the year 1000, Leif Ericson and his crew sailed from Greenland to explore unknown lands. What the Vikings encountered was a vast wilderness, already inhabited by Aboriginal people they called Skraelings.

 The FULL CIRCLE: First Contact exhibit recounts the story of Viking and Aboriginal contact at L�Anse aux Meadows 1,000 years ago. Stunning artifacts made of iron, stone, ivory and wood, finely crafted by Viking and Aboriginal Peoples have been brought from Nordic and Canadian museums to be displayed together for the first time. The exhibit profiles L�Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland, as the only authenticated Viking settlement in the New World, one which is recognized as both a Canadian National Historic Site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

 One Hundred Thousand Years of Goodbyes

 One hundred thousands years ago, our ancestors walked out of their African homeland to explore and settle the rest of the world. The paths they chose were to lead them to all corners of the earth. While some tribes turned left into Europe, others turned right into Asia. It was not long before the descendants of those who turned left ran into the uncrossable barrier of the Atlantic Ocean.

The descendants of those who turned right found a larger world at their feet. The path led them across Asia and to the narrow Bering Strait - the gateway to North America. When these people set foot on the Island of Newfoundland 5,000 years ago, they could not have known that they stood on the other side of the Atlantic barrier.

The Tour

The exhibit will be at the Canada Games Centre - Annex, Friday, August 25 to Friday, October 6, 2000. Once it leaves Corner Brook, the exhibit will tour North America from November 2000 - October 2003.

 FULL CIRCLE is supported by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Canada, the Canada Millennium Partnership Program and the Nordic Council of Ministers.

 FULL CIRCLE is presented under the patronage of UNESCO.

 FULL CIRCLE: First Contact

Facts and Features

• The exhibit is custom built allowing for a flexible arrangement in a single or series of exhibit halls. It is approximately 2,500 square feet (232 meters).

• The exhibit consists of five modules.

  Module 1 - Out of Africa
  Module 2 - Crossing the Gap
  Module 3 - First Contact
  Module 4 - Second Contact
  Module 5 - Full Circle

• A total of 300 artifacts will be displayed.

• Visitors are guided through the exhibit with personalized audio units and headsets with the FULL CIRCLE story narrated by journalist and historian, Gwynne Dyer. The audio presentation is self-directed, allowing visitors to stop the audio unit at any time to study artifacts and read exhibit text. Visitors will have the option to listen to a french or english version of the FULL CIRCLE story.

• The exhibit will take approximately 35 minutes to tour, without interruptions.

 Exhibit Hours

Admission (includes HST)

Adults: $5.00 Students and Seniors: $4.00 Children age 6 and under: Free
Group rates available.
Tickets can be purchased at the Canada Games Centre - Annex or by calling, 1 (709) 634-1265.

 www.gov.nl.ca/fullcircle

Media contact: Tara Laing, Communications, Tel: (709) 729-3813, Fax: (709) 579-2067.

NOTE TO EDITORS: This release is also available in French.

2000 08 25 11:15 a.m.