P is for Puffin: A Newfoundland and Labrador Alphabet
The people of Newfoundland and Labrador are very proud of their tradi tional music It has a powerful and distinct sound Songs like lse the B y and Jack was every inch a Sailor echo from the old countries like England Ireland and Scotland The accordion often accompanied by the fiddle is the backbone of the traditional sound Today the jigs and reels can be seen and heard anywhere from the kitchen and parlours to the concert stage During the annual folk festival in the summer of 2005 a record breaking total of 989 musicians played their accordions simultaneously to the song Mussels in the Corner This feat entered them into the Guinness Book of World Records Many local musicians bring their own creativity through new songs Groups such as Great Big Sea and the Irish Descendants are not only popular in Newfoundland and Labrador they also entertain audiences all around world the
the first Brave were never afraid Living in the central region the Beothuks and their ancestors can be traced back more than 1 000 years During the sum mer they lived on the coast where fish were plentiful As winter approached they travelled inland following the Exploits River to the hunting grounds The Beothuks were Algonkian speaking and they called themselves Red Indians They painted their faces and bodies with a mixture of red ocre and grease This was their mark of tribal identity and the very first coat was applied to their new born babies Described as trustworthy and proud the Beothuks became extinct in 1829 The last known Beothuk was a young woman named Shanawdithit There are still several groups or bands of aboriginal people of Mi kmaq origin scattered throughout western and central Newfoundland In 1972 the Federation of Newfoundland Indians was officially formed Known along the Northern Peninsula as Florence Nightingale of the North Myra Bennett also begins with B For 50 years she was the sole health provider for the entire isolated coast Besides nursing she practiced midwifery dentistry and
B stands for Beothuks first people of the land Brave hunters and gatherers who afraid to take stand a
