Parks Canada said its commemoration of Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery will be reworked with new narratives from indigenous, black and French perspectives, according to Blacklock’s Reporter. “Parks Canada is committed to engaging with indigenous and marginalized communities to tell their stories,” said Parks Canada in a management plan. “Partnerships will establish linkages between the site and new communities yielding new visitor experiences that share more inclusive histories and seek to advance reconciliation.”Novels depicting Anne as a red-headed orphan raised by a white, English-speaking Presbyterian couple on Prince Edward Island have been bestsellers since 1908. “The number of opportunities at the site to engage visitors in learning about and connecting to Mi’kmaq perspectives, history and culture will increase,” said Parks Canada. It has operated Green Gables Heritage Place since 1936. Green Gables Heritage Place was settled by Montgomery’s family in 1831. Parks Canada proposed collaborations “with organizations that represent cultures not currently presented at the site — e.g. Acadians, black, indigenous and people of colour — are strengthened and new narratives, perspectives and voices are shared with visitors.” It did not elaborate. “The number of opportunities at the site to engage visitors in learning about and connecting to a diversity of cultures will increase,” it said.This year marks the 150th anniversary of Montgomery’s birth. Since the first publication of her stories 116 years ago, it acknowledged visitors were drawn to Cavendish, PEI, to search for Green Gables and other beloved settings and characters such as the Haunted Wood and Balsam Hollow. It called visiting Green Gables Heritage Place “a lifelong dream for many admirers of the author and her works.” About 210,000 visitors per year — many of them foreigners — visited the site prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. “The scenery of rolling farm fields and wooded paths were dear to Montgomery and continue to hold special meaning for generations of her admirers,” it said.This ordeal comes after access to information and privacy records published on Monday show CBC cut spending on indigenous language services that account for less than one half of 1% of its budget. READ MORE: CBC CEO misled with indigenous language services claim“With respect to the indigenous framework, we have an obligation to serve all Canadians and that includes the First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples of this country,” said CBC CEO Catherine Tait. Tait made no mention of actual spending on indigenous services.
