- from our 2019 convention program
In 2019 the Icelandic National League of North America, Þjóðræknisfėlag Íslendinga í Vesturheimi, proudly celebrates 100 years since its establishment in Winnipeg in March of 1919. Records show that discussions regarding an Icelandic organization that would promote and maintain the Icelandic culture started in early 1917[1]. It was of vital importance to the newly arrived Icelanders and their communities that their Icelandic heritage be preserved in the New World and at a meeting in January of 1919, a committee was chosen to “seek the co-operation of Icelandic communities in North America to maintain the Icelandic language and heritage”.[2]
The first annual Convention of Þjóðræknisfėlag Íslendinga í Vesturheimi was held in Winnipeg from February 25 to 27, 1919. One topic of major importance during these meetings was the need to maintain and teach the Icelandic language and to this end the League discussed promoting a teaching position for Icelandic and Norse Studies at the University of Manitoba. The League called upon Icelandic communities across North America to support this initiative. In addition, committees were formed to foster the teaching of the Icelandic language within Icelandic communities and to acquire Icelandic textbooks. The goal of this initiative was to ensure that children of Icelandic descent in North America would continue to learn Icelandic.
Sèra Rögnvaldur Pétursson was the first President of the Icelandic National League of North America. He was born on the Parish farm of Rípur in the district of Hegranes in Skagafjörður on August 14, 1877. He settled in Winnipeg upon arriving from Iceland in 1883 and studied at Wesley College in Winnipeg, Bible College in Meadville, Pennsylvania and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts. With his theology degrees firmly in hand, he returned to Winnipeg and served as the first Icelandic minister of the Unitarian congregation in Winnipeg from 1903 to 1909 and from 1915 to 1922. In addition to serving as the first President, he was also one of the founding members of Þjóðræknisfėlag Íslendinga í Vesturheimi. At the time of the founding of the INL he remarked “The first step is to know oneself, and this one cannot do, who knows nothing of the history of the people from whom one is descended. In every civilized country, history and literature are the basis of higher education. To be fully developed as individuals and the best possible citizens of this, their country, the people of Icelandic origin must study their own language and literature at the same time as the official courses of study.”[3]
During the first Convention, Séra Kjartan Helgason, a special guest from Árnessýsla in southwest Iceland and representative from the Icelandic League in Reykjavík, was elected as the first honorary member of Þjóðræknisfėlag Íslendinga í Vesturheimi. The tradition of bestowing Honorary Lifetime Membership upon a member of an INLNA organization who has demonstrated outstanding service through involvement in a member organization, involvement in understanding and promoting Icelandic culture and heritage, and involvement in community activities has continued to this day.
After much discussion, a consensus was reached and the mission statement of the INL was declared to be:
To encourage people of Icelandic descent to become the best
possible citizens of their new homeland.
To maintain and strengthen the Icelandic language and
literature in North America.
To work in co-operation with all Icelanders on both
side of the Atlantic.
This mission statement has survived for one hundred years and is still an accurate reflection of the values and goals of the INLNA today.
The members of the Þjóðræknisfėlag Íslendinga í Vesturheimi in 1919 were from across Canada and the United States and included the members from the following communities: Árborg, Bifröst, Framnes, Geysir, Gimli, Hayland, Hove, Hnausa, Lundar, Northstar, Oak View, Otto, Riverton, Silver Bay, Siglunes, Stony Hill, Thornhill, Vogar, Víður, and Winnipeg, Manitoba; Churchbridge, Dafoe, Foam Lake, Kandahar, Hólar, Leslie, Springwater, Tantallon, and Wynward, Saskatchewan; Grand Forks, Hensel, Mountain and Pembina, North Dakota; Markerville, Alberta; Tacoma, Washington; Cornell University, New York and Ïsland.
The Second Annual Convention occurred in February of 1920 and was presided over by President Rögnvaldur Pétursson; it was reported that the prior year’s goal of teaching Icelandic appeared to be successful as classes had been established by both the home chapter, Frón, in Winnipeg and by the club in Wynward, SK. The Convention focussed on League expansion and charged the executive to visit Icelandic districts to raise interest and to sell the publication, Tímairt, the annual publication of the League. On the final day of the convention, the need to expand the League into Icelandic communities outside of Winnipeg and across North America was raised. It was decided that it was vital to encourage communities to form their own chapters of the League and to this end another committee was formed. Additionally the need to ensure cooperation between Icelanders in Iceland and Icelanders in North America was discussed. Two interesting ideas to further cooperation were to send desirable members of the League in North America to Iceland on business and to encourage North American students to travel to the University of Iceland to study the Icelandic language and to learn about their ancestral country. These ideas sound somewhat akin to the International Visitors Program of today and the work that the Snorri Foundation in Iceland has been doing for the past twenty years.
The INLNA Conventions and Annual General Meetings continued to take place in Winnipeg from the first meeting to 1919 up to and including 1985. Since 1986, the Conventions have alternated between various member clubs of the INLNA and have occurred in the following locations (consecutively since 1986): Vancouver, BC; Gimli, MB; Innisfail, AB; Wynyard, SK; Winnipeg, MB; New Westminster, BC; Hecla, MB; Gimli, MB; Selkirk, MB; Toronto, ON; Winnipeg, MB; Calgary, AB; Brandon, MB; Toronto, ON; Gimli, MB; New Westminster, BC; Minneapolis, MN; Edmonton, AB; Hecla, MB; Wynyard, SK; Victoria, BC; Winnipeg, MB; Calgary, AB; Gimli, MB; Toronto, ON; Edmonton, AB; Brandon, MB; Seattle, WA; Winnipeg, MB; Minneapolis, MN; Vancouver, BC; Grand Forks, ND; Edmonton, AB and returning once again o Winnipeg, MB, in 2019. The first Convention held in the United States was in 2002 when the Icelandic American Association of Minnesota hosted.
The Conventions continue to be a time to celebrate our Icelandic heritage and to work towards programs that promote our Icelandic culture. The Annual General Meeting provides discussion on the League’s activities from the prior year including reviewing the activities of the Executive and Board Directors, current INLNA programs, future activities and initiatives, the League’s financial statements and the election of the Executive and Board of Directors for the year going forward.
It is a nearly impossible task to catalog the events of the past 100 years however the following are acknowledged as some of the key moments in time:
1977: Stefan J. Stefanson, the then current INLNA President, was asked by a young woman if she could present a resolution at the upcoming Convention asking that all minutes and records of the INL be presented in English. Until this time all business was conducted in Icelandic only and some felt that membership in the League was dwindling as a result. After the presentation of the resolution only three individuals spoke against the proposal; President Stefanson then called for the vote which was passed almost unanimously - with only three dissenters. Since then all meetings and record keeping has been conducted in English.
the first female President of the INLNA was Mrs. Evelyn Thorvaldson who served from 1991 to 1992
1991: INL Historian, Nelson Gerrard proposed the production of an Icelandic Heritage Calendar to raise the profile of our Icelandic heritage, to educate the public about Icelandic holidays, and to serve as a fundraiser for the League. Nelson piloted this project from 1992 to 2003 and it has been managed by a committee within the INLNA since that time
1995: Elva Simundsson was Membership Director and proposed a list service be established as a means to easily communicate with subscribers via email on topics related to the North American Icelandic community. The list is still in use today to easily communicate with subscribers who wish to be informed of Icelandic activities within North America and/or Iceland
1995: Robert Asgeirsson thought the INLNA should have a website which would be accessible to all and after some investigation, he established the first INLNA website. After 10 years of dedicated commitment, Holly Ralph took over the role of Webmaster which continued to hold until 2019
the International Visits Program, IVP, was created in 1996 by Gail Einarson-McCleery as a vehicle to sustain a cultural exchange program between Iceland and North America. The first visitor from Iceland to North America was art critic Aðalsteinn Ingólfsson, a former curator of the National Gallery of Iceland.
2001: the first Snorri West participants from Iceland received the opportunity to visit New Iceland and the province of Manitoba; the program was coordinated by Wanda Anderson and she very ably ran this program for many years. Today the Snorri West program is coordinated by the INLNA
the first INLNA President from the United States was Ms. Claire Eckley who served from 2014 to 2016 and was a member of the Icelandic American Association of Minnesota and the Icelandic Hekla Club
2003: the INLNA established the Laurence S.G. Johnson Lifetime Achievement Award which is bestowed upon a recipient for “contributions not only to the Icelandic Community but also in the community at large”. The awards honours Laurence S.G. Johnson who served as President of both the Bruin Chapter in Selkirk, MB and as INLNA President from 1995 to 1998 and served his community in ways far numerous to mention
2017: the Joan Inga Eyolfson Cadham Award was established to recognize individuals who have been outstanding in the promotion of Icelandic culture and heritage by way of literature, arts or media. It was established to honour Joan Eyolfson Cadham, an adventurer, journalist and weaver of stories who was best known in the Icelandic community as the editor of the Lögberg-Heimskringla from 2011 to 2014.
2018: the first Snorri Deaf participants from Iceland arrived in Canada; this program was led as a pilot project by Sunna Furstenau, Past President of the INLNA. In 2019, the program will be going to Iceland.
Today INLNA programs include Snorri West, International Visits Program, INL Reads!, Donald K. Johnson Film Series, the annual Calendar project, the INLNA Newsletter, Biographies project, INLNA Facebook page, INLNA website, an on-line store featuring INLNA branded merchandise, and more. For the past several years, a vast amount of effort has been put into applying for Charitable Status in Canada which is seen as an opportunity for additional fundraising which will allow the League to offer monetary support to many worthy endeavours.
Every effort is made to communicate with our member clubs, affiliate clubs and individual members via our quarterly Newsletter, website postings, Facebook postings, INL list emails and bi-monthly Presidents meetings where club Presidents or their representatives meet with INLNA board members via a video chat to discuss League or club current events.
Currently the INLNA is very fortunate and thankful to have the support of the following clubs: Arborg, MB, Esjan Chapter; Blaine, WA, Blaine Icelandic Heritage Society; Brandon, MB, Icelandic Canadian Club of Western Manitoba; Calgary, AB, Leif Eiriksson Icelandic Club of Calgary; Edmonton, AB, Icelandic Canadian Club of Edmonton; Gimli, MB, Gimli Icelandic Canadian Society; via Internet, Icelandic Online Club; Lundar, MB, Lundar Chapter; Markerville, AB, Stephan G. Stephansson Icelandic Society; Minnesota, Icelandic Hekla Club; Minnesota, Icelandic American Association of Minnesota; Moorhead, MN, F-M Icelandic Klub; Mountain, ND, Icelandic Communities Association; Ottawa, ON, Friends of Iceland; Saskatchewan, Icelandic Club of Saskatchewan, Vatnabyggð; Seattle, WA, Icelandic Club of Greater Seattle; Selkirk, MB, Bruin Chapter; Toronto, ON, Icelandic Canadian Club of Toronto; Utah, Icelandic Association of Utah; Vancouver, BC, Icelandic Canadian Club of British Columbia; Victoria, BC, Icelanders of Victoria; Washington, DC, Icelandic Association of Washington DC; and Winnipeg, MB, Icelandic Canadian Frón.
The INLNA also acknowledges support from the Icelandic Care Home Höfn Society, Icelandic Festival of Manitoba, Icelandic Memorial Society Nova Scotia, Icelandic River Heritage Sites, Icelandic Roots, Lestrarfélagið Gleym-mér-ei, New Iceland Heritage Museum, Manassas Viking Festival, and a number of individual members.
An essay by the first President, Séra Rögnvaldur Pétursson, which appeared in Icelandic in the first issue of Tímarit celebrated the Icelandic spirit which was very much alive in the Icelanders who had immigrated to North America. He states that “They have always viewed their heritage as the embodiment of who they are, their worth in life and the direction they choose. In today’s Icelandic-American and Canadian communities this pride in evident”.[4] It was their pride in their native Iceland that was the driving force behind the formation of the INLNA and that same pride exists today in every Icelandic community, club, organization and North American Icelander.
As the current President of the INLNA, I am humbled and honoured to be following in the footsteps of the forward thinking and dedicated founders who established the INLNA during the meetings of March of 1919. In this 100th year, I celebrate this accomplishment and offer congratulations to everyone who has impacted the INLNA in the past 100 years; whether as a member of a local Icelandic club, an INLNA volunteer or a board member, an individual supporter, a Snorri West host, an IVP host, an audience member at an INLNA film series presentation, or the countless other ways that have made an impact, everyone who has supported the INLNA has contributed to making it what it is today.
An organization does not celebrate a centennial without the commitment of its members, past and present, and the fact that the INLNA has not only sustained its existence but has continued to grow and thrive one-hundred years after it’s initial establishment is an exemplary example of the indomitable Icelandic spirit. The same spirit that caused a group of Icelanders, desperate to keep Icelandic culture and traditions alive in their new country, to form this organization is very much alive and well in the INLNA members of today.
As our Coat of Arms says, Römm er sú taug – Strong is the Bond, and indeed it is.
Beverly Arason-Gaudet
President, INLNA
[1] Source: Icelandic National League of North America, 1919-2009, published 2009 by the Icelandic National League of North America: Editor-in-chief: Gwen Mann
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid