The lands on which the Mennonites settled were the ancestral lands of First Nations peoples.
“Mennonite Reflections: Arriving in Manitoba 150 Years Ago” is the exhibit currently featured in the Gerhard Ens Gallery. The following is the first in a series of articles highlighting each of the seven themes presented in this exhibit.
Our tendency is to do things on our own. Independence is valued in our society. And we congratulate those who are self-sufficient and ‘masters of their own destiny’.
As we near the end of the year, it is good practice to review the activities, events and programs that Mennonite Heritage Village has experienced in the last twelve months.
The Mennonite Heritage Village is a not-for-profit organization which operates for the benefit of our community.
The Mennonite Heritage Village (MHV) was formed 60 years ago by a group of dedicated community leaders who believed in the importance of preserving the history and stories of the early Mennonite settlers of southern Manitoba.
When I took over the writing of the Village News last May, I began a journey into the 150 year history of Steinbach by quoting the Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, “Our histories cling to us. We are shaped by where we come from.”
Over the past several months, the Village News has focused heavily on the Mennonite settlers from Imperial Russia (modern Ukraine) and their first experience of Manitoba 150 years ago.
The Mennonite village model that is represented at the Mennonite Heritage Village is a community that is interconnected, founded on mutual benefit and one where the issues facing individuals cannot go unnoticed.
Like most Manitobans, I look toward the inevitable coming of winter with trepidation and muted anticipation.
