Read the article - the original spelling of the Mõttus name is indicated. And seeing as you brought it up - it is a tilde, not an umlaut. (For Süvari, yes, them dots are an umlaut). Finally, considering that the Mõttus clan has been in Alberta for over 100 years, is it any surprise that the õ became o? Just think of the fierce anglicizing that immigrants faced after WWII - and the Mõttuses were here at the time of the Russo-Japanese War!!!

Thank you for the corrections -- appreciated. And you are absolutely right about the inevitable and even pressured anglicizing. Not to mention that if a person does not read or write in a language, then naturally all of its unique letters fail to have the same significance. I simply began to think that the first to arrive, Gustav, did so as a Mõttus, but how long before he lost that identity, if only outwardly, is interesting if only in terms of philosophical speculation... Another factor one should not fail to take into account is the mindset of immigrant vs refugee.
But with ethnic having now become cool and interesting, in the era of Häagen-Dazs, müsli and Björk, I often wonder if more people have begun flaunting their Ä-s and Ö-s?

Why don't you read the Eesti Express article and find out?

Peter, this is highly interesting reading! Thanks so much for the background. I wasn't aware of the nature of such a problem; I think it is in all our best interests if you actually wrote down a lot of your opinions and general knowledge about the Canadian Estonian community. Someone is bound to want to publish it sometime in the future. In spite of any contrary opinions you might receive in Canada, at least you can be assured that in Estonia your opinions carry a lot of weight, which is the most important thing all things considered-including the quality of some of the comments received here...

Estonians, among others, settled in the Canadian west to take advantage of, (1) a government offer of free land, (2) no military conscription and (3) freedom of religion.
There was never any promise of a right to public education in any language that someone might want.
The immigrants taking advantage of the Canadian government's generous offer were escaping harsh social conditions and, in some cases, religious %@!#$& In Russia, for example, Old Believers were %@!#$& by Orthodox authorities.
The Germans who eventually left Canada for Mexico are more accurately described as Mennonites. Similarly, the Russians who engaged in civil disobedience are more accurately described as Doukobours or Old Believers. They simply rejected education -- that was the source of friction between them and and civil authority.
There was nothing comparable among the vast majority of immigrant groups; and, in particular, among the Estonians who settled in Alberta.
Peter, you are not a victim of any "draconian laws" and your sense of entitlement to compensation only makes you look foolish, at best. For truly "draconian laws", look to the totalitarian regimes.

the blocked out word is p-e-r-s-e-c-u-t-e-d.

It is always interesting to argue with anglophiles on this site. Your facts are wrong and maybe you should do some more research. Many immigrants left Europe because of the discrimination they faced there and for some groups that included linguistic discrimination. Ukranians were discriminated against in Russia and Austro-Hungary because of the language they spoke and came to Canada to escape this oppression. Estonian language education was also banned in Estonia at one time and many Estonians left for countries where they would be free to speak their native language at home and ensure that their children recieved an education in Estonian, not Russian.
Minority language education was permitted for decades before it was banned in the Western provinces. We Estonians even had a school in Eckville where children were taught in both English and Estonian. These schools were banned because of anti-German hysteria and Anglo nativism. The English even closed French schools outside of Quebec for a while.
If the Anglos here had been more tolerant then we would probably have whole communities in Alberta where Estonian would be spoken in schools, churches, homes and on the streets.

In your response to my posting, above, you state that, "your facts are wrong..." Yet, you provide no detail. May I ask, therefore, which one's?

Your point about the Old Believers is not entirely true. Peter the Great decided to %@!#$& the Old Believers because there was a reformation taking place in the Orthodox Church at the time, and this created "iturgical sparks" among the two camps of believers. A very sore point, for example, was how a believer crossed onself, and as the Old Believers stuck to their tradition, they were driven from Russia and ended up on the other side of Lake Peipsi. There was considerably less-if anything at all- to do with actual education as far as this religious friction in general was concerned. This is one point in which you have unfortunately got your facts wrong.

F.Y.I. The subject under discussion is education in languages other than English in Canada.

You state that Canada did not guarantee linguistic and educational rights. This statement is not true. Canada was desperate to lure as many European immigrants as possible since they were afraid that if the Western provinces remained underpopulated then they would eventually be annexed by the Unites States. Russians were assured that they could not only speak their language but could also live in villages surrounded by communal fields and pasture just like they had lived for generations in Russia. The Germans had well established schools in Canada for over a century and never thought that their right to an education in their native language would be taken away from them. Some immigrants did come here with the intention of assimilating with English Canadians. They were mainly from the British Isles and Scandnavia. Swedish and Norwegians already thought of themselves as of the same race, culture and religion as the English and were not fleeing opression but looking for better opportunities. As a result of this way of thinking few of them sought to preserve their native languages. Germans on the other hand saw themselves as bringing a "superior" civilization and language here. There were even organizations dedicated to making German the official language and even uniting all of the countries of North and South America through the medium of the German language. Eastern Europeans were also colonists but sought to bring their cultures and languages here and make them a permanent fixture in Canadian life without forcing them on others. Much effort was made to set up churches, libraries and community centres. Teachers were brought from Europe to ensure that children receive a decent education.
On the subject of the Old Believers that Maxim brought up, I have been to some of their villages in Estonia and they are really unique and interesting places. These people were no threat to Estonian society and were treated with decency and tolerance by the Estonian government. They were allowed to practice their religion, speak their language and live in peace. Maybe English Canada could learn a lesson in tolerance from our example.

Peter, I listened to a program this morning celebrating the Anniversary of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. There was mention of interest in obtaining background material from Estonian communities anywhere in the world, which will in due course become research documents for dissertations. I would encourage you to get in contact with someone at the Academy and send them a couple of your short opinions from this list-I think you'll be pleasantly surprised!!!

Peter -- Your commentary has an oddly ambiguous quality to it. You make bold generalizations. But, never any reference to a specific event, law, political actor, date or place that could be checked against the historical record. To make matters worse, you fail to draw distinctions where they are called for. For example, Mennonites are referred to as Germans, and Doukobours are called Russians. That's misleading. It's like describing the Russian Old Believers on the Peipsi as Estonians. Yes, in a sense thay are, but they are far from typical.

For anyone else interested in this question, I would recomend Karl Aun's book, "The Political Refugees: A History of the Estonians in Canada." The section on the first Estonian settlers in Alberta is brief but informative. (Also, the book has an excellent bibliography.)

According to Aun, by 1916, there were about 500 Estonians in Alberta (100 families and several single men) spread accross several settlements: Sylvan Lake, Barons, Stettler, Eckville, Foremost and Walsh. They assimilated peacefully and naturally with the other nationalities in the area to become run-of-the-mill Albertans. There is nothing in their history to suggest that they were victims of anything reminiscent of the fascism that Peter conjures up.

Alberta didn't become an Estonian colony simply because there were never enough Estonians there to establish one. Nor were these people nationalists determined to preserve their language and culture with extraordinary efforts. They were ordinary folk looking for prosperity denied them back home in Russia and Estonia.

"lberta didn't become an Estonian colony simply because there were never enough Estonians there to establish one. Nor were these people nationalists determined to preserve their language and culture with extraordinary efforts." What a load of hogwash!!! You've missed the entire point of being an Estonian living in exile. It obviously doesn't matter to you how watered-down the Estonian - ID getsover time, but it did matter to those people back then. I can't see your problem with Peter's remarks, and I think that on your part it shows a distinct lack of "filling in the thinking patchwork" for yourself. If you want more information, it's not up to Peter to feed every last detail to you, it's up to you to follow the subject a little further and discover a few more answers yourself. You indicate that you want to know more about the subject, yet because you fail to get the answers for lack of grasping the subject, you attribute the blame on Peter's remarks. That's just plain silly and unintellectual. Peter has advanced the argument much further than you give him credit for.

"It's like describing the Russian Old Believers on the Peipsi as Estonians. Yes, in a sense thay are, but they are far from typical." Who exactly has described the Old Believers as Estonians-I don't recall anyone suggesting that they are.

Nice job Anonymous !! This is what I would call a professional comment(s). It is not only your opinion but you back it up with reference material. This is unlike other commentators who comment their opinions with no backup material. (Naised saunas rääkisid).I firmly believe there are some that want to only provoke and some who just shoot off their mouth. Some commentors can't even read. Just keep up the good work , and thanks.

Where is the proof of the good work, please? She asks questions and gives no answers-what's good in that?? She doesn't advance a single argument, but takes everything back a stage or two-what's good in that? What exactly makes her more interesting to read than Peter, in that I should begin to respect her opinion, when she never expresses one?!!

I will repeat myself. Some commentators can not read. Some commentators also have a double standard. One for themselves and one for the others that do not agree with them.

Anonymous - you may want to read about Admiral Pitka. He thought up what was probably the most ambitious plan to create an Estonian colony in Western Canada. Most books written about him mention his idea of creating an Estonian "nation within a nation" in Canada. Also, old pre-war issues of Välis-Eesti and Asunik contain a wealth of information about attitudes of Estonians regarding the preservation of their language and culture in other countries. A must read book about a very successful Estonian colony is Mälestused Krimmist by Laamann.
I have read one of Aun's articles and he tends to be biased in favour of the English and does not want to "rock the boat" and get into some of the real reasons why Estonian and many other languages declined in Canada.
One of the best examples of linguistic genocide in Canada is that of the residential schools. If you have read any local newspapers at all in the last decade then I am sure that you must have come across some articles on this subject. English Canadians decided to eliminate the Native Indian languages by taking children away from their parents and putting them in what were called residential schools. This program was highly successful as many Native languages now face extinction and families were so divided that children could not even communicate with their parents and grandparents. Now Natives are demanding compensation for this grave injustice that was done to them.
Many Canadians truly believe that English was simply adopted by immigrants in search of a better life but the facts are more sinister once you begin doing some reaserch into the subject of why once healthy linguistic and cultural communities have almost vanished from this country.

Yes, Admiral Pitka had ambitious plans for an Estonian colony in British Columbia; but, with no results -- unless you're impressed by a community of 26 people who, for the most part, eventually returned to Estonia along with Pitka himself.

By the way, could you specify the article by Aun that you believe to be biased?

I'm asking because you have given us good reason to be suspicious of ambiguous statements supporting your implausible belief that we would have a vibrant Estonian colony in Canada were it not for fascist oppression by British authorities.

By the way, with Hitler as your spiritual icon, I thought that you are a fascist. Or is it just when you can be on its administrative side?

Be that as it may. It certainly would be interesting to hear the merits of your claim for compensation. In all probability, you're Canadian-born to Estonian immigrants. On that basis, who owes you how much and for what?

Your complimentary remarks came as a pleasant surprise. They've stuck in my mind and heart.
I wish to thank you for them sincerely.

Sorry if I offended any of Dr. Aun's fans but the article that I referred to was "Estonians" which is posted on www.multiculturalcanada.ca
In this article Aun states that "The Estonians who settled in Canada before 1939 had no hope, nor any real wish, to maintain Estonian cultural patterns; they wanted to assimilate socially and culturally as quickly as possible."
I find this statement to be strange when you consider how much effort was made to maintain the Estonian culture and language in Western Canada combined with the fact that Estonian settlers created colonies where they could attend church services and conduct meetings in Estonian. The Estonian community even set up at least 1 library in Alberta.
His statement also baffles me because he is writing about people who left Estonia at a time when their language and culture were under attack by the authorities and I do not think that many of them would have left this kind of environment where they were being forced to become Russians only to move to a different country and voluntarily become Englishmen. Does this make sense?
While it is true that some Estonians simply wanted to move to places where opportunities were better a large number, if not most, Estonians left their homeland to create colonies where their language and culture could be maintained. The highly successful colony in Crimea is a good example and would have existed to this day had it not been for the communist take-over of Russia.
I could spend hours looking up the laws which were enacted by the Canadian provincial governments against minority-language schools in this country but there is much information about this subject available for anyone who has the time to do some research. I even learned about the Ukranian language and its supression and decline in high school although I doubt that many of the older people reading this who attended school here when English nationalism was still part of the curriculum whould have been taught anything that would embarass the Anglo-Canadian establishment.

You're absolutely right Peter! I don't think Aun makes too much sense on this occasion, and I don't see that there should be a distinctly different pattern of re-settlement on the part of these earlier Estonian expats compared with the ones following WW2. Something is amiss in Aun's thinking here. Your critics, of course, have successfully managed to assimilate into Canadian society to such a degree that many of them are hanging onto the bare threads of anything vaguely resembling Estonian identity, mistakenly thinking that Canadian multiculturalism is on par with anything happening in Estonia could offer them, or anyone else for that matter. But I believe you have plumbed the right notions about the probability of Aun being wrong on this occasion. Just don't expect your critics to be as astute in doing the same.

We must also remenber that the 2 communities, the "vana-eestlased" who came before the war and the "pagulased" or post-war immigrants did not associate with each other and were even hostile because of their political beliefs.
Many pre-war Estonian immigrants were social democrats who viewed supporters of the "white" movement as being agents of the land owning aristocratic class and some were even openly sympathetic to bolshevism. The large readership of the American leftist paper Uus Ilm among the vana-eestlased provides much evidence of their political beliefs. The post-war immigrants, on the other hand, were mostly anti-communist and viewed the pre-war immigrants with suspicion. It is sad that there was this kind of division in our small community as it weakened us even further. Both the mostly rural pre-war immigrants and the mostly urban post-war refugees could have learned from each other and accomplished much if politics had not caused such division between them.

Rock stars have fans.

Academics such as Dr. Karl Aun have students and colleagues who take a dispassionate view of his work and weigh its merits. If he asserts something you don't want to hear, it isn't necessarily bias.

Peter, you allude to a political rift between pre- and post-war Estonian immigrants to North America. Sadly, that also existed within the tiny, isolated Estonian enclaves in Alberta.

Take a drive south on the highway from Stettler. Within a few miles, you'll get to Estonian Road. Turn left and proceed a few miles. On the right you'll pass Linda Hall. Then you'll shortly arrive at the First Estonian Church, est. 1910, on the left. It's about the size of a single-car garage and around it, there's a graveyard with a curiously small number of headstones covered with weeds. Can this be the meager remnants of a dynamic colony of tulihingelised eestlased fighting British fascism to preserve Estonian culture? Not at all. The rest of the original homesteaders are buried elsewhere because political differences prevented them from laying side-by-side, even in death.

All of these remnants are clearly the result of British colonial influence, and the fact that the English-speaking world has done more than it's fair share to weaken and (let's be perfectly honest here) anihilate any other culture that stands in its way, including the culture of our own forefathers. The fact that you take such tremendous pride of the English really makes me wonder just whose side you're really on?

It's also interesting to note here that the earlier settlers were probably strongly influenced by the Russian Revolution and its ideas, and therefore it seemed a natural progression to publish a paper such as Uus Ilm in their own New World. The years of Estonian Independence were also pretty bloodthirsty ones, especially for the business sector. It didn't much matter whose corps you had to step over to get on in life, but get on you must; this was a fairly common attitude of the times. And therefore the combination of a rough and adventurous capitalist streak in a lot of Estonians, together with a ruthless hatred for the invading Russians in 1944 is the reason for such a contrast between these earlier and latter-day Estonian communities. But since they are all our brothers and sisters, I suppose we have to let bygones be bygones.