Print – Tufts Cove Survivor

December 6, 2017.
Subject: Painting by Alan Syliboy – “Tufts Cove Survivor”.
Print Size 9″ x 18″ including Matte My painting “Tufts Cove Survivor” was painted in 2009 commemorating the Mi’kmaq settlement, known as Turtle Grove, located on the Dartmouth side of the Halifax harbour. Turtle Grove was destroyed by the Halifax Explosion which occurred on December 6, 1917. This painting is now a part of a permanent collection at the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.Half of the Mi’kmaq inhabitants were killed outright. All affected communities were rebuilt including the Black community, but the Mi’kmaq community was not rebuilt. The survivors were moved to reservations away from their home. From then on they became tenants, rather than land owners.My Grandmother, Rachael Marshall, was a little girl at the time of the Halifax Explosion. She lived in Millbrook, 60 miles from the disaster. The ground shook as she was outside coasting in the snow. She knew something major had happened. She recalled that very soon train loads of wounded came to Truro for medical attention. Jerry Lonecloud and his family lived on the harbour shore at Turtle Grove – Tufts Cove. Jerry was not home at the time of explosion but he lost two of his daughters in the blast.William Prosper is circled in red on this painting. He was the last living member of that community, who I refer to as the “Tufts Cove Survivor”.