Full Circle: First Contact
Vikings and Skraelings
in Newfoundland and Labrador

From November 15, 2001 to April 2, 2002

The travelling exhibition Full Circle: First Contact, — Vikings and Skraelings in Newfoundland and Labrador told the dramatic story of the Viking expansion across the North Atlantic to Newfoundland and Labrador. Prepared by the Newfoundland Museum, the exhibition was built on exciting recent advances in archaeology, history and natural science. Through colourful displays and an evocative audio guide, we learned of Leif Ericsson's voyage to Newfoundland from Greenland in the spring of the year 1000. Stunning Viking objects made of gold, ivory, iron and wood from Nordic and Canadian museums brought Norse history to life.

As Vikings explored the regions they called Helluland, Markland and Vinland, they encountered Skraelings — their name for the Native peoples occupying eastern Canada. Remarkable tools and artworks of bone, stone, ivory and wood illustrate the different Aboriginal groups most likely encountered by the Vikings — the Dorset people of the eastern Canadian Arctic and northern Greenland, the ancestors of the Labrador Innu, the Newfoundland Beothuk, and the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet of the southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence and Nova Scotia. After 1200 A.D. another people, the Thule (ancestors of the Inuit) would arrive on the scene.

A full complement of educational and cultural activities, some produced in collaboration with representatives from local Scandinavian organizations, accompanied the exhibition.

A travelling exhibition produced by the Newfoundland Museum and the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, and supported by the Museums Assistance Program of Canadian Heritage.