Freedomites

Freedomites, also called Svobodniki or Sons of Freedom, first appeared in 1902 in Saskatchewan, Canada, and later in the Kootenay and Boundary districts of British Columbia, as a Doukhobor extremist group. Of the about 20,000 Doukhobor living in Canada today, about 2,500 are Freedomites.

Doctrine

The ideals of the Freedomites emphasize communal living and action, ecstatic religious doctrine, and anarchic attitudes towards external regulation. The objective of the Doukhobors in moving to Canada had been to escape religious persecution in Russia, but the community fractured soon after they arrived. The Sons of Freedom were the most radical of the resulting groups.^{[citation needed]}

Public protest

Although Canada at first provided a more tolerant religious environment than the Russian Empire, conflict soon developed, most importantly over the schooling of children and registration. The Svobodniki generally refused to send their children to school; the governments of Saskatchewan and later British Columbia would soon charge many of the parents for not sending the children.^{[citation needed]}

The Svobodniki became famous for various public protests: sometimes publicly burning their own money and/or possessions, and mostly parading in public nude. There was a doctrinal justification for nudity (that human skin, as God's creation, was more perfect than clothes, the imperfect work of human hands), but the public nudity has generally been interpreted as a form of protest against the materialist tendencies of society.^{[citation needed]}

A very small minority of the Freedomites were noted for their arson campaigns, as a sign of their protest against materialistic life. They targeted belongings and other material possessions. The attacks occurred throughout the 20th century, but the periods of greatest activity was during the 1920s and 1960s. Both arson and bombing were used. Targets included the property of themselves and other Doukhbors to further exhibit their dislike of materialism, attacks on schools to resist government pressure to school Svobodnik children, and attacks on transportation and communications. One such incident was the bombing of a railway bridge in Nelson, British Columbia in 1961. Most of these acts were committed in the nude.^{[citation needed]}

Among the reactions of the British Columbia and Canadian government was taking away Freedomite children and placing them in an internment center in New Denver. Abuse of these children was later alleged, and a formal apology demanded. The BC government made an official Statement of Regret that satisfied some, but not others. The Government of Canada has not apologized for its role in the removal, saying that it is not responsible for actions taken by the government in place 50 years ago.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Florence Storgoff
• Mountain Institution

Sources

• Doukhobor Genealogy Website
• Sons-Of-Freedom Songs in English
• Doukhobors/Sons of Freedom in French
• CBC News: Doukhobor survivors want apology from B.C.
• Attorney General's Statement of Regret to Sons of Freedom Doukhobor Children
• BC Ombudsman's report questioning the Attorney General's "apology"
• CBC Archives: Doukhobor bomb blast ignites fear in the Kootenays

References

• Spirit Wrestlers, Jim Hamm Productions Limited, a 2002 documentary video and DVD about the Freedomite Doukhobors.