Icelandic Roots

By Shaune Jonasson Keeping with the 2026 theme of settlements in North America, we close April with offering you a driving tour to the Icelandic sites in Nova Scotia. The communities settled were short-lived; however, some families did remain. Their descendants have lived there since the 1880s. With a keen interest in the history of the Icelandic communities, a group of dedicate...

Are You Related? The Snorri West Program is pleased to announce three Icelanders who will be taking part in the 2026 trip to the “Pacific Corridor” of British Columbia, with an additional, optional week in Washington State. The trip to explore the lives of Western Icelanders, visit historic settlements and see how the Icelandic heritage is kept alive in North America will take p...

By Phyllis Smith Continuing with the Icelandic Roots settlement areas we take you to a location in Ontario: Keewatin. A small community of proud and hardworking Icelanders called this place home. When the editorial team brainstormed all the possible Icelandic settlements across North America for this year’s newsletter articles, Keewatin, Ontario, didn’t make the top ten list. It...

By Lee-Anne Fox Icelandic Roots Book Club will meet next on Thursday, 7 May. This is an event for Samkoma and Support members only. Please be aware that this will be a daytime event rather than the usual evenings. Please click on the IR Event Calendar for the timings in your zone or see the timings at the bottom of this article. Michael Ridpath, Author Join us for Book Club in M...

Public Webinar on Friday, 27 April 2026 Jen Nelson joined the Icelandic Roots Member Tour in 2025 and came home with a newfound love of skyr. Photo Credit: Icelandic Provisions; Retrieved from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Icelandic_Skyr.jpg : 30 Mar 2026 Skyr is often mistaken for yogurt, but skyr is thicker and creamier in texture. Made with heirloom Icelandic cultur...