Each year since 2003, Scottish organizations across North America have gathered together in what is now known as the Scottish North American Community Conference (SNACC).  Each year, the conference rotates through cities across the continent. This year, it was scheduled for New York City, but since public health protocols prevented a physical gathering, the 18th annual conference, December 4-6, 2020, was held on Zoom.  All seemed to agree that this was the best Conference ever, largely because so many more could participate online.

The Scottish Society of Ottawa’s participation in the Conference dates back to 2017, when SSO sent two delegates to the Conference when it was held for the first time in Canada at the University of Guelph.  That year, the representative from the Scottish Government highlighted SSO’s kilt skate program as an example of the kind of initiative they would like to partner with. The connections SSO made at that Conference led to the expansion of kilt skating to New York City in 2019 and a Memorandum in 2020 in which SSO will help the American Scottish Foundation coordinate the phenomenon in the USA.

Each year, the Conference brings together a wide range of interests and expertise.  Friday’s discussions were taken up with issues of Scottish identity.  Scotland’s current population is about 5 million, but elsewhere around the world, 50 million people identify as Scots.  Viscount Dunrossil explored many of the issues arising from the quintessential Gaelic question of identity: “Co leis thu?”  Not just “Who are you?” but “What is your background?” or “What is your context?”

The rest of the afternoon was given over to several genealogical explorations of Scottish identity, including a presentation on the use of the Y chromosome to identify, not just the standard DNA swab information that your ancestors likely came from Scotland, but when and from where their ancestors arrived in Scotland hundreds or even thousands of years before.

Saturday morning’s agenda focused on history, particularly the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath, seen as one of the foundational documents of modern democracy.  Robert the Bruce’s petition to the Pope to assert independence from the English monarch may have been lost to common memory in the centuries after 1320, but by the time of the Enlightenment, it had become influential to such thinkers as the French philosophes and Thomas Jefferson. Its ideals in the defence of liberty had been absorbed by the defenders of the Alamo.  In the Q&A that followed his presentation, Charles, Lord Bruce, opined that the Declaration helped shape the thoughts of his ancestor, Lord Elgin, in signing the 1849 Rebellion Losses Bill, which brought Representative Government to Canada after our long struggle. It is thus foundational to Canadian as well as American democracy.

Saturday afternoon’s program brought together community leaders from Scottish organizations from across the continent to discuss, among other things, how they were coping in the pandemic environment. The Scottish Society of Ottawa’s Chair, Jane Torrance, and Vice-Chair, Heather Theoret, demonstrated how Ottawa would proceed with its annual winter OttScot Festival by delivering programs online, thanks to the help of SSO Volunteers and the application of video conferencing.  This included the recent Tutored Whisky Tasting and would continue through Hogman-eh!, the Great Canadian Kilt Skate, and the Gala Burns Dinner and Ceilidh.

Conference participants also heard innovative ideas from other organizations.  When New York’s St. Patrick’s Society decided to cancel its annual parade, Kyle Dawson of National Tartan Day NY was determined that the Scottish parade would go on – albeit virtually.  He received so many photos and videos of individuals kitted out for Tartan Day that the “virtual parade” will be a feature of Tartan Day NY into the future.  In Los Angeles, where the St. Andrew’s Society’s big plans for their 90th anniversary had to be scuttled, Kimberlee Bradford mobilized the society’s financial and volunteer resources to help local charities and to make sure that their own members had the support they needed to get through the pandemic.  Deb Dalziel explained how the Fergus Scottish Festival launched a “Paint the Town Tartan” contest, in which 18 homes vied for the prize by decorating their exteriors with Canada’s favourite colour – tartan.  

That morning, SNACC also revealed the results of a survey that showed how most members of Scottish organizations trace their interest in Scotland to their childhood. Most point to the influence of their parents and grandparents in sparking their enthusiasm for their Scottish roots.  In presenting these findings, Camilla Hellman of the American Scottish Foundation emphasized the importance of initiatives and programming that enable families to celebrate their heritage together. Certainly, SSO has been on the right track with programming that appeals to all ages, including a kilted mini-golf, kilt skates, bicycle tours, a presence at local Highland games, and Hogman-eh! that specifically adds programming that enables kids to join in a traditional Scottish New Year’s Eve celebration.  Get the kids involved at an early age, and they’re carry their Scottish heritage for the rest of their lives and pass it on to future generations.

Saturday afternoon also included panel discussions on how the arts were faring during the pandemic, while Sunday’s agenda examined its impact on tourism.  Sunday also saw the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Convenor of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, and the Chairman of VisitScotland added to a distinguished roster that had included the hereditary chief of the Clan Gregor and a former First Minister of the Scottish Government.

 The breadth and depth of the 18th SNACC cannot be summarized here, but it was certainly in keeping the Conference’s reputation for excellence. At the final wrap-up session it was generally agreed that the Conference was continuing to evolve.  The original title – the Scottish North American Leadership Conference – was changed to a Community Conference in deference to the Scottish egalitarian spirit.  You don’t have consider yourself to be a Leader to attend; you’re always welcome as a member of the diaspora community. Zoom has proven a welcome tool to continue growing that community.