Sointula

SOINTULA, pop 646, is on MALCOLM ISLAND, off the east coast of VANCOUVER ISLAND opposite PORT McNEILL. It was established in 1901 by a party of Finnish socialist utopians led by the journalist and idealist Matti KURIKKA. The FINNS formed the Kalevan Kansa Colonization Co Ltd, which received the island as a grant from the provincial government in return for promises to make improvements. The bulk of the settlers arrived in 1902. Sointula is Finnish for "harmony." The utopian commune attracted about 2,000 people during the 4 years of its existence; they published the first printed Finnish-language newspaper in Canada and distributed it worldwide. The commune collapsed in 1905 but many of the settlers remained, making their living in trapping, AGRICULTURE, LOGGING and commercial FISHING. In 1931 Laurie JARVIS, a Sointula Finn, invented the gillnet drum, revolutionizing the commercial fishery. Over the years descendants of the original Finnish colonists have been joined by residents of different backgrounds, particularly during the 1970s, when the back-to-the-land movement brought a wave of latter-day idealists. The community is linked by ferry to Port McNeill.
Reading: Paula Wild, Sointula: Island Utopia, 1995.