Will The Canadian Government Put An End To The Curse Of Oak Island?
The History Channel's popular reality series "The Curse of Oak Island" has come under fire in recent weeks following the discovery of some centuries-old Indigenous artifacts, which prompted local officials to shut down a large portion of the show's dig operation — causing several archeologists to be sent packing. Now, fans are wondering if things will ever be the same for the Laginas and their crew, not to mention the status of "Oak Island."
"Is the Canadian government going to be responsible for the show ending?" asked Redditor u/foreverpregg in an "Oak Island" discussion thread. "Personally, I don't believe the show is going to end with gold or them giving up. I believe the Canadian government will squeeze them until they quit," the user said. "The tension is definitely building already."
Throughout the ongoing ninth season, the Laginas have been under fire by Nova Scotia's Department of Communities, Culture, and Heritage following the discovery of First Nation Mi'kmaq pottery shards in the southeast corner of Oak Island. As a result, officials restricted search activity in the area, which has led the Laginas to do-away with many of their digging methods. "We have internally made a decision to back down on archeological methods for the time being and let the dust settle on this," Marty Lagina explained during Episode 6, "The Root Cause.
With "Oak Island" preparing to wrap up Season 9 in a couple weeks, and tensions continuing to rise, fans can't stop wondering what's next for the reality series. And here's what most of them think.
The Curse of Oak Island is to be collared, not canceled
If you look at "Oak Island" fan discussions online, the majority believes that Nova Scotia CCH officials will likely put a damper on the Laginas' digging methods, but not stop them for good.
"Even if the gov't did everything they could to shut them down that wouldn't stop the show," pointed out Redditor u/BudtendersStash in the earlier discussion thread. "The Canadian government does not want the show to end," added u/JoeDirtsMullet00. "It's great for tourism and for interest in the area. The 'tension' is just rules and regulations. It's no more tension than any other rules or regulations that every person has to live with or deal with in their life. If they are on certain lots on the island that have restrictions, like the Ball lot, they have stricter rules they have to follow with what they can explore and what they have to do with things they find."
Both Rick and Marty Lagina have said that they plan to use alternate digging techniques when unearthing Oak Island's hidden secrets, which they've been doing in recent episodes. "There are other methodologies that can be applied that are much less restrictive," Rick said during Episode 9. "We think it's best to not do archeological work at this point. To shut it down," Marty later explained. "Because until we understand the rules and what we might be giving up, that seems to be most prudent...In the meantime, we're going to stay with the search but we don't want to shoot ourselves in the foot."