Site of the Indian Council House where I walk today
Back in January, I asked you to look into how the earliest peoples of your place are remembered and to write a land acknowledgement for your place.
Here in Canada, June is Indigenous History month, where we remember and celebrate the original inhabitants of our place through festivities and educational opportunities. I’ve been learning more about the history of my place for several years now. I like to imagine what the streets I walk now looked like thousands of years ago and how people lived.
Niagara History
There is evidence of habitation going back at least 12,000 years ago, after the glacial ice retreated, first by nomadic hunter-gatherers, and followed by the more settled Woodland people, including the Indigenous Neutral First Nations. People were drawn to this place by the climate, abundant flora and fauna, and its strategic location along the Niagara River. First Nations people named the land Onguiaahra, which means “the strait,” referring to the Niagara river.
The Neutral Nations were eventually absorbed by Iroquois communities, now called Haudenosaunee or Six Nations, one of the two major language groups in the area today. The other is the Algonquian or Anishinaabe people (which includes the Mississaugas and the Ojibwe/Chippawa).
Once European explorers arrived, beginning in the 1600’s, the story takes a familiar turn. The two groups traded goods, mostly peacefully. By the 1700’s there was a larger British presence in the area and in 1755, Britain created the Indian Department to formalize this alliance. With the Treaty of Niagara in 1764, Britain purchased land from the Natives in exchange for reserves.
During and following the American Revolutionary War, British soldiers loyal to the Crown and Haudenosaunee settled in this area in significant numbers. Britain rewarded the Loyalists with land grants, and they established the British Colony of Upper Canada. The town of Niagara-on-the-Lake, where I now live, was incorporated in 1792.
Later that decade, An Indian Council House (see picture above) was built on the Commons, a park where I walk regularly. The Six Nations would convene here to negotiate with each other and the British settlers. Commander William Johnson was the first Superintendent of the Indian Department and relations with First Nations were still fairly good.
Peaceful negotiations between the British and Natives gradually disintegrated after the War of 1812, but that’s another story.
Practice
What else can you learn about the Indigenous history of your place? How can you celebrate this week? I’ve found our local history museum to be a great source of information.
Here’s an interesting exercise I call The Street Names Sonnet. A friend and I did a poetry exercise (shout out to poet Bernadette Mayer), where we were to walk 14 streets in our neighbourhood and then write a sonnet (14 lines) based on impressions from each street.
I had an aha moment while doing this exercise about how history can be erased. As I wrote down the name of the street and my impression, I noticed a thread running through the names of the streets. After returning home, I did a little research on the origins of these names. While the names Niagara and Ontario derive from Indigenous origins, the streets tell a different story, one I’m reminded of every day. They are all named to honour mostly British Imperialists. The people who inhabited this area before British settlement are not recognized in the street names. I wrote my sonnet (see below) based on what I discovered.
Is Indigenous history erased in your place? How so?
Share what you learned or how you celebrated in the comments or post on Instagram and add the hashtag #seeingyourplace2022.
Niagara-on-the-Lake Street Sonnet
My street, William, is named after a king,
I turn right onto Simcoe, who was the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada.
Next is Centre, it’s the center of town, of course.
Left onto Gate, an entrance, a portal, or perhaps a famous gate in India; this one’s a head scratcher.
Right on Gage, he was a General, as well as Governor of Montreal.
Left on Regent, a prince who became a King or perhaps the London street.
Right onto Johnson, Sir William, the first Superintendant of the Indian Council House, a friend to all, especially the native peoples.
Left on Platoff, and surprise, he’s a Russian General who defeated Napoleon!
Now I’m on Davy; Sir Humphrey, that is, a scientist who invented the safety lamp.
Right on Picton, another General, who sadly fell at the Battle of Waterloo.
Left onto Wellington, the Iron Duke,
And then there’s Byron, the romantic English poet, also a Lord.
Now I’m at the heart of town, the intersection of King and Queen, named for George III and his Queen, Charlotte,
Finally ending at Victoria, another Queen, of course.
Resources
An Indigenous story: The Great Festival of Light