Our Voices, Our Histories
The lands that make up Turtle Island, or North America, have been occupied since Time Immemorial by many diverse Indigenous Peoples, yet history resources are often told from Western perspectives. This ever-evolving timeline was created in a cooperative effort to tell the many stories about our shared history from different perspectives.
We will be continuously adding content to this timeline as the project grows.
Learn more about this resource
Indigenous Perspectives
Western Perspectives
Time Immemorial
Creation of the Earth
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Time Immemorial
Creation of the Earth
Canada
Haudenosaunee, First Peoples
Before there was Earth, there existed only Sky World (which was bright and full of life) and Water World (which was dark and covered completely by the water).
There are many stories of the Creation of the Earth that speak about Skywoman being sent to Water World. The oral retellings generally agree that a tree was moved in Sky World to reveal Water World below. While some stories say Skywoman was gently dropped through the hole, other stories say she was pushed, and other versions tell that she accidentally slipped and fell through.
Animals in the Water World saw Skywoman falling from Sky World with fists full of roots, and geese flew up to help catch her and bring her down into water world safely.
This Haudenosaunee sculpture, "Creation of the Earth" by Jacob Thomas Jr., Onondaga of the Six Nations of the Grand River, depicts an oral story explaining how the Earth came to be. Carved in 1976, the artist used his talents to revive Indigenous oral stories through the arts. The sculpture contains Indigenous references to the longstanding presence of distinct nations inhabiting Turtle Island since Time Immemorial.
How does the "Creation of the Earth" sculpture depict the Haudenosaunee creation story? -
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"Creation of the Earth"
Jacob Thomas Jr. (1943 CE - )
1976 CE
Among many Indigenous nations, the continent of North America is more commonly known as Turtle Island. The revival of traditional and contemporary Indigenous art like this sculpture follows a 67-year Potlatch Ban (1884-1951) that was made into law under the Indian Act.
This ban was put in place to stop Indigenous peoples from transmitting their traditional knowledge, and it forbade Indigenous people from speaking their languages and sharing oral stories through their art, songs, dances and ceremonies. Luckily, oral traditions continue to be revived in works of art such as this sculpture.
“Creation of the Earth” depicts the moment in the Haudenosaunee story of Creation in which Turtle agrees to let Skywoman be placed on her back. With roots still clutched in her hand, Skywoman explains she needs some mud from deep under water, and Muskrat successfully brings up a humble paw full of mud. The mud is place on Turtle’s back so Skywoman could plant the roots, and this is how we now have our planet Earth, which grew on the back of Turtle.
Object information:Materials: Steatite (soapstone)Area of Origin: Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, CanadaGallery: Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada: First Peoples, Level 1Gift of the Estate of Dr. Bernhard Cinader -
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Additional Links
Ways of Knowing Earth's Teachings [PDF]: A resource document produced by Turtle Island Conservation at the Toronto Zoo that collects Traditional Knowledge from several nations, including the Haudenosaunee Creation story.
Sources:
AyAy Qwa Yak Sheelth, J. (2016, April 1). Personal communication with Indigenous Outreach & Learning Coordinator, Royal Ontario Museum.
Formation of the Solar System
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4.6 bya
Formation of the Solar System
Canada
Global
Based on the evidence available, scientists think that about 4.6 billion years ago, a large star ended its life in a massive explosion. Gas and dust from the exploding star scattered over dozens of light years into an immense cloud called a nebula. This nebula was enormous: one light year is about 9 trillion kilometres.
Even though a nebula is a remnant of destruction, it can also become a place of creation — a stellar “nursery” where new suns are formed. The gas and dust in a nebula isn’t evenly spread out, but clumpy. Some denser regions have higher gravity, which draws in more and more material that sticks together until it becomes so dense that it collapses into a donut or disc shape called a nebular disc. As it collapses, it becomes incredibly hot, and gravity draws most of the hot gas and dust toward the centre, where it eventually forms a new star. 4.6 billion years ago, one of these clumps became the birthplace of our solar system.
When our solar system was still a nebular disc, the intense heat created when it formed meant that most of its matter was not solid or liquid, but vapour. When it cooled, microscopic grains of the first minerals began to crystallize. The crystals began to clump together, forming larger and larger masses, some of which eventually became the rocky planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. As these early proto-planets crashed into each other while orbiting around the young sun, a huge, Mars-sized rock, often called Theia, struck the mass of rock that would eventually become the Earth. This collision pulverized Theia, and its shattered remains orbited our planet as a ring before eventually clumping together and forming our Moon.
The mass at the centre the nebular disc became denser and hotter as the material in the disc flowed toward it, eventually reaching 10 million degrees Celsius. At that point, it ignited: the hydrogen gas that made up most of the disc fused into helium, which is the same process that drives our sun today! When the sun “turned on,” it released a massive amount of energy and matter that blasted any remaining gas in the inner solar system toward its outer edges, where the gas giants, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, eventually formed.
But not all the matter from the forming solar system went into the sun and the planets: some remnants are still orbiting within our solar system, most of which is in the Asteroid Belt between Mars and Jupiter, and occasionally they fall to Earth as meteorites like this one. These remarkable objects, preserved from our distant past, give us the best hard evidence of our beginnings, and tell the stories of how our world was formed.
Why are meteorites so important to scientists when studying the formation of the Earth and the Solar System?
This piece of the oldest known rock in the Earth’s crust is 4.03 billion years old. It was collected from a body of rock north of Yellowknife, near the Acasta River. The layering of the rock caused by high temperatures and pressure is called “gneissosity”
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Tagish Lake meteorite
4.6 bya
This Tagish Lake meteorite is one of the most important meteorites ever recovered in Canada. It is composed of material from the formation of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago, and unlike rocks on Earth that have been changed by geological processes over billions of years, it has remained largely unchanged. This is one of the reasons why meteorites are of great interest to science.
The Tagish Lake meteorite is a “carbonaceous chondrite:” one of a rare group of meteorites which contain carbon. This is one of the reasons why this particular meteorite is so important: meteorites like this one may have delivered the ingredients necessary for the beginning of life to the early Earth.
There are three main types of meteorites, and each one reveals information about our solar system and the formation of our planet.
Iron meteorites are 90% to 95% iron, with some nickel and other trace minerals. They come from the cores of larger asteroids, giving scientists insight into the core of our own planet.
Stony meteorites are the largest group of meteorites, and some contain ‘chondrules’: round, grainy structures formed by droplets of molten minerals sticking to the original asteroid as it was forming. Meteorites containing chondrules are known as “carbonaceous chondrites”. These chondrules reveal the chemical composition of the solar system as it was being formed.
Stony-Iron meteorites are the rarest type of meteorite. They are made up of equal parts stone and iron. They are believed to be formed from the mixing of core and mantle material in larger asteroids. These asteroids help us understand how Earth was formed.
A video describing the Tagish Lake meteorite at the Royal Ontario Museum. -
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Additional Links
Our World: The Rock Cycle: A short video produced by NASA describing the rock cycle,and comparing igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic rocks.
Sources:
Ashford, M. (2010, August 19). How was the solar system formed?. Live Science. Retrieved from this website
Nicklin, I. (2016, May 6). Personal communication with Earth Sciences Technician, Royal Ontario Museum.
Space Telescope Science Institute. (2008). Frequently asked questions. Hubblesite. Retrieved from this website
900s
Vikings settle Newfoundland
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900 CE
Vikings settle Newfoundland
NLCanadaViking
Around 900 CE, Leif Eriksson left his Viking colony in Greenland and sailed along the coast of “Helluland”, “Markland”, and “Vinland”, which are most likely Baffin Island, Labrador, and Newfoundland, respectively.
L’Anse Aux Meadows in Newfoundland is the first known European settlement in the Americas. This UNESCO World heritage site was unearthed in 1961, revealing archaeological evidence that a small colony of Viking settlers occupied the area. It is believed that the Vikings were in search of resources such as furs and ivory, which were valued in Europe at the time. Archaeologists have recently discovered a second site at Point Rosee.
According to the Icelandic sagas The Saga of Erik the Red and The Saga of Greenland, the Vikings made contact with the Indigenous Arctic hunters. These were likely the Dorset, whom the Vikings called Skraelings, meaning "barbarian" or "foreigner."
The sagas suggest initial contact between these two groups was likely friendly at first, and they started a trade relationship: the Norse wanted furs and ivory and the Dorset wanted metal and wood. Swords such as this one would have been a clear sign of the Vikings' access to resources that the Dorset wanted.
In time, however, the relationship soon weakened. Unable to endure the conflict with the Indigenous people or the harsh climate, the Vikings left the area within ten years of their arrival.
Why would this type of sword be valued by the Dorset people?The foundations in this field at L'Anse Aux Meadows in Newfoundland are all that remain of the first Viking settlement.
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Viking Sword
Creator unknown
900-1000 CE
This sword, presented to the ROM in the 1920s by the late Dr. Sigmund Samuel, is one of the finest Viking period swords preserved in any public collection in North America. This type of blade first appeared in Europe around 900 CE and was equally effective for cutting and thrusting. Features such as these would be invaluable to the Dorset people, who would otherwise use less sturdy materials such as stone or bone.
Though it was used in battle, the sword is still beautifully designed. The hilt is decorated with copper inlay, but the decoration is secondary to the design and balance of the hilt itself. The precision of detail and the elegance of the miniscule strands of metal filament inlaid into the hilt rivals the best examples of goldsmiths' work of the same period. The inscription on the blade is now impossible to read, but similar examples often consist of the name of the blade smith or religious inscriptions.
The sword was dredged from the Thames River at Vauxhall in London, England. It was possibly carried here aboard the ship of Viking raiders; similar weapons may also have been carried by the Vikings who settled briefly in Newfoundland. This sword type was widely used in Europe, and similar examples have been found in Scandinavia, Britain, and in rivers along the western coasts of France.
Object Information:Materials: Steel or iron blade; iron pommel; copper and silver inlay on hilt; hand-forged, chiselled and/or filed and inlaidPommel: Wheeler-Oakeshott typology, Type VIISize: 9.59 cm (length)Area of Origin: Germany or ScandinaviaGallery: Samuel European Galleries; Level 3Gift of Dr. Sigmund Samuel -
xThis Heritage Minutes video dramatizes the abandonment and rediscovery of the settlement from a Western perspective.
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Additional Links
Heritage Minute: Vikings: This Historica Canada page provides additional information on Viking culture and their arrival in Canada
Potential Viking site found in Newfoundland: This CBC news article discusses the news of the second Viking site at Point Rosee.
Sources:
Ingstad, H., & Ingstad, A. S. (2000). The Viking discovery of America: The excavation of a Norse settlement in L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland. St. John's, NF: Breakwater.
Royal Ontario Museum. (2016). Viking sword. ROM Images. Retrieved from this website
1000s
Dorset encounter the Vikings
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1000 CE
Dorset encounter the Vikings
NLCanadaDorset
In the centuries around 1000 CE, Baffin Island and northern Labrador were occupied by the people of the late Dorset culture, the descendants of the original occupants of Arctic Canada.
The Dorset were highly skilled in making refined miniature carvings, as well as masks and items such as this antler wand. When the Norse Vikings arrived in North America around 1000 CE, the furs and natural resources that the Dorset had would have been valuable to the Vikings, while the Dorset wanted the iron, copper and bronze brought from Europe. European technology has been found at Dorset sites along the coasts of Baffin Island and Labrador, indicating that a trading relationship existed between the Dorset and the Norse, at least for a time.
Perhaps the faces on the antler wand represent some of the images of the people in the local community, or the images of a Dorset pantheon of local spirits, or the images of the shamans’ spirit helpers who owned and had control over such objects. Could some of the faces on Dorset antler wands along these trading routes have represented Vikings as well?
What does this antler wand tell us about the lives and beliefs of the Dorset?
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Antler wand
creator unknown
1000 CE
The Dorset culture excelled in their ability to carve objects. Our antler wand is an extremely rare and well preserved carving demonstrating a unique ability to capture the essence of the figures in an antler wand. The antler wand is one of the ROM's finest examples of a carving from the late Dorset culture.
Shamans were highly trained practitioners who were able to enter the realm of the spirits. Through a ritualistic trance, they were able to perform healing and help their community in times of need. An antler wand might have been part of this ritual.
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Additional Links
The Norse: An Arctic Mystery: This documentary discusses new information regarding the contact between the Norse and the Dorset.
Sources
Canadian Museum of History. (n.d.). Dorset-Norse interactions in the Canadian Eastern Arctic. Retrieved from this website
Canadian Museum of History. (n.d.). Strangers, partners, neighbours?. Retrieved from this websiteLister, K. (2016, April). Personal communication with Assistant Curator of Anthropology, Royal Ontario Museum.
Pastore, R. T. (1998). Palaeo-Eskimo peoples. Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage. Retrieved from this website
1100s
Five Nations form the Haudenosaunee Confederacy
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1142 - 1450 CE
Five Nations form the Haudenosaunee Confederacy
ONCanadaHaudenosaunee, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Tuscarora
The Haudenosaunee Confederacy dates from time immemorial, and though the exact date the nations joined is unknown (estimates range from 1142 CE to sometime before 1500 CE), it is understood to be one of the earliest and longest-lasting democracies in the world. The Constitution of the United States is believed to have been inspired or influenced by the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
Many names have been used for the Confederacy: the French called it “The Iroquois Confederacy” and the English called it “The League of Five Nations,” but the preferred term is the Haudenosaunee Confederacy, which means "the People of the Long House." Under the Confederacy, each nation continues to maintain its own council of Chiefs to deal with the affairs of their own nation, but the Grand Council, with members from all nations, deals with issues that affect all nations within the Confederacy.
The Confederacy united the nations under a common goal to live in harmony. It is a way of life sent by the Creator by way of the Peacemaker, which was later spread in the Kariwiio (or Gaihwi:io, "good message", also known as the Code of Handsome Lake). Hiawatha, or Ayonwatha, helped the Peacemaker to spread this message. The Hiawatha Belt, shown in detail here, has become a symbol of the Haudenosaurnee Confederacy.
Because this belt was made before the Tuscarora joined the Confederacy in 1722, they are not represented on the belt, but they are now one of the Six Nations in the Confederacy.
"What makes it stand out as unique to other systems around the world is its blending of law and values. For the Haudenosaunee, law, society and nature are equal partners and each plays an important role."How does this belt represent the Haudenosaunee Confederacy? -
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Replica of the Hiawatha (Ayonwatha) Belt
Royal Ontario Museum
20th century
This is a contemporary replica of a traditional Haudenosaunee wampum belt. The replica is made of cloth and glass beads; originals would be made of wampum beads made from small clam shells found on the Atlantic coastline.
There are many types of wampum belts that are part of oral story traditions and transmit cultural knowledge. This is a replica of the Belt of the Five Nations, also called the Hiawatha (Ayonwatha) Belt.
Hiawatha is said to have been the helper to the Peacemaker, Tekanawí:ta (or Dekanawida); he would have help bring peace by sharing the story of this wampum belt. The belt commemorates the founding of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.
It shows the Five Nations' concept of all nations inhabiting a single longhouse to symbolically unite the five warring nations. The Seneca and Mohawk nations are represented by the squares at each end of the pattern, guarding the western and eastern doors to the longhouse. The central tree represents the Onondaga at the site of the Tree of peace, tending the central fire. The Cayuga and Oneida are represented by the rectangles flanking the Onondaga.
Object Information:
Materials: Plastic, nylon
Size: 38 cm (length, less fringe), 14 cm (width)
Area of Origin: Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, Canada
Gallery: Iroquois Beadwork Travelling Exhibition -
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Beaded Haudenosaunee Belt
Unknown
1890 CE
This belt was made and used in the late 19th or early 20th century by the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) peoples; the date of 1890 used in this record is an educated guess.This belt was made using traditional designs and techniques, but decorated using glass beads that were brought to Canada by European traders, demonstrating a fusion of Haudenosaunee tradition with contemporary influences.In the early 20th century Evelyn H.C. Johnson, a member of a prominent Six Nations Mohawk family, donated a large number of objects to the Royal Ontario Museum. This collection was named the Chiefswood Collection, after the name of the Johnson family home. In this collection, Evelyn Johnson created a remarkable record of her family over four generations, and of events that involved the Iroquoian people at Six Nations from the end of the American Revolution to the Six Nations Agricultural Fair of 1922.Object information:Material: Cloth, glass beadsSize: 64 cm (length) x 5 cm (width)Area of Origin: Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, CanadaGallery: The Chiefswood Collection (not on display)Gift of Miss Evelyn H.C. Johnson -
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Additional Links
The Code of Handsome Lake [PDF]: View an archival copy of a 1912 New York State Museum publication about the Code of Handsome Lake
Great Law Recital, July 2015: Report of an important contemporary gathering to keep oral traditions alive, in which Haudenosaunee from around North America gather to recite the Great Law of Peace.
Sources:
Friends of Ganondagan. (2016). Wampum. Retrieved from this website
Haudenosaunee Confederacy. (n.d.). Confederacy's Creation. Retrieved from this website
Onondaga Nation. (2015). Hiawatha Belt. Retrieved from this website
Tehanetorens (Ray Fadden). (1999). Wampum Belts of the Iroquois. Summertown, TN: Book Publishing Company.
Time-Life Books. (1993). Realm of the Iroquois. Alexandria, VA: Time Warner Publishing.
Tekanawí:ta brings peace to the Five Nations
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1100 - 1450 CE
Tekanawí:ta brings peace to the Five Nations
ONCanadaHaudenosaunee
I, Dekanawida, and the Union Lords, now uproot the tallest pine tree and into the cavity thereby made we cast all weapons of war. Into the depths of the earth, down into the deep underearth currents of water flowing to unknown regions we cast all the weapons of strife. We bury them from sight and we plant again the tree. Thus shall the Great Peace be established and hostilities shall no longer be known between the Five Nations but peace to the United People.
— Constitution of the Five Nations
Haudenosaunee tradition tells of the Peacemaker, Tekanawí:ta (or Dekanawida),who brought the Great Law of Peace to five warring nations, as shown in this sculpture. After uniting the chiefs of the five warring clans, the Peacemaker and the united chiefs uprooted the tallest tree, and placed all their weapons of war into the hole. Then, they replanted the tree over the weapons. The Tree of Great Peace spread its roots in the four directions: north, south, east, and west. These Great White Roots represent peace and strength. Atop the sculpture is the eagle, placed at the top of the tree because it could see in all directions with its keen vision, and warn the people if evil or danger approached to threaten the Confederacy.
How has artist Ryan W. Sandy from Six Nations interpreted the story of the Peacemaker in this sculpture?
The story of the Peacemaker has been passed down since time immemorial. This map shows the approximate boundaries of the Five Nations c. 1650. The Sixth Nation, Tuscarora, joined the Confederacy in 1722.
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"At Peace"
Ryan W. Sandy
1996 CE
The founder of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy is known as the Peacemaker, Tekanawí:ta (or Dekanawida). In time immemorial, the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca nations were at war. With assistance from Aionwatha (also knows as Hiawatha), the Peacemaker travelled among the five warring nations to unite them under a confederacy based on the concepts of unity, peace, and the freedom and opportunity to seek out individual success.
This sculpture is based on a Haudenosaunee prophecy that foretold the coming of strangers that would not be leaving. Oral stories have the power to withstand time, and Ryan Sandy's sculpture features the Peacemaker, Tekanawí:ta as the main figurehead of this carving, to show how he encouraged and empowered the Haudenosaunee to keep the peace.
Turtle Island, linked to the Haudenosaunee creation story, is the foundation beneath the "Tree of Peace.” The Haudenosaunee were encouraged to bury their weapons because the prophecy warned the strangers could not be overcome by force, and this infamous tree was planted on top of them.
The eagle was also placed on the top of the Tree of Peace so that it could call out a warning of the arrival of any strangers. The sash draping across the middle of the tree is actually a well-known image of a wampum belt: the white lines depict two canoes on the water that are side-by-side, communicating how the Haundenosaunee should conduct themselves when among the strangers. The larger message is the need to co-exist with one another in separate canoes and not get into one another’s way.Object Information:Material: Carved steatiteSize: 36 cm (height), 45 cm (width)Area of Origin: Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, CanadaGallery: Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada: First Peoples, Level 1Dedicated to Loving Mother Beverly P. Sandy 1951-1996 -
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Additional Links
The Constitution of the Five Nations: Read the text of the Great Binding Law in this translation by Gerald Murphy.
The Peacemaker: This resource page for the Heritage Minutes short film about the Peacemaker includes a complete text version of the original story on which the production was based.
Great Law Recital, July 2015: This article details an important contemporary gathering to keep oral traditions alive, in which Haudenosaunee from around North America gather to recite the Great Law of Peace.
Sources:
AyAy Qwa Yak Sheelth, J. (2016, April 1). Personal communication with Indigenous Outreach & Learning Coordinator, Royal Ontario Museum.
1400s
Christopher Columbus arrives in the Americas
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1492 CE
Christopher Columbus arrives in the Americas
Canada
Spain, Europe, Taino, Arawak
This engraving shows Christopher Columbus, an Italian mapmaker. On August 3rd, 1492, after receiving funding from Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain, Columbus set sail for China, Japan, and East Asia (known to Europeans at the time as the Indies).
Columbus believed that there was a faster route to the wealth of spice and gold in the Indies: by sailing across the Atlantic Ocean instead of crossing Europe and Asia. With this belief in mind, he sailed west with three ships: the Santa Maria, the Nina, and the Pinta.
Ten weeks later, Columbus landed on a small island in the Caribbean, which he called San Salvador even though the Indigenous Taino people called their island Guanahani. Believing he had reached the Indies, Columbus called the people Indians.
Initial encounters with the Taino were friendly, and trade relations began. However, they did not possess the riches that Columbus was looking for.Columbus continued searching the area until the Santa Maria crashed into an island that he call La Isla Española, which has since been Anglicized to Hispaniola. There Columbus left 39 men to build a colony while he sailed back to Spain with his treasures and enslaved captives to prove his success.
Spain funded Columbus to make three more voyages to the Americas. These voyages were the beginning of a long and terrible history of European colonization. Within the first few years of Columbus’s first voyage, 50,000 Indigenous people had died.Why do you think engravings like this were so important during the 1800s?This map shows the routes taken by Columbus during his four voyages. He believed that he had found the coast of Asia.
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Engraving depicting the landing of Christopher Columbus
Edward Savage
1800 CE
This engraving, based on an oil painting by David Edwin, imagines Christopher Columbus as he first landed in the “New World” on October 12, 1942.
In the image, Columbus is carrying his hat in his hand, to reflect the gravity of the event and respect for his patrons. He is also carrying a sword, because he is there to claim the land for Spain — he writes in his journals of his plan to “with force...subjugate the whole island.” Beside him stands a friar carrying a metal cross, representing the goal to "civilize" the Indigenous population and convert them to Christianity. We can also see his three ships in the background.
This and other engravings were commissioned by the US Congress as a way to spread the imagery and colonial interpretation of Columbus’s "discovery" of the New World to the American people.
This image was one of multiple impressions produced from a single engraving plate. Engravings were, in their time, a form of mass media, and were one most efficient and economical ways of spreading a message.Object Information:Material: Pewter, ink, paperSize: 57.2 cm (length) x 37.1 cm (width)Area of Origin: USAGallery: Not on display -
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Additional Links
Biography of Edward Savage: A brief biography of Edward Savage from the National Gallery of Art.
Sources:
Columbus, C. (1893). The Journal of Christopher Columbus (During His First Voyage, 1492–93) and Documents Relating to the Voyages of John Cabot and Gaspar Corte Real. London: Hakluyt Society.
Encyclopædia Britannica (Eds.). (2016). Hispaniola. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved from http://www.britannica.com/place/Hispaniola
John Cabot explores the northeastern coast
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1497 CE
John Cabot explores the northeastern coast
NLCanadaEngland, Europe, Iceland, Beothuk, Inuit, Innu
John Cabot (born Giovanni Caboto, in Italy around 1450) was an expert mariner who, in 1496, gained the support of King Henry XII of England to set sail on a voyage to find a better route to Asia by sailing west across the north Atlantic.
After many troubles on his first voyage, he turned back and prepared for a second attempt, which he made the following year aboard the Matthew, a model of which is shown here. He succeeded in reaching land somewhere on the North America’s east coast on June 24, 1497, becoming the first European to do so since the Vikings some 500 years earlier.
There are many theories as to where Cabot landed, but the Government of Canada acknowledges Bonavista, Newfoundland, as his landing site. Cabot claimed this land for England. This claim paved the way for England to rise to power over the next two hundred years.
Like Columbus, Cabot believed he had landed in Asia. At the time, Britain was dependent on Iceland for much of their fish, but when British fishermen began to experience troubles in Iceland in the 1400s, Icelandic fish became harder to get. Upon return to England, Cabot declared that he had reached a “New Found Land” with an endless supply of fish, allowing England to end their ties with Iceland as fish suppliers. As a result, he was funded for another voyage in 1498; however, there were no new discoveries made, and he and his crew returned to England where he died.Why do you think John Cabot named his ship "Matthew?"John Cabot in traditional Venetian garb by Giustino Menescardi (1762). A mural painting in the 'Sala dello Scudo' in the Palazzo Ducale. Taken from a reproduction in "History of Maritime maps," by Donald Wigal.
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Ship model of John Cabot's "Matthew."
Unknown
1947
In May of 1497, Cabot set sail with a crew of twenty men in a single three-masted caravel built of oak. This boat could carry fifty tonnes, but was only 20 metres long. The ship was named "Mathew," possibly after his wife whose name was Mathye.In May of 1497, Cabot set sail with a crew of twenty men in a single three-masted ship called a caravel, which was made from oak wood. This boat could carry fifty tonnes, but was only 20 metres long. The ship was named Matthew, possibly after his wife, whose name was Mathye.
The ship was loaded with enough food to last several months; Cabot set sail using a compass and the North Star for guidance. Two months later, they arrived at North America.
Cabot's voyages were very important: he established England's claim to the northeastern coast of North America, and opened up the fishing areas off Newfoundland for England when the country desperately needed a new source of fish.
Without any formal record of his disappearance or when and where he died, we are left with only rumours and guesses that Cabot became lost at sea and died on his return to England. -
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Additional Links
Cabot Resources: A pool of resources about Cabot's explorations from the Royal Museums Greenwich.
Sources:
Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site Project. (1997). English Voyages Before Cabot. Retrieved from this website
1500s
First Contact between Jacques Cartier and the Mi'kmaq
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1534
First Contact between Jacques Cartier and the Mi'kmaq
Gaspe Bay, NLCanadaMi'kmaq, France, Haudenosaunee
Jacques Cartier was born in 1491 in Saint-Malo, France. He was an expert mariner and explorer who led three expeditions commissioned by the king of France to North America. The purpose of these voyages was to find a faster route to Asia (the so-called "Northwest Passage"), to search for gold and spices, and eventually, to colonize the land for France.
On his first expedition in 1534, Cartier led two small ships similar to this one around Atlantic coast. In June, 1534 he met a group of Mi’kmaq fishing in Chaleur Bay between New Brunswick and Quebec. Their eager actions made it obvious that this was not their first encounter with Europeans. The meeting was friendly, and a few small articles were exchanged, making this the first recorded trade between an Indigenous people and Europeans.
Cartier and his crew eventually ended up on the Gaspé Bay in Quebec, where they encountered another Indigenous group, the Haudenosaunee, who invited them to their village. Here, metal knives and hatchets were exchanged for furs, and an alliance was formed. However, when Cartier planted a cross engraved with the words “Long Live the King of France” and claimed the region for France, the Haudenosaunee chief, Donnacona, objected, claiming that Cartier and his men were trespassers. Cartier, afraid of the consequences of this act, came up with an explanation that the cross was only a marker to help him find his way back.
Capturing two of Donnacona’s sons as proof of the New World, Cartier set sail back to France. Along the way, the chief’s sons told Cartier that they came from ‘kanata,’ meaning "the village" or "the settlement." Cartier took this for the name of the village, and wrote it on his charts and maps as "Kanata." This would become the first recorded use of the name "Canada."
How does this boat differ from the canoes that were being used by the First Nations at the time? -
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Western Ojibway Indians in a Canoe
Alexander Moncrieff (1829-1906 CE)
1857 - 1858 CE
This watercolour painting shows an Ojibwe man and a woman travelling in a birchbark canoe. Notice how they are facing forward while the man is paddling. The canoe is so light that the man can paddle by himself while travelling with a woman and possibly a child.If it had been painted today, would an artist use "Indian" to describe the people in the canoe? Why or why not? What would you name this painting?Object Information:Materials: watercolour over graphite on wove paperGallery: Sigmund Samuel Gallery of Canada; Level 1 -
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Ship model of Jacques Cartier's "La Grande Hermine"
Unknown, French
1800
Upon his return to France, Jacques Cartier told stories of fertile lands and mineral wealth. Impressed with these stories, the king funded a return expedition to the new world, this time to exploit the natural resources.
Cartier was given three ships for this voyage: La Grande Hermine, La Petite Hermine, and a pinnace called L'Emerillon. Altogether, the three ships carried 110 men and enough food for 3 months
This is a model of the largest of the three, La Grande Hermine, which was over 42 metres long and weighed 120 tons.
Upon his return to "Canada" (1541), Cartier left a small group to establish a settlement (present-day Quebec City), while he continued further inland (present-day Montreal) looking for the wealth he believed he would find.
Funded for one final voyage in 1541, Cartier returned to Canada as Captain General of a colonization project. However, shortly after building Fort Charsbourg Rouge near the mouth of the Cap-Rouge river, the harsh weather, outbreaks of scurvy, and attacks from neighbouring Indigenous Peoples forced Cartier to return to France once and for all.
Although he never found the "Northwest Passage" or any significant wealth, Jacques Cartier’s expeditions did enable the French to claim land as they competed with other European countries for territory in North America.
Object Information:Materials: Wood, string, wire, paperSize: 65 cm (height), 60 cm (width), 33 cm (depth)Area of Origin: FranceGallery: Sigmund Samuel Gallery of Canada; Level 1 -
xThis Historica Canada video presents one interpretation of the origin of the name "Canada." How accurate do you think it is?
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Additional Links
Cartier Lessons: This Government of Ontario Think Literacy resource provides lesson plans on the subject of Jacques Cartier's three voyages [PDF].
Sources:
Allaird, B. (2013, August 28). Jacques Cartier. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from this website
Canadian Museum of History. (n.d.). The Explorers. Virtual Museum of New France. Retrieved from this website
Trade between First Nations, Inuit and Europeans
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1500
Trade between First Nations, Inuit and Europeans
QCCanadaOjibwe, Haudenosaunee, Inuit, Algonquin, Mi'kmaq, Maliseet
By the 1500s, lured by tales of the abundance of cod, Europeans began to establish settlements along the eastern shores of North America. As a result, they came into contact with the Indigenous populations of the Mi’kmaq and Maliseet.
As the Europeans returned each summer, they began to form informal trade relations with the First Nations Peoples, exchanging metal and glass for furs.
The trade of objects was not the only type of trade that occurred. There was an exchange of technologies, ideas, and medicines as well. Many of these exchanges of ideas and technologies were used by the Europeans to help them to adapt to the Canadian environment.
Some examples of this include: canoe building, food preparation, medicines, use of fur to make suitable clothing, and maple syrup and sugar production using equipment like these maple sugar tools.
Without these exchanges, it is doubtful that the Europeans would ever have survived in the Americas at the time..What shape of sugar mould proved to be extremely popular?This wooden tool moulds maple sugar into the shape of a fish. Though pretty, there were other shapes of sugar mould that were even more popular.
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Beaver maple sugar mould
Unknown
1850-1900 CE
As French and English pioneers gradually colonized the Eastern regions of North America in the 16th and 17th century, they faced a challenging transition as they adjusted to life in the New World. Supplies from the Old World were limited, and early settlers were largely unfamiliar with local environmental resources.Ojibwe, Haudenosaunee, and Algonquin First Nations taught them how to collect and process the icy sweet water tapped from Sugar Maple trees (Acer saccharum) in the early months of the year.In adopting this practice, settlers developed new tools, fostered their techniques, and gradually established distinct maple folklore and traditions. Using a hand brace, they bored small holes into maple trees and inserted a sap spigot (spile) made of wood or metal. Settlers would collect dripping sap water in buckets, suspended from the spigot, before transporting them to sugar shacks for processing. After a lengthy boiling process, they were left with sweet yet nourishing syrup or sugar that was rich in iron, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorous.The moulds used to make the sugar came in a variety of shapes and sizes. The most popular shape is the beaver. The beaver became the symbol of New France when King Henry IV of France realized the fur trade was an opportunity to fund the settlements of New France. Both English and French fur traders were soon selling beaver pelts in Europe at twenty times their original purchase price.The trade of beaver pelts made so much money the Hudson's Bay Company put it on their shield of its coat of arms in 1678.Object Information:
Materials: Wood, birch bark, iron
Size: 11.5 cm (height), 28.6 cm (width), 7.6 cm (depth)
Area of Origin: Quebec
Gallery: Sigmund Samuel Gallery of Canada; Level 1
Sigmund Samuel Trust -
xA Historica Canada dramitazion of an Attikamek First Nations family showing a French Canadian family to harvest maple sap.
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Additional Links
Maple Syrup: The host page for the Heritage Minute about Maple Syrup explores the history and traditions of “sugaring off” in greater detail.
Haudenosaunee save Jacques Cartier from scurvy
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1535 CE - 1536 CE
Haudenosaunee save Jacques Cartier from scurvy
Montreal, QCCanadaHaudenosaunee
The group of Haudenosaunee who met Jacques Cartier, first in Gaspé in 1534 and then in Stadacona (Quebec) and Hochelaga (Montreal) in 1535, shared much knowledge of life in Canada with him. In particular, the chief’s son Domagaya taught Jacques Cartier how to cure his men of scurvy.
Domagaya and his brother Taignoagny had been taken back to France with Cartier after his first trip to Canada in 1534, though it is unclear whether they had gone willingly. In 1535, Cartier returned to Canada, bringing the two Haudenosaunee men with him. The brothers guided Cartier to the village of Stadacona (now Quebec), where they convinced the residents that they didn’t need to be afraid of the French sailors. Later, they took Cartier to Hochelaga (now Montreal), where Cartier eventually spent the winter.
Over the course of the winter, it appears that over 100 Haudenosaunee contracted a fatal disease, now thought to be an influenza or bacterial pneumonia that they might have caught from the French. When the French later began suffering from scurvy, a vitamin C deficiency caused by months of eating preserved rations instead of fresh fruits and vegetables, Cartier thought it must be the same disease. He isolated his men, afraid that the Haudenosaunee might take advantage of their weakness.
Domagaya himself apparently began suffering from scurvy, but unlike the French, the Haudenosaunee knew how to cure the illness. Ten or twelve days later, Cartier met Domagaya out walking and was surprised to see him in perfect health. Domagaya agreed to share the cure with the French, and sent two Haudenosaunee women out with Cartier to show him how to collect and prepare a tea from the bark and leaves of a tree called anedda. This medicinal preparation cured Cartier’s men in six days, and was possibly one of the resources that convinced the French king of the existence of worthwhile resources in Canada.
Despite their rocky start, the Haudenosaunee shared their knowledge and resources, permitting Cartier and his men to survive the winter during a time when scurvy was not well understood. Interestingly, though this sample from the ROM’s herbarium might have been the kind of plant used, there is still no firm agreement on what plant anedda actually is!
What could the Haudenosaunee could have used to cure themselves and Cartier’s men of scurvy?
Map of Hochelaga showing Jacques Cartier being welcomed to the village in the lower left.
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Specimen of white cedar (Thuja occidentalis). Possibly anedda.
Collected by Fr. Rolland-Germain
August 16, 1953 CE
For hundreds of years, people have been trying to figure out which plant the Haudenosaunee used to cure Jacques Cartier and his men from scurvy. Cartier, in his journal, describes collecting twigs and leaves with two Haudenosaunee women late in winter, meaning that the plant must have been some kind of evergreen, and also describes them as being very tall. Despite this, it has proven difficult to determine exactly which species was used; it’s even possible that the Haudenosaunee used more than one species. Despite this, the consensus for now is that white cedar was used.
The Haudenosaunee showed Cartier how to collect the twigs and leaves of white cedar and then boil them to prepare a drink. This drink was apparently not very tasty, and it took some convincing to get the sick French sailors to drink it, but their cure was very quick once the first brave few started drinking it.
Object Information:
Materials: white cedar, paper
Size:Tree (in nature): 10-20 m (height), 0. 6m (diameter); Specimen: 18 cm (length), 17 cm (width)
Area of Origin: Forests of the Laurentian Mountains, Saint Adolphe, Québec, Canada
Gallery: Not on display.
Green plant herbarium, Royal Ontario Museum
Donated by University of Montreal Herbarium
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Additional Links
Jacques Cartier: A brief synopsis of Cartier's life and achievements from A&E's Biography.
Sources:
Allaird, B. (2013, August 28). Jacques Cartier. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from this website
Asselin, A., Cayouette, J., & Mathieu, J. (2014). Curieuses Histoires de Plantes du Canada, tome 1. Québec City, QC: Septentrion.
Canadian Museum of History. (n.d.). The Explorers. Virtual Museum of New France. Retrieved from this website
Dickinson, T. A. (2016, March 11). Personal communication with Senior Curator Emeritus of Botany, Royal Ontario Museum.
Metsger, D. A. (2016, March 30). Personal communication with Assistant Curator of Botany, Royal Ontario Museum.
1600s
European fur trade established in North America
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1660 CE - 1850 CE
European fur trade established in North America
Canada
First Nations, Europe
Though fur trade had been occurring between Indigenous peoples long before the arrival of Europeans, the Europeans brought new types of goods into the trade from overseas. Initially, furs and fresh meat were traded for European metal and cloth, while the Europeans were taking advantage of the abundant fish catches in North American waters. The Indigenous Peoples began to make special trips specifically for trade of the coveted European items.
However, by the 1600’s, the wide-brimmed felt hat made of beaver pelts like this one became extremely fashionable in Europe. So fashionable, in fact, that the European beaver was hunted almost to extinction.
When the French and English realized the abundance of furs to be had in Canada, they set up trading posts along the St Lawrence River, in Newfoundland, and along the Atlantic coast. The English eventually formed the Hudson’s Bay Company and set up trading posts around Hudson’s Bay.
The competition for fur and traded goods became very intense, and would have lasting effects on the relationships between the French and English, as well as among the First Nations groups.
The Fur trade industry fueled the continued European exploration of Canada, and eventually, the formation of the first colonies of Europeans in the "New World."
How many beaver pelts do you think it would take to make one top hat?Austin Lane Crothers was the Governor of Maryland in the United States from 1908-1912. In this photo, he is wearing a Regent's top hat made from beaver felt.
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Stretched Beaver Pelt
Creator unknown
1958 - 1959 CE
Beaver was an extremely important animal to the Weagamow Lake Ojibwe. It was valuable as a source of food, and its fur became significant for trade and clothing. Beaver fur was highly prized in Europe in the early part of the 17th century. It could be used to produce many items such as collars, cuffs and muffs. However, the most sought after item made from beaver fur was the felt top hat.
During the early part of the 17th century, felt hats became very important for demonstrating one's social identity. The shape and style of one's hat specified one's profession, wealth, and social rank. The best quality hats came from the beaver because its coat has a soft, barbed under-fur that was perfect for turning into felt.
It would take about seven hours and over 30 steps and, depending on the size of the hat and the size of the pelt, it would take between one and five full-grown male pelts like this one to make just one hat. It’s no wonder that the Canadian beaver almost became extinct!
Thankfully for the beaver, European fashion started to change in 1820, and silk hats replaced the beaver-felt hat in popularity.
Object Information:
Materials: beaver fur, wood, string, metal nails
Area of Origin: Weagamow Lake, northern Ontario, Canada
Size: 113 cm (length), 92 cm (width), 10.5 cm (depth)
Gallery: Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada, First Peoples, Level 1
Collected by Dr. Edward S. Rogers in 1959 -
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Additional Links
Beaver and Other Pelts: A list of the value of trade goods in beaver pelts from McGill University.
Beaver Pelt Trade:A short video about the beaver pelt trade from the Hudson's Bay Company History Foundation Learning Centre
Sources:
Canadiana.org. (2002). Europeans Discover North America. Retrieved from this website
Champlain establishes first permanent European settlement
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1608
Champlain establishes first permanent European settlement
QCCanadaFrance, Innu, Wendat, Algonquin, Haudenosaunee
Samuel De Champlain was born in France in 1567. After proving himself to be an excellent geographer, he was chosen to accompany Lieutenant-General Pierre Du Gua de Monts on an expedition in 1603 to Acadia, and again in 1608 up the St Lawrence. On his voyages, he mapped out much of northeastern North America.
Upon arrival, Champlain led 32 colonists to establish a fort in what is now the city of Quebec. Only nine men survived the bitter winter, but more settlers arrived the following summer. This fort eventually became the centre of the French fur trading industry.
Champlain realized that the survival of his people depended on the help of the Indigenous people, and he set up a military alliance with the Wendat (known to the French as the Huron). In 1609, Champlain fought with the Wendat, the Algonquin, and the Innu against their enemy, the Haudenosaunee, who lost the battle. As a result, more than 150 years of bad relations existed between the Haudenosaunee and the French.
Champlain overwintered with the Wendat in 1613, where he wrote one of the earliest and most detailed accounts of their way of life. He wrote four books in all; this illustration is from an original second edition of Samuel de Champlain’s 1613 Voyages journal.
Champlain crossed the ocean several times before he convinced many French men and women to settle along the banks of the St Lawrence River. These people became the founders of New France, and Champlain eventually became known as ‘The Father of New France.'
What does the illustration from Champlain's Voyages journal tell us about his encounters with the Wendat?A—Warehouse; B—Pigeon loft; C—Armory & lodging; D—Additional lodging; E—Sundial; F—Smithy & workmen's lodging; G—Galleries; H—Champlain's lodging; I—Door & drawbridge; L—Promenade; M—Moat; O—Champlain's garden; P—Kitchen; Q—Approach; R—St. Lawrence
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Deer Hunt
Samuel de Champlain
1627 CE
The year 2014 marked the 400th anniversary of Francophone presence in Ontario. To celebrate, the ROM has on display an original second edition of Samuel de Champlain’s earlier 1613 Voyages journal, first printed in 1627.
Champlain is considered to be the founder of New France through his exploration and colonization efforts in North America. This remarkably well-preserved diary features original text, passages, and illustrations from the explorer’s personal account of activities in Ontario at the time.
He was a keen observer of First Nations culture; he kept a journal throughout his travels in New France, and later wrote about his first-hand experiences in his Voyages: a series of volumes published from 1603 to 1632. The Champlain Voyages reflect both an early representation of life in the North American colonies, as well as a historical chronicling of the explorations of one of Canada’s earliest explorers.
Champlain’s account of his time with the Wendat included a description of a deer hunt. This stylized drawing shows the highly organized approach the Wendat took to the event. It is clear that Champlain respected the skill of the Wendat as they drove the deer into a compound, ensuring a successful hunt.
Object information:
Materials: Paper, parchment, ink
Size: 18 cm (length), ??? (width)
Area of Origin: Paris, France
Gallery: Sigmund Samuel Gallery of Canada; Level 1
Gift of the Sigmund Samuel Endowment Fund -
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Additional Links
Samuel de Champlain: Learn more about Champlain from the Virtual Museum of New France.
Sources:
de Champlain, S. (1922). The works of Samuel de Champlain in six volumes: Volume I, 1599-1607. Toronto: The Champlain Society.
Eccles, W. J. (1999). The Canadian Frontier, 1534-1760. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press.
Innu knowledge helps Champlain settle Quebec
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1608 CE
Innu knowledge helps Champlain settle Quebec
QCCanadaInnu
Quebec, meaning “narrow passage” in Algonquin, was the location for Champlain’s first settlement.
The Innu (known by the French as “Montagnais”) who first encountered Champlain when he arrived in this region were skilled hunters. They had exceptional knowledge of the land, of animals, and of plants for food and medicine. From them, Champlain learned more about the water systems that flowed into the St Lawrence than other explorers before him. The Innu told him of a trip 40-50 days long from Tadoussac to a northern salt sea (now called Hudson’s Bay), which he reasoned was gulf of the Atlantic.
During his early encounters with the Innu in 1603, Champlain acknowledged the advantages of the canoe in his Voyages: “But with the canoes [of the Innu], one may travel freely and quickly throughout the country, as well as up the little rivers as up the larger ones.”
The Innu's nomadic way of life, relying on hunting and gathering, meant living in harmony with their environment. For all Indigenous Peoples in Canada, the Earth is referred to as their mother, but nomadic First Peoples had connections to the changing ways of Mother Earth were different from those of Peoples who grew crops as well as hunted. During the winter months, they travelled in-land, hunting mainly game animals such as caribou and moose using tools like the one pictured. The summer months were spent fishing along the St.Lawrence River. As a result, the Innu had traditional trading networks among neighbouring Algonquin nations and the Wendat. The relationship Champlain built with the Innu helped him to build his permanent settlement at Quebec.
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Moose call
Creator unknown
Late 20th Century CE
This moose call is decorated with pictures of wild fowl and a goose by a method that involves peeling the outer layer of birch bark.
The call was used to amplify the hunter’s voice in order to attract a moose. Sometimes a bull moose was lured into a stream by pouring water through the horn to mimic the sound of a urinating female.
Object Information:
Materials: Bark, root, wood, thread
Size: 56.5 cm (length), 15.5 cm (max. diameter), 2.5 cm (min. diameter)
Area of Origin: Quebec, Canada
Gallery: Not on display, ROM Education Collections
Donation from Pierre Filion of LaTuque, Quebec
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Child's snowshoe
Creator unknown
Date unknown
The snowshoe is an important method of transportation during the winter hunting months. Champlain noted in his Voyages: “In the winter when the snow is deep, they make a kind of racket, two or three times as large as those in France, and attach them to their feet, and with these they walk over snow without sinking. Otherwise they could not hunt nor travel in many places.”
When the Innu taught the French how to hunt and survive in the winter, snowshoes such as this would have been an essential part of those teachings.
Object Information:
Materials: Wood, caribou rawhide, paint
Size: 34 cm (length), 23.8 cm (width), 1.7 cm (depth)
Area of Origin: Canada
Gallery: Not on display. ROM Education Collections
On loan from Anthropology -
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Additional Links
Hunter: Snowshoe: This 6 minute video from Nametau Innu represents the importance of the snowshoe in the life of an Innu hunter. This is part of a story of a young Innu boy who receives his first pair of snowshoes and what this now means to him.
Sources:
de Champlain, S. (1925). The works of Samuel de Champlain in six volumes: Volume II, 1608-1613. Toronto: The Champlain Society.
de Champlain, S. (1922). The works of Samuel de Champlain in six volumes: Volume I, 1599-1607. Toronto: The Champlain Society.
Sioui, G. E. (1992). For an Amerindian autohistory: An essay on the foundations of a social ethic. Montreal & Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press.
Time Life Books. (Ed.). (1995). The Algonquins of the East Coast. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books.
Warkentin, G., & Podruchny, C. (Eds.). (2001). Decentring the Renaissance: Canada and Europe in multidisciplinary perspective, 1500-1700. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Indigenous fur trade expands to include Europeans
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1600 CE
Indigenous fur trade expands to include Europeans
Canada
Canada, First Nations, Europe
Long before the Europeans set foot in North America, the Indigenous Peoples had a sophisticated trade system among the different nations. They typically traded foods, copper tools, and pottery. However, once the Europeans made contact, the fur trade industry exploded.
The Indigenous peoples were smart traders and were often able to use the European love of the beaver furs to their advantage.The Fur Trade brought many changes to the lives of the Indigenous people, both positive and negative. The introduction of European trade items like guns, steal traps, metal arrow heads, kettles, and more made their daily lives easier.Not all changes were positive, however. With the introduction of many of these valuable resources, also came the dependence on them, resulting in the loss of skills and knowledge needed in the production of traditional tools.
The introduction of alcohol, which disrupted family life and traditional ways of being, and new diseases such as smallpox, measles and the flu, which claimed the lives of over half of some populations, also had a devastating effect on the Indigenous People. Check consistency regarding the upper case or lower case “P” in “Peoples” following Indigenous.
Perhaps the most devastating effect of the fur trade was the shift in the worldview of many Indigenous groups. The value put on the beaver furs sometimes outweighed the value of caring for the land and its resources, the egalitarian structure of family life, and the importance of community and shared resources.
How many beaver pelts do you think this axe head would have been traded for?
The axe seen from above shows how the wooden handle would fit into the metal axe head.
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Felling axe head for trade
Creator unknown
1750 CE - 1800 CE
Trade axes like this one were some of the most important items acquired by the Indigenous Peoples during the fur trade, and would be traded for one beaver pelt.
These axes replaced less durable and less versatile stone axe heads. Stone axes had to be made by hand, took a long time to make, and had to be sharpened or even replaced often. The iron axes, in contrast, were extremely long lasting and useful; they could be used for cutting trees, felling logs, or even as tool for war.
These axes were initially made in Europe, but were eventually forged in Canada. This particular axe head has a French “touch mark.” These marks were made by touching a tool to the iron when it was red hot, and showed which blacksmith shop made the axe.
Object Information:
Materials: Wrought iron
Size: 22 cm ( length), 11.5 cm (width), 3.5 cm (height)
Area of Origin: Canada
Gallery: Sigmund Samuel Gallery, Level 1
New World Archaeology collection
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xA video exploring the fur trade through the eyes of Indigenous women. For a Social Studies Curriculum Class at U. of Alberta
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Additional Links
In Pursuit of Adventure: The Fur Trade in Canada and the North West Company: A resource from McGill University exploring the role of the North West Company in the fur trade, and the trade goods that were used.
Sources:
Johnson, C., Ridley, C., & Okernaw, C. [jajajaja25040]. (2014, Jan 18). The Fur Trade: Our People's Story [Video File]. Retrieved from this website
Kenyon, W. A. (2013, December 16). Indian Trade Goods. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from this website
Treaty negotiations incorporate a calumet
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1600s
Treaty negotiations incorporate a calumet
Canada
First Peoples
The calumet is often known by Westerners as a pipe of peace, and it is greatly respected for its role in ceremony, and for its use as a means of offering prayers to the Creator. Not all Indigenous pipes were calumets; a calumet was special because of its significance as a ritual item. “Calumet” technically only refers to the stem of the pipe, even though the word is often used to refer to the entire pipe. A calumet was used for the smoking of tobacco, which is an essential and sacred medicine.
The calumet also played an important role in the relationships between Indigenous nations, serving many diplomatic functions. The Calumet was used as a means of showing that one had peaceful intentions towards another. It was also used as a means of strengthening alliances between nations, putting an end to disputes, and demonstrating respect towards the spirits throughout the world. By accepting a calumet offered by another nation, an Indigenous nation could sacredly seal peace. Within many Indigenous cultures, smoking tobacco with a calumet was a means of involving the Creator within an exchange, interaction, or meeting. Therefore, smoking the Calumet during a treaty negotiation or renewal created a sacred obligation on behalf of all parties to honour their commitments and agreements.
When Europeans arrived on Turtle Island, many Indigenous cultures used a calumet as a means of formalizing agreements and invoking sacred obligations with the Europeans in the same way they had done with other nations for centuries. Some of the earliest interactions between Indigenous peoples and Europeans included the smoking of tobacco with a calumet to show peaceful intentions and a desire for friendly relations with the newcomers. Once a newcomer had taken part in the ceremony, they were given safe passage and friendly relations with the Indigenous nation.
The use of the calumets as diplomatic items continued into the Colonial era. Throughout the negotiations and discussions for treaties across Ontario and Canada, Indigenous nations often began their talks by smoking the calumet and invoking the Creator in their discussions, asking that the Creator bind the two parties in a physical and spiritual connection. The Indigenous nations were not only communicating the solemnity of the treaty relationship and the obligations associated with it, but they were also taking steps to ensure that both parties honoured the underlying relationship between nations. This supports the idea held by many Indigenous nations that the treaties are sacred and living agreements that guide their relationship with Canada.
Many Indigenous nations and cultures across Turtle Island continue to use the calumet and its ceremonies as a means of beginning formal discussions with other nations, as well as during meetings within their own communities.
Which famous Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba received this Calumet during treaty negotiations?
A calumet is an ornamented ceremonial pipe used for smoking medicinal tobacco. It was a sacred item across many Indigenous communities on Turtle Island. The word “calumet” is said to come from the Norman French word for a reed.
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Ceremonial pipe given to Lt. Gov. Alexander Morris
Unknown
1870
During treaty negotiations, calumets such as this one were used to mark the seriousness of the occasion, and to bind the parties together in a sacred manner.
This Calumet was presumably presented to Lt. Gov. Alexander Morris during treaty negotiations. Lt. Gov. Morris was deeply involved in negotiating treaties, going so far as to sign on behalf of the Crown for Treaties #3, 4, 5 and 6. By taking part in the pipe ceremonies, Lt. Gov. Morris was engaging in a ceremony that had been used to bind peoples together for thousands of years. Lt. Gov. Morris was also engaging with the Plains Cree belief that the Creator was party to agreements that were made with the calumet.
Only those pipes that are given spiritual significance can be called calumets, as Indigenous communities also used more common pipes as a means of smoking medicine.
Object Information:
Materials: Stone, wood, eagle feathers, porcupine quillwork and dyed horsehair
Area of Origin: Saskatchewan or Manitoba, Canada
Size: 88 cm (length), 35 cm (height)
Gallery: Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada, First Peoples.
Edmund Morris Collection -
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Additional Links
Sources:
Leavelle, T. N. (2012). The Catholic calumet: Colonial conversions in French and Indian North America. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Calloway, C. G. (1987). Crown and calumet: British-Indian relations, 1783-1815. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press
Gadacz, R.R.. R. The Canadian Encyclopedia. (2006). "Calumet." Retrieved August 7, 2017 from this site.
1700s
Captain Cook arrives in Nootka Sound
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1778 CE
Captain Cook arrives in Nootka Sound
Nootka Sound, BCCanadaEngland, Nuu-chah-nulth
Captain James Cook spent his final expeditions mapping the Northwest coastline on behalf of the British Royal Navy in his attempt to discover a Northwest Passage — a sea route for travelling from the Atlantic to the Pacific through the Arctic Ocean.
Seeking shelter from a storm, Captain Cook and his crew found a safe cove to protect them. Known today in English as Friendly Cove, the local Indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth nations call it Yukquot, meaning “Place of Many Winds”.
The Indigenous peoples ashore would have been wearing cedar bark capes like this one, made from materials harvested from the coastal rainforest, which was full of old growth cedar trees. Local oral stories tell of Cook's arrival at what is now Vancouver Island, British Columbia. It is said that when he met with the Indigenous peoples who were living there, he began to point all around him while asking "what is the name of this place?"
The locals interpreted his body language as being lost, and so they pointed in the same way and told him "Nootka mumuqth huulth," which means "if you are lost, go around!" All that Captain Cook heard was "Nootka", which is what he called all the peoples he met along the northwest coast of Vancouver Island from that day forward.
In the early 1970s, a contest was held to rename "Nootka;" Nuu-chah-nulth was chosen as the new name. It means "all along the mountain and seas."Why do you think the design of this cedar bark cape is so practical for life in a coastal rainforest?
Captain James Cook (1728-1779). As a cartographer, explorer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, Cook made extensive maps of the coasts of Newfoundland, Australia, Hawaii, and was the first European to sail around New Zealand.
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Nuu-chah-nulth Cedar Bark Cape
Unknown
1800-1900 CE
Circular capes woven from cedar bark were worn over the shoulders. The inner bark of the cedar is finely shredded with a bark shredder, and the cedar strands are bundled together lengthwise. Capes are not embellished with paint, but the fringe around the neck is often edged with sea otter fur; this provides warmth as well as having a decorative effect.Cedar bark has a small window during which it can harvested, from mid-May through the month of June, when the sap is not running. The bark harvested will not be sticky, and will dry quicker as a result.Some cedar bark weavers were taught by their elders to allow bark to dry for an entire year before preparing the ribbon-thin strips for weaving.The cone shape for this cape design is also the same as the customary cedar bark hats of the West Coast. This design is useful in the rainforest, which experiences downpours of rain for many months out of the year. The cone shape allows the rain to pour away from the wearer, helping them avoid getting wet or dripped on.The exact date of this cape is unknown, but it was likely made in the 19th or early 20th century.Object InformationMaterials: cedar barkArea of Origin: Nuu-chah-nulth, British Columbia, CanadaGallery: Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada: First Peoples, Level 1 -
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Additional Links
Captain Cook: The Virtual Museum of Canada hosts information and resources about Captain Cook and his voyages.
Sources:
Gough, B. (2015, February-March). Captain Cook's Canada. Canada's History, 95(1), 20-27.
Building Relationships through Gift-Giving and Treaties
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1700s CE
Building Relationships through Gift-Giving and Treaties
Canada
First Peoples
Before the meeting of Indigenous people and Europeans on Turtle Island, the exchange of gifts played an important ceremonial aspect for many Indigenous cultures in their relations with other nations. Gift-giving helped Indigenous nations in both diplomatic negotiations and trade exchanges.
When the Europeans arrived, the practice of exchanging gifts was incorporated into the developing relationships. The giving of gifts has played several roles throughout the history of interactions between Indigenous peoples and Europeans on Turtle Island; while it began as a means of demonstrating goodwill and for its diplomatic function, it endured throughout centuries and was incorporated into the provisions of the historical treaties.
During many of the initial contacts between Europeans and Indigenous peoples, a common practice was for the groups to exchange goods and food with one another, to demonstrate goodwill and to help build a workable relationship between the parties. These gifts could include tools, weapons, clothing, food, and special markers of social status, such as medals or other jewelry.
In an early meeting between Jacques Cartier and members of the Mi’kmaq peoples, Cartier is recorded as having presented, among many other gifts, a red hat to one of the leading members of the Mi’kmaq. The use of giving clothing to leading members of the community continued well into the Colonial period, with Chiefs and other Indigenous leading figures being given outfits and items of clothing that were meant to reflect their rank and importance.
As the relationship between Indigenous nations and Europeans became more complicated, the use of gifts took on important diplomatic functions, and served as a means of rewarding and procuring allegiances during the struggle for colonial territory. For their military service in support of colonial powers, many Indigenous leaders were given military-styled coats and other objects as a reflection of the esteem in which their military support was held. These coats were incorporated within Indigenous cultures as a means of identifying leading individuals within a community, and were prized as status symbols. In addition to coats, the Indigenous nations could also be given silver medals, tools, and jewelry as a means of commemorating and rewarding their allegiance.
With the advent of treaties between Europeans and Indigenous nations based on European acquisition of land, the nature of the gift exchange was incorporated into the terms of the treaties. In many of the historical and numbered treaties, Canada promised Indigenous bands that their chiefs and other leading figures in the community would be provided a new suit of clothing every few years. Treaty medals were also produced to mark the occasion, with signatories being given a medal for their role in negotiating and partaking in the treaty process.
Which group of people incorporated gifts of clothing within the treaty negotiations?
Silver Bracelets such as this one were used to help mark individuals of status within Indigenous communities.
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Shirt given by Sweet Grass to Lt. Gov. Alexander Morris
Unknown
1876 CE
At some point during treaty negotiations on Sept. 6-13, 1876, Plains Cree Chief Sweet Grass presented this shirt to Lieutenant Governor Alexander Morris. The practice of giving gifts of clothing during treaty negotiations had been adapted by many Indigenous communities. This presentation was made to help smooth the relationship between the Plains Cree Nations and the Crown, and to mark the significance of the treaty transaction. The culture of giving gifts to leading members of other nations had long existed in Indigenous cultures, and it had been furthered through the numerous contacts with Europeans and the exchange of cultural knowledge and objects.
It is noteworthy that the terms of Treaty 6 state that the leaders of an Indigenous community that had taken a treaty would receive a new suit of clothing every three years. This aspect of the treaty helped to extend the history and practice of giving clothing into the formal arrangements between the Indigenous nations and the Crown. It also supports the aspect of treaties as ongoing relationships, as the suits were to be replaced every three years, ensuring that the parties maintained aspects of their original agreement over time.
Both Indigenous and European groups thus incorporated the Indigenous practice of giving gifts and suits of clothing during negotiations.
Object Information:
Materials: Weasel fur trim,
Area of Origin: Fort Pitt, Saskatchewan
Size: 94 cm (length), 69 cm (width)
Gallery: Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada, First Peoples
Edmund Morris collection -
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Additional Links
Sources:
Ray, A. J. (2005). I have lived here since the world began: An illustrated history of Canada's Native people. Toronto: Key Porter Books.
Dickason, O. P., & Calder, M. J. (2006). A concise history of Canada's first nations. Toronto: Oxford University Press
1800s
Métis lead the "Northwest Resistance"
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1884 - 1885 CE
Métis lead the "Northwest Resistance"
SKCanadaMétis, Canada
In 1884, surveyors began encroaching on lands occupied by Prairie Métis. The Métis had already witnessed this in Red River, Manitoba, and had a very real fear that the government would redistribute Métis land among settlers. Under the leadership of Gabriel Dumont and Louis Riel, the Métis fought back against this encroachment on their lands and appealed to their First Nations allies for help. In Cree, this event is called ê-kî-mâyakamikahk, or “where it went wrong.” In English, it became known as “The Northwest Resistance.” While fighting, the Métis would have worn caps like this one made from a cotton flour sack.
The Canadian government sent in 5,500 troops, including the Northwest Mounted Police, volunteers, and militia, to fight the 280 Métis and their 250 Cree-Assiniboine allies. The fighting reached its peak at Batoche in May, 1885.
Meanwhile, the restrictive terms of the government treaties, the withholding of essential provisions by the Canadian government, and the loss of the plains bison led to increasing starvation, anger, and dissent amongst some of the Cree. One Cree chief, Mistahi-maskwa, or Big Bear, found it more and more difficult to maintain the peace. Inspired by Riel’s forces, some members of his band killed nine civilians in Frog Lake, Alberta following a disagreement with the settlement’s Indian Agent. At about the same time, a farmer and another Indian Agent were killed outside of Battleford, Alberta by Assiniboine travelling to join in the fighting.
Resistance fighters killed 38 troops during the Resistance, while 33 Métis and 10-17 of their First Nations Allies were killed during the uprising and afterward, including Louis Riel, who was hanged for treason on November 16, 1885. In punishment for the civilian deaths at Frog Lake and outside Battleford, six Cree and two Assiniboine leaders were tried without legal counsel.
- Kah-Paypamahchukways (Wandering Spirit) for the murder of T. T. Quinn, Indian Agent.
- Pah Pah-Me-Kee-Sick (Walking the Sky) for the murder of Pere Fafard, OMT, RC Priest who had fathered the boy as a youth.
- Manchoose ( Bad Arrow) for the murder of Charles Govin, Quinn's interpreter.
- Kit-Ahwah-Ke-Ni (Miserable Man) for the murder of Govin.
- Nahpase (Iron Body) for the murder of George Dill, Free Trader.
- A-Pis-Chas-Koos (Little Bear) for the murder of Dill.
- Itka (Crooked Leg) for the murder of Payne, Farm Instructor of the Stoney Reserve south of Battleford.
- Waywahnitch (Man Without Blood) for the murder of Tremont, Rancher out of Battleford.
They were sentenced to death and hanged on November 27, in what became the largest mass hanging in Canadian history. The Indigenous students at Battleford residential school were required to watch the hanging.
Why do you think the Métis used flour sacks to make the caps that they wore while fighting in the Northwest Rebellion?Métis and First Nations prisoners following the Northwest Rebellion, August, 1885.
(L to R) Ignace Poitras, Pierre Parenteau, Baptiste Parenteau, Pierre Gariepy, Ignace Poitras Jr., Albert Monkman, Pierre Vandal, Baptiste Vandal, Joseph Arcand, Maxime Dubois, James Short, Pierre Henry, Baptiste Tourond, Emmanuel Champagne, Kit-a-wa-how.
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Flour sack cap
Creator unknown
1885 CE
Caps made of cotton from flour sacks were dyed with tea to create a uniform look among the Métis who fought in the Northwest rebellion. Not only did this serve to visually unite the fighters, it would have allowed them to easily identify one another and avoid accidentally attacking one of their own during the fighting.If you look closely at this cap, you can see handwritten name, which would make it easier to identify the wearer if they died in battle.Object Information:Materials: cotton (from recycled flour sacks), tea
Size: 23 cm (height)
Area of Origin: Manitoba
Gallery: Not on display -
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Additional Links
The Northwest Resistance: This database contains material about the Northwest Resistance from the archives and libraries of the University of Saskatchewan.
Sources:
Cameron, W. B. (1926). The war trail of Big Bear (The Indian Trials). Toronto: Ryerson Press.
Federation of Saskatchewan Indian Nations. (1972). Battleford Hangings. Saskatchewan Indian, 3(7), 5.
Liivandi, A. (2015, August 8). Personal communication with Assistant Curator of Textiles & Fashions, Royal Ontario Museum.
Mulvaney, C. P. (1885). The history of the North-West Rebellion of 1885. Toronto: A. H. Hovey & Co.
Neilson Bonikowsky, L. (2015, March 04). Battle of Batoche. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from this website
Panet, C. E. (1886). Report upon the suppression of the rebellion in the North-West Territories and matters in connection therewith, in 1885: Presented to Parliament. Ottawa: Department of Militia and Defence.
Parks Canada. (2011, March 17). Fort Battleford National Historic Site of Canada: History. Retrieved from this website
Reed, K., Beeds, N., & Filion, B. (2011). Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Toronto: Pearson Canada.
Confederation of Canada
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July 1, 1867 CE
Confederation of Canada
Canada
Canada
On July 1, 1867 The Globe, a newspaper published in Toronto, announced the importance of and reaction to the newly created “Dominion of Canada.” Today, we know it simply as “Canada.”
To create Confederation, the old “Province of Canada” was divided into two new provinces, Ontario (Canada West) and Quebec (Canada East). These new provinces were joined in a federal pact with the existing Atlantic provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
This unification was brought about not by war, but through a series of orderly negotiations and conferences led by five influential men: John A. MacDonald, George Etienne Cartier, Thomas D’Arcy McGee, Charles Tupper, and George Brown.
There were two main considerations that led them to believe forming a union was necessary. First, Britain was becoming less able to effectively defend her distant colonies. Second, the U.S. backed out of a practical trade arrangement known as the Reciprocity Agreement. The Dominion made trade for each other’s resources easier with the construction of a national railway, and the newly-joined provinces formed a stronger alliance.
In 1870, The Hudson’s Bay Company sold Rupert’s Land to Canada, and the young country expanded to include all or parts of what are now the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec and Ontario. This same year, Manitoba was added to the Dominion.
John A. MacDonald’s promise of a railway linking the west coast to the east coast, and the purchase of Alaska by the U.S in 1867, helped encourage British Columbia to join in 1871. By 1873, Prince Edward Island, discouraged by increased debt to build an island railway, joined as well. The Yukon joined in 1898, followed in 1905 by Alberta and Saskatchewan. Newfoundland joined in 1949, and more recently, Nunavut was created in 1999 by separating it from the Northwest Territories.
“A Mare usque ad Mare,” or “from sea to sea,” is a fitting motto for Sir John A. MacDonald’s vision of Canada.
Dominion of Canada created July 1 1867 from British North America: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. July 15 1870, Rupert's Land and North-Western Territories were ceded to Canada and became North-West Territories and Manitoba.
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"The Globe" Newspaper, July 1, 1867
The Globe Newspaper
1867 CE
Early newspapers such as The Globe used very small type and had many columns printed on only a few large pages — The Globe consisted of only four pages. This paper was produced using a cylinder press, in which the type was placed on a revolving cylinder instead of a flatbed. The first three pages of this edition give historical background and commentary about Confederation, and advertisements are found on the back page. Pay close attention to the language used in the opening paragraph of the paper, such as: “this gladsome midsummer morn.” How does this compare to news reporting today?
Newspapers in 19th century Canada were the people’s main source of information. As populations of communities increased from hundreds to tens of thousands, relying on oral communication quickly changed to relying on print information. These early newspapers were also allied with political parties. The Globe, formed by George Brown in 1844, was a party journal for the Reform party (now the Liberals). John A. MacDonald took over The Toronto Mail (1872) for his Conservatives.
The Toronto Mail merged with Toronto Empire to form The Mail and Empire in 1895, and on November 23, 1936, The Globe merged with The Mail and Empire to form The Globe and Mail, which is still in circulation today as Canada’s largest-circulated national newspaper.
Object Information:
Materials: Paper, ink
Area of Origin: Toronto, Canada
Size: 60 cm (length), 45 cm (width)
Gallery: Education Department Collections
On loan from Jacques LavoieInside a Vaughan, Ontario printing plant to see the Globe and Mail go to press. Globe and Mail, April 19, 2013. -
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Additional Links
Sources:
Bloomberg. (2016). Company overview of The Globe and Mail Inc. Retrieved from this website
Creery, T., Walkom, T., & Potter, J. (2015, March 4). Newspapers. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from this website
Waite, P. B. (2015, June 17). Confederation. The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from this website
The War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States
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1812 CE - 1814 CE
The War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States
ONCanadaGreat Britain, Canada, America
The early 1800s were a time of great conflict for Great Britain, both at home and overseas. After going to war with France, Britain wanted America to stop trading with the French. Britain also wanted the United States to return sailors who had left British ships to join the American navy.
The Americans resented both demands, and in 1812, the United States attacked the British colonies of Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec). The Americans wanted to fight Britain on land because the British had a better navy that the Americans. The war ended in a draw in 1814.
The war helped to create a feeling of nationalism in Canada, because the American invasion had been repelled, thanks in part to the leadership of men and women like General Isaac Brock, Charles de Salaberry, Laura Secord, and Tecumseh. This bust shows Brock as he might have looked before he led the British soldiers and Canadian militia to victory at Queenston Heights in the early part of the war, though he died in battle there.
Do Brock, de Salaberry, Secord, and Tecumseh deserve to be called “heroes”?
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Bust of General Sir Isaac Brock
Hamilton MacCarthy (1846-1939 CE)
c. 1896 CE
General Sir Isaac Brock was the British military officer in charge of protecting Upper Canada, the land that would eventually become Ontario, from invading American forces in 1812. He led British soldiers and Canadian volunteers; he also respected and worked closely with Tecumseh, the leader of the Indigenous armies.
Object Information:
Materials: Terracotta
Size: 39.4 cm (height), 24.5 cm (width), 18.8 cm (depth)
Area of Origin: Ontario, Canada
Gallery: Sigmund Samuel Gallery of Canada, Level 1
Gift of the Honourable Mr. Justice Dalton C. Wells -
xThis video from the Government of Canada provides a “blockbuster movie trailer”-like overview of the War of 1812.
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Additional Links
War of 1812 Interactive Timeline: This resource from Historica Canada explores the events leading up to the war of 1812, including the involvement of Canada’s Indigenous Peoples.
Sources:
Bothwell, R. (2006). The Penguin history of Canada. Toronto, ON: Penguin Canada.
Brown, C. (2012). The illustrated history of Canada: 25th anniversary edition. Montreal, QC: McGill-Queen's University Press.
Historica Canada. (2016). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from this website
Tecumseh and Indigenous Peoples join the War of 1812
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1812 CE - 1814 CE
Tecumseh and Indigenous Peoples join the War of 1812
ONCanadaShawnee, Haudenosaunee
When Great Britain went to war against France and the USA, the Indigenous Peoples in North America feared that an American victory would mean the loss of more of their traditional lands. Though they had already taken over many of the Indigenous lands, the Americans wanted more, especially in an area that Britain had reserved for Indigenous groups west of the Great Lakes. In an attempt to stop American expansion into their traditional lands, Indigenous leaders like Tecumseh joined forces with the British against the Americans.
How successful were Tecumseh and his people in resisting the takeover of their lands?
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Portrait bust of Tech-kum-thai (Tecumseh)
Hamilton MacCarthy (1846-1939)
c. 1896 CE
Tecumseh was the leader of several Indigenous groups who were trying to keep the land promised to them by Britain.
Object Information:
Materials: Terracotta
Size: 39.4 cm (height), 24.5 cm (width), 18.8 cm (depth)
Area of Origin: Ontario, Canada
Gallery: Sigmund Samuel Gallery of Canada, Level 1
Gift of the Honourable Mr. Justice Dalton C. Wells -
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Additional Links
We Shall Remain, Episode 2: Tecumseh’s Vision (trailer): A PBS series made in collaboration with native and non-native filmmakers to tell the story of “how Native peoples valiantly resisted expulsion from their lands and fought the extinction of their culture.”
Sources:
Historica Canada. (2016). The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from this website
Ray, A. J. (2005). I have lived here since the world began: An illustrated history of Canada's native people (revised ed.). Toronto, ON: Key Porter Books.
Formation of the Covenant Chain
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1800s CE
Formation of the Covenant Chain
Canada
British, First Peoples
Growing out of the earliest interactions between the British Colonies in North America and Indigenous nations, The Covenant Chain is as a series of relationships binding the various tribes, nations, and cultures of eastern Turtle Island, which grew out of the earliest interactions between the British Colonies in North America and Indigenous Nations.
For the British settlers, the Covenant Chain represented their wish to form long-lasting and secure bonds with the Indigenous nations, thereby promoting peace, the ability to conduct trade, and friendly terms between peoples. It was also a means through which the British sought to share power with their Indigenous allies and extend their influence throughout Turtle Island.
For many of the Indigenous tribes, especially the Haudenosaunee, the Covenant Chain was an important development in the complex series of relationships that ran between the many peoples of Turtle Island. Indigenous nations had a long history of making treaties with one another, which included agreements to settle disputes over resources such as land and waterways. One key element of the agreements made between Indigenous nations was the understanding that these relationships were living agreements, requiring renewal and ongoing communication between groups. The Covenant Chain developed into a series of alliances that included many Indigenous nations, and was a powerful source of economic and military influence in the early Colonial Period.
The idea of an imaginary metal chain that bound the British Colonies to Indigenous nations began in what is now New York State during the early 17th Century. The earliest Covenant Chains were shown as being made from iron, but over time the Indigenous and British recognized the need to reaffirm, discuss, and renew their relationships. To better reflect the nature of their relationship, the Covenant Chain was changed one made from silver, a metal which can be more easily polished to a bright shine. Silver also was chosen for its high value, signifying the importance of the relationship for both parties. The act of renewing the relationships within the Covenant Chain came to be known as “polishing the silver,” and was often accompanied with the giving of gifts and assistance between the parties. In this way, the Covenant Chain incorporated the Indigenous idea that continual renewal is required for enduring agreements, and served both groups’ desire for peace and trade.
Today the covenant chain is often invoked as a metaphor of the underlying relationship between Indigenous peoples and all western peoples in North America.
While the Covenant Chain was not a formal treaty document, the idea of the Covenant Chain remains a strong presence in the affairs between the state and Indigenous peoples in Canada.
What other use was silver put to within the Indigenous-Western relationship?
The two-row wampum belt shows one interpretation of the Covenant Chain relationship.
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Peace Medal Commemorating the End of the 1812 War
Thomas Wyon (1767-1830 CE)
1814 CE
While the Covenant Chain ceased to exist as an active alliance well before the War of 1812, the use of silver as a way to show the value of the Indigenous and European relationship continued. The British Crown minted Indian Peace Medals such as this one to commemorate the end of the War of 1812, which were given to the leading figures within an Indigenous nation.
Silver was also put to a variety of other uses within the Indigenous and European relationship, including the making of armbands, necklaces, and tools that were given as status symbols to Indigenous leaders.
Object Information:
Materials: Struck silver
Area of Origin: London, England
Size: 6.7 cm (length), 6 cm (height)
Gallery: Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada, First Peoples
Edmund Morris collection -
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Additional Links
Sources
Jaenen, C.J.. R. The Canadian Encyclopedia. (2006). Covenant chain. Retrieved August 7, 2017 from this site.
Jennings, F. (1984). The ambiguous Iroquois empire: The Covenant Chain confederation of Indian tribes with English colonies from its beginnings to the Lancaster Treaty of 1744. New York: Norton.
Richter, D. K., & Merrell, J. H. (1987). Beyond the covenant chain: The Iroquois and their neighbors in Indian North America, 1600-1800. Syracuse, N.Y: Syracuse University Press.
Treaties incorporate annual payments
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1800s
Treaties incorporate annual payments
Canada
Dominion of Canada
In the Royal Proclamation of 1763, King George III formalized the rules through which the British Crown would make treaties with Indigenous nations in what is now Canada. Within the same proclamation, the king asserted British sovereignty over large parts of Turtle Island, but also decreed that incoming Europeans could not take up this land unless the Crown had acquired it from the Indigenous nations first.
This opened the door on a new phase in Indigenous and Crown relations in which the Crown began to seek treaties in which the Indigenous nations exchanged their lands for some settlement, such as payments of cash or goods. One way of paying for the land was to set up annuities, annual payments for Indigenous nations.Within the terms of many of these settlement treaties, the Indigenous nations were made lavish promises by the Crown. These promises included that the Indigenous ways of life, through hunting, fishing, and other means, would not be infringed, and that there would be an area of land that would be only for Indigenous communities, known as reserved lands or reserves.
Many Indigenous groups did not see these agreements in the same manner that the Crown did. To many Indigenous cultures, land was not something that could be bought or sold. In the treaties, many Indigenous nations agree to share their land with the incoming settlers, in the style of a living and ongoing relationship.
The Crown, on behalf of European settlers, saw the treaties as a means of ensuring access for settlement, the development of agriculture and other resources, and ensuring that there was no conflict over the land.
The treaty-making process was not smooth. Many of the Indigenous nations were at the point of starvation when they made treaties, especially on the prairies where traditional ways of living had become impossible due to overhunting of game. Additionally, many Indigenous communities protest that the written terms of the treaties do not correspond to the oral promises made during negotiation, and that the government does not uphold these promises.Which famous Plains Cree Chief signed a treaty only after holding out until there was no alternative for his people?
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Big Bear's adhesion to Treaty Number 6
Chief Big Bear
December 8, 1882
Chief Big Bear was opposed to accepting the terms of the treaties that the Crown was offering Indigenous people on the prairies. Big Bear chose to not accept the terms when many other chiefs did, and this gained him a large following of supporters who also felt that the terms of the treaties should not be accepted. Only after trying and failing to feed his people through the traditional ways of the Plains Cree, such as hunting and fishing across the prairies, did Big Bear decide to accept the terms offered. By this point in time his people were starving, and there was no real alternative left.
Big Bear opposed the treaties largely because he felt that it limited his people’s freedoms, and bound them to follow the rules of an external nation. He once famously said that the he did not want to take treaty, as this would be akin to being led around by another with a rope around his neck.
This document is a copy of Big Bear’s own adhesion to Treaty Number 6.
Object Information:
Materials: Ink on paper
Area of Origin: Fort Walsh, Saskatchewan
Size: 25 cm (width), 32.5 cm (height)
Gallery: Curatorial
Given to Edmund Morris by Lt. Col. A.G. Irvine, N.W.M.P.
Edmund Morris Collection -
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Additional Links
Ray, A. J. (2005). I have lived here since the world began: An illustrated history of Canada's Native people. Toronto: Key Porter Books.
Dickason, O. P., & Calder, M. J. (2006). A concise history of Canada's first nations. Toronto: Oxford University Press
1900s
Modern Land Claims
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1973
Modern Land Claims
Canada
Canada, First Peoples
Not all the land in Canada is covered by treaty. Large areas of land in the far North, in Quebec, and in British Columbia have never been the subject of a formal agreement between Indigenous nations and the Crown, leaving a great deal of uncertainty over the existing Aboriginal rights, access to resources, and the development of those lands.
In 1973 the Federal Government developed a framework for addressing these underlying questions, and set up a procedure of negotiations that Indigenous nations could go through to come to a modern-day land agreement with Canada. The Indigenous nations whose territory is not covered treaty are not required to engage in these negotiations, as they may choose to bring up their challenges in the courts, or to wait until deciding whether to move forward with any agreement.
These modern land claims agreements are very similar in nature to the historical treaties, in that they guide the relationship between Indigenous nations and the Crown over the use, occupancy, settlement and sharing of the land. Indigenous nations have the opportunity to negotiate with the Federal Government over the joint-management of wildlife, self-government, development of resources, and to ensure the protection of their language and culture. These modern agreements are also constitutionally protected and are mutually binding.
The process to negotiate a modern land claim can be very expensive, time-consuming, and frustrating for the Indigenous nation. One of the Crown’s purpose and motivation in coming to these agreements is to achieve certainty over the nature of the Aboriginal rights at stake, and to then exchange these rights for some form of compensation.
The modern land claims process is very active in British Columbia, where there are many Indigenous nations who have never signed a treaty, and whose lands have often already been settled on by other populations.
The modern treaty process encompasses more than just broad questions about land and Aboriginal rights to that land; the land claims process has two categories, comprehensive land claims, and specific claims. Specific claims relate to the implementation of treaty or agreement terms on a narrow issue.
Of particular concern for Indigenous nations in British Columbia is their right to harvest fish and other sealife as their ancestors have done since time immemorial. Nations depend on access to fish and other sea life for food, ceremonial uses, and social uses.
The issue of Indigenous rights to fisheries plays a key role in the negotiation process of the modern land claims agreements, in much the same way that the historical treaties dealt in-depth on Indigenous rights to hunt and harvest food from their territories.
How does this fishing hook illustrate the long history of Indigenous fishing practices?
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Bentwood fish hook
Unknown
19th-early 20th century CE
Steam-bent hooks are used by central and southern coastal peoples for catching halibut, although they can also be used for cod and dogfish. The barb is baited with octopus or small fish. The halibut sucks in its food, and when it cannot swallow the hook, the fish expels it with force, pushing the barb through its cheek. The spring of the curved arm pushes down on the halibut’s cheek and prevents the hook from dislodging.
Though Indigenous fishing communities may use more modern hooks and tools today, this hook illustrates the long connection that Indigenous communities have to their traditional fishing grounds. Many Indigenous nations have never given up their right to manage their own access to the fisheries; their communities have managed the fish stock for thousands of years prior to European arrival and they do not accept that, without having signed any agreement or given their consent, that they are required to change their practices.Object Information:
Materials: Oil on canvas
Area of Origin: Upper Fox River, Wisconsin, USA
Size: 73.6 cm (length), 45.7 cm (height)
Gallery: Daphne Cockwell Gallery of Canada, First Peoples
Gift of Sir Edmund Osler -
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Additional Links
Sources:
Crowe, K.. R. The Canadian Encyclopedia. (2015). Comprehensive land claims: modern treaties.
Scholtz, C. S. (2006). Negotiating claims: The emergence of indigenous land claim negotiation policies in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States. New York: Routledge.