Monday: Ottawa: Indigenous Tour

While in Ottawa we went on Jamie Morse's 1 pm tour called Indigenous Walks. She started these tours as a way to make sure her children knew their family history. The tour was sped up a little in order to return in time for the 2 pm ceremony for the Irish Society recognizing other had it at least as rough as they did when the canal was built using sweat labor. 

We did not stay for that ceremony.

Jamie offers these tours for $25(CAD) a person. Based on our tour, I would recommend her.

We are standing on unceded, un-surrendered Indigenous land. No one was conquered here. A treaty was never signed. It was simply taken.

The Ottawa River was important to life for the Indigenous people. The canal was formed in the paths that crossed where people gathered. There were many different tribes that converged here. Many different nationals. This was called Pimisi station in honor of pimisi, the Algonquin word for eel. The Algonquin used all part of the eel. It was their medicine, their food, the skins were also used. Back in those days, the area was full of trees and forest. Today we see cleared spaces for buildings, parks, and the canal. Eels were the messengers of the river. They transform from the salt water into fresh water.

This space was first for logging. Logging adversely affected the eel. We were encouraged to visit an art gallery at 150 Elgin Street to see Indigenous art. We did not make it on this trip.

Jamie taught us about how canoes are made. They are not simply made from one tree, but a combination using birch bark for the outside, ribs from the ash tree to give it shape, black sap with animal brains to waterproof, and spruce roots to wrap around it. I'm sure I missed a step.

Never show a canoe without its oars. The oars give it direction.

There are still Algonquin and other Indigenous groups not far from Ottawa.

We walked up the stairs closer to Parliament Hill. During the War of 1812 (United States vs. Britain), many Indigenous groups fought on the side of the British. They were told if they won, they would keep their sovereignty. The Innuits were the only tribe that embraced being Canadian. The others are still separate sovereign nations and refuse to be called Canadian. 

There are 800 reserved lands that are held by the government to parse out as they choose. Some have only a few people on it, others have between 50 and a 1,000 people. They are called communities. Reservations is the word used in the United States. These reserved lands are in the Canadian constitution.

Inside Chateau Laurier is an art gallery. Jamie pointed out themes that typically appear in art work. It was in a busy hallway, hard to hear her. I could tell she is passionate and knowledgeable. If it wasn't a free tour, I likely would have paid closer attention. I did catch that shapeshifters and dancing bears are common themes.

We crossed the busy street, past a man in a kilt playing bagpipes. I was glad to see he had a note identifying which song he was playing that moment because to me they all sound alike.

We stopped at the statue of a small man wearing a combination of First Nation and European clothes. As is often the case, it seems so obvious once someone points it out to you. I saw his mohawk and poofy shirt, but had not made the connection that they were from two different cultures. Joseph Brant, Thoryendongea, was a conduit between the cultures. He was educated. He met King George III. The British made him a leader. He fled New York and moved to the Six Nations where he made his life. He was a British military leader.

Once you look for the two cultures they keep
popping out at you. Puffy sleeves (British), bag made from tanned hides (First Nations), blanket (First Nations), medallion (European), hairstyle (First Nations), and moccasins (First Nation). There is a lot in the one statue. 

The group returned to the Bytown Museum. We continued on to lunch.