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Niagara Falls
Thursday, March 28, 2024
Necessity of survival at heart of final Niagara Parks Indigenous talk

The final talkĀ in Niagara Parks' Indigenous series takes place on Thursday with a focus on Indigenous involvement and repercussions from the Battle of Chippewa during the War of 1812.

The forumĀ seeks to highlight the narrative in Indigenous communities that was unfolding alongside British and American narratives during the war.

ā€œLike a lot of events in our past there are parallel events there. Thereā€™s what the British and Americanā€™s are doing and thereā€™s what the Indigenous world is doing,ā€ Travis Hill,Ā senior manager of heritage and cultural stewardship with the Niagara Parks Commission,Ā  told The Lake Report.

Hill has been with Niagara Parks for over 25 years and is in charge of all cultural heritage sites, landmarks and monuments.

He stressed thatĀ all levels of negotiations occurring during the war were happening simultaneously in the Indigenous community, albeit with a more pressing motivation.

ā€œWhat (Indigenous leaders) were talking about wasnā€™t just a battle, it was the survival of everyone and everything they know,ā€ he said.

In the case of the Americans, ā€œtheir family, wealth and estates could be over 1,000 miles away. For the British, it could be 5,000. That is not the case for the Indigenous leaders. For them, this is a much more serious question of survival.ā€

And it was survival that made Indigenous involvement in the War of 1812 a necessity.

ā€œMaybe the only right that people had back then was that you voted with your feet,ā€ Hill said.

ā€œSome people will say that an army isnā€™t a democracy. Oh, it is. You vote with your feet. If youā€™re angry and you really want to fight you charge towards the enemy.ā€

The Indigenous people on both sides of the border were worried how they would be perceived by the winning side and what their societies might lose ā€œif they didnā€™t show up.ā€

ā€œAnd then thereā€™s the awfulness that they end up fighting each other.ā€

Hill said the talk will focus on the level of complexity and understandingĀ the Indigenous participants had in the affair, and where they stood in relation to the war after having lived alongside colonial powers for over 300 years.

ā€œThereā€™s this notion that these poor people didnā€™t know what was going on ā€“Ā and that couldnā€™t be further from the truth,ā€ Hill said.

The event will focus on some of the lesser-known power players on the Indigenous and colonial sides, as well as the repercussions that can still be felt to this day, Hill said.

HeĀ feels education about Indigenous culture and history has always been important and gives great credit to the abilities of Indigenous teachers.

ā€œThe patience Iā€™ve seen from the educators Iā€™ve worked with is unbelievable. Sometimes the media just wants to show that theyā€™re angry and theyā€™re going to knock things over,ā€ Hill said.

ā€œThatā€™s not my experience. Theyā€™re very patient, and theyā€™ll explain things over and over again. And if people would only listen, then they wouldnā€™t have to keep explaining themselves.ā€

ā€œAll (Indigenous people) ever ask is ā€˜Just listen, just let us explain our perspective.ā€™ And thatā€™s what theyā€™ve been asking for a couple centuries. That communication is so important.ā€

Hill also spoke to the history of treaties signed in Canada that are still intact after hundreds of years.

ā€œWe didnā€™t have a glorious revolution where we could throw away or burn every treaty we ever made. Itā€™s our legal obligation (to support Indigenous communities and education),ā€ he said.

Hill saidĀ everyone, even the Niagara Parks Commission, should be learning from Indigenous leaders and teachers.

ā€œWeā€™re caretakers of a land that people have lived on for 13,000 years and we havenā€™t as a society always done a good job of taking care of earth, water and air,ā€ he said.

ā€œSometimes itā€™s good to listen to people who have survived for 500 generations on one piece of real estate. They might have some good lessons for us when weā€™re struggling to maintain a balance after seven or eight generations.ā€

Hill saysĀ anyone interested in learningĀ about Indigenous culture should read the Landscape of Nations Ten Essential Understandings. The document is available for free on www.lon360.ca.

Tickets for the final talk are available atĀ Niagaraparks.com/indigenous.

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