Hmmm

Canada Day 2023 has come and gone. In its wake, I've been pondering the 'state of the union' following a short video I stumbled upon while scrolling through social media. The video was centred on Canada, its annual celebration and it's history, with homage paid to the plight of the indigenous. Watching it, I was reminded of a talk that BNC Native Studies teacher, Drew Forsyth, was having with his class when I popped by to say hi one day while supplying at BNC. In his lecture, Drew was explaining to the class the curiosities surrounding some of the names of regions, townships, cities, and even provinces that stem from the indigenous origins.

If you haven't been inside an Ontario school (elementary or secondary) during the start of the day, you may not be aware that an acknowledgement to the area's indigenous is read. In that acknowledgement (see below), the Anishnaabeg are identified as the people that were directly impacted in this part of the world by colonialism during the early years of the Dominion of Canada. 

Simcoe County District School Board acknowledges that we are situated on the traditional land of the Anishnaabeg people. We acknowledge the enduring presence of First Nation, Métis and Inuit people on this land and are committed to moving forward in the spirit of reconciliation and respect.

The acknowledgement recognizes this land as Anishnaabeg, and are absolutely deserving of our acknowledgement. While it is true that the Anishnaabeg were the most recent indigenous peoples to occupy these lands as members of the Three Fires Confederacy, it is curious that there's no mention of the massive contributions of the people that came before them. In fact, the Huron-Wendat nations occupied this region for thousands of years up until 350 years ago, and are the reason that Simcoe County is a part of Huronia Region, a confederacy that stretched south to the Ohio Valley and Virginia, and thanks to an influx of Jesuit missionaries and their record keeping, explains the many references to the Huron and the settlement at Sainte Marie among the Hurons in Midland.

Once you gain a full breadth understanding of the facts, there's a lot of head-scratching. Thanks to a resource I found (CLICK), some clarity was gained.

Huron-Wendat
Coat of Arms

The term ‘Huron’ was a term used by the French to refer to the Wendat, and is actually not rooted in indigenous language, stemming instead from a demeaning nickname that means ‘boar’s head’ in French, a reference to the men's hair style, insinuating the appearance of ruffians. The H-W population was reduced by half from approximately 20,000 to 9,000, the result of ravaging epidemics of smallpox, influenza and measles 'shared' by French settlers living in close quarters with the nations. Being 'new' diseases to North America, the indigenous had no previous exposure and were ravaged by the infections. The Wendat were trading partners with their northern neighbours, the Anishnaabeg, as well as others across the Georgian Bay area, all of whom were allied with the French. They were at odds with the Iroquois nations to the south that were allied with the British and Dutch. The Wendat were recognized as the largest and most profitable fur trading partner for the French so when resources for the fur trade dried up, first in the southern regions inhabited by the Iroquois, and slowly moving northward, it prompted the Five Nations to attack the Wendat in 1649. 

Some historians argue that the Five Nations attacked for economic reasons, but their historians maintain that it was an attempt to reclaim numbers lost during the epidemics that had decimated their populations. The Five Nations moved into Wendat territory, dispersing the populations in this region. Some joined their attackers since they spoke the Iroquois language, some moved north to join their Anishnaabeg trading partners, some moved east to what is now known as Wendake (Quebec), while others returned south to Ohio and Michigan, later being dispersed as far south as Virginia in the US government's relocation policies.

The Five Nations remained in the area of Simcoe County for approximately 50 years, before the Anishnaabeg nations pushed them back south and settled in this territory. The Anishnaabeg have been in this region since the late 1600s, leading to their being credited in the land acknowledgement.

Land Acknowledgement problem solved! 

What about the obviously indigenous rooted names of Canadian cities and communities? Thanks to the site The Canadian Encyclopedia (CLICK) and Wikipedia (CLICK), I was able to find some explanation for other oddities that are not clearly understood by a large number of my fellow 'Boomers' because the history curriculum of our youth did not include these particular justifications ... or, at least I don't recall them.

Starting with our country, the name Canada comes from the word meaning "village" or "settlement" in the Iroquois language spoken by the inhabitants of Stadacona and the neighbouring region near present-day Quebec City in the 16th century. Jacques Cartier was first to use the word "Canada" to refer not only to the village of Stadacona, but also to the neighbouring region and the areas down the Saint-Lawrence River. The Mohawk word 'kaná:ta' and the Seneca word 'iennekanandaa' gave rise to the eventual English translation of Canada.

The province of Ontario is derived from the Huron word onitariio meaning "beautiful lake", or kanadario meaning "sparkling" or "beautiful" water. While there is no shortage of either in Ontario, it is again interesting that we take the name from the language of the Wendat (Hurons). For Ontario's easterly neighbour Quebec, the name comes from the Míkmaq word kepék, meaning "strait" or "narrows". If you look back one paragraph earlier, you'll recall that the name Canada stemmed from the Mohawk + Seneca language. The Míkmaq territory was more maritime so it is curious that they are credited with the roots of the name Quebec. On Ontario's west side sits Manitoba. its name derived from the Cree word manito-wapâw meaning "the strait of the spirit or manitobau" or the Assiniboine words mini and tobow meaning "Lake of the Prairie", referring to Lake Manitoba. In this case it makes sense because the Cree dominated the northern areas from Saskatchewan to the Maritimes.

There are hundreds of other examples, but I think I've made my point. If you're Jonesin' for the full list, CLICK here.

The name Toronto is derived from the Mohawk word tkaronto, which means “where there are trees standing in the water.” Interestingly, the word originally referred to The Narrows near present-day Orillia, where the Wendat and other groups drove stakes into the water to create fish weirs. French maps from the 1680s to 1760s identify present-day Lake Simcoe as Lac de Taronto. The spelling changed to Toronto during the 18th century, and the term gradually came to refer to the large region between Lake Simcoe and Lake Ontario that included the location of the present-day City of Toronto. As the English took over more and more of the land in the area, the name Toronto came to replace the name of York, the settlement we know it as now. There are plenty of others too, like Ottawa, Mississauga, Oshawa, or Etobicoke. Closer to home, Adjala-Tosorantio, Tecumseh, and Penetanguishine, but my personal fav Wasaga comes from Nottawasaga, Algonquin language meaning 'Iroquois' and 'river outlet'.

Coming full circle to the Land Acknowledgement, the Wendat (Remembering that the French nicknamed them Hurons) that occupied this region for thousands of years, subsequently succumbing to amalgamation with the Anishnaabeg or Iroquois after the Beaver Wars in 1649, leaving an obvious thumbprint behind with many members of the First Nations in the area. Although the historical references are convoluted and heavily influenced by European translation after generations of re-telling, this area adopted the name Huronia thanks to the French's insistence that the Wendat (Hurons) dominated the region, thus the area was named for them even though they weren't the people that colonization displaced.

I guess I have to confess that I either 

(a) didn't pay close enough attention to social studies' teachings or 

(b) the curriculum didn't include an explanation that caused me to question its validity, 

but either way, I felt a yen to understand a clearer picture now that I'm approaching senior citizen status. Granted, it's a very confusing situation, but that doesn't mean that I should shrug and walk away. 

If you already knew all of this because you were a better student than I, good on ya!

If you just learned a thing or three, good on ya!

Either way, I'd bet it was a good day!