'Indigenous Toronto' Speaks to Thousands of Years of History
North American cities have made a habit of continually suppressing the histories of Indigenous presence in urban areas, yet through the context of Canada’s largest city, Indigenous Toronto challenges this notion by capturing the diverse and ever-changing nature of the Indigenous community in Toronto that never left and pushes onward.
The anthology—comprised of stories and essays with contributions by Indigenous artists, scholars, and Elders—speaks to thousands of years of history stretching back until time immemorial, while presenting a refreshing outlook on how the estimated 70,000 Indigenous people in Toronto are transforming the city.
Early agreements between Indigenous Nations in the area were secured with wampum belts. One of the most well-known is the Dish with One Spoon belt, originally used to solidify an agreement for sharing hunting territory in the Great Lakes region. The belt is made of white beads with a rounded, purple dish in the centre representing the land. All are welcome to eat from the dish and use the land, as long as no one takes more than what is needed. Throughout the book, the Dish with One Spoon is alluded to as a historic agreement that continues to be relevant and is now perhaps more important than ever if Toronto is to change for the better.
The stories and essays extensively cover Toronto’s history, which is rarely told from Indigenous perspectives. It tells of Oronhyatekha, whom author Mnawaate Gordon-Corbiere describes as “one of Toronto’s first ‘Urban Indians’—those who grew up on a reservation or in a small town and later decided to try out city life, often for educational or employment opportunities.” Originally born in 1841 on the Six Nations reserve, Oronhyatekha earned a degree from the Toronto School of Medicine.
Gordon-Corbiere’s essay “The Two Lives of Dr. O” goes on to describe how Oronhyatekha navigated academic circles while also proudly maintaining his culture throughout his life. At his estate in Tyendinaga, “he stated that only the Kanien’keha language could be spoken there.”
Since Oronhyatekha’s time, the Indigenous population in the city has increased to contain many accomplished and well-known individuals. Indigenous Toronto addresses the misconception that there simply isn’t a significant Indigenous population or community in Toronto, with Indigenous peoples only having existed in the past. The reality is that Toronto owes its impressive artistic and cultural scene largely to the contributions of Indigenous playwrights, poets, and artists.
The rich and vibrant artistic scene in Toronto is largely to the credit of Indigenous artists such as Tannis Nielsen, a Métis sculptor and painter who is in charge of the Simcoe Underpass Mural, featuring portraits of influential Indigenous thinkers in Toronto. Nielsen describes her reasons for painting the mural, saying, “I painted this mural because I wanted pedestrians walking by to immediately gain the sense that this is Anishinaabe-Haudenosaunee territory.”
As an Indigenous artist, she is aware that the Dish with One Spoon agreement is not being honoured. “It’s like a knife is on the table today, whereas the Dish with One Spoon has no hard edge, no fighting.” Nielsen hopes that the future of Toronto involves returning to that balance with the land. “If we could go back to that land-based economy … the Dish with One Spoon treaty would enable more sharing and less competition.”
This change in economic structure would also call for a different way of food production. In the essay “NishDish Journey,” Johl Whiteduck Ringuette expresses the difficulty of preserving Indigenous culinary traditions. NishDish, an Indigenous-owned catering business and restaurant in Toronto, puts in a tremendous amount of effort to ensure sustainability and quality.
Running a restaurant that specializes in the cuisine of the first peoples of this land requires transforming the city to save endangered plants and preserve ecosystems. “This means replanting rice beds on local lakes, which takes many years; replanting and revitalizing the pawpaw tree, our Indigenous fruit tree; replanting and learning how to grow the three sisters locally; and so many others.”
Toronto’s global image as a city is one that is new, and the theme of terra nullius, which Canadian history is often told through, applies to European accounts of Toronto just the same. The reality is that the history of the area goes back much further than most would imagine. As more people in Toronto are becoming aware of this history, residents are advocating for the renaming of universities and streets as views on which historical figures they should honour change.
Indigenous Toronto rejects the notion that Indigenous cultures must stay entrenched in the past in order to be authentic, and also looks forward. For a more sustainable future, Indigenous Toronto stresses the importance of the Dish with One Spoon agreement and of reimagining economic structures.
Thank you to Coach House Books for providing Shrapnel with a media copy of Indigenous Toronto, which is available now for purchase at Coach House Books’ website and in bookstores across Canada.
Price: $24.95 CAD
ISBN: 9781552454152
Genre: Non-Fiction Collection
Pub date: April, 2021
Book Review
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September 17,
2021
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8-minute read
Freya Abbas
studies linguistics and literature at the University of Toronto and is passionate about promoting the arts in her community. She is the lead writer of INKspire, which is an organization that facilitates free poetry workshops for youth. She likes experimenting with different kinds of writing, from plays to essays. Her favourite books to read are historical fiction novels.