09/30/2021
In Honour of National Day for Truth And Reconciliation, a note from Tim Johnson, Shaw Festival Board Member:
Like so many others, our Indigenous family has been directly impacted by the existence and abhorrent practices of Canada’s Indian residential schools. My wife’s grandmother, my children’s great grandmother, spent her entire young Oneida Bear Clan life from the age of four to 16 attending the Mohawk Institute, the residential school established in Six Nations of the Grand River. More commonly referred to as the “Mush Hole” for the untasteful porridge fed to the children, the Mohawk Institute operated for some 139 years, from 1831 to 1970, affecting generations of Indigenous children and their families from diverse communities across Ontario.
In the Niagara region this history is particularly painful because it betrays the treaties and alliances with First Nations and Métis who fought side-by-side with British soldiers, loyalists, and the coloured corps to defend and support the emergence of a new nation called Canada. Historians have achieved consensus that were it not for the participation of Indigenous fighters and leaders during the War of 1812, Canada would very likely have been absorbed into the United States. The historical record reveals accounts of Indigenous valour and sacrifice at The Battle of Queenston Heights, the Battle of Beaver Dams, Stoney Creek, and elsewhere.
Indian residential school policies reflected the shift toward paternalistic and racist attitudes toward Indigenous peoples that took firm root in the 1830s. They belied the existence of strong relations that had been forged between several of our peoples while violating the generally accepted conduct and protocols utilized in sustaining those relations. These protocols included the exchange of wampum belts, the use of beautiful oratorical language and metaphorical expressions designed to sustain alliances during formal meetings, and the sharing of gifts as acts of reciprocity and honour.
As the first Indigenous board member of the Shaw Festival Theatre, it is my sincere hope that the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation be seen as an opportunity to learn more about Indigenous history. The extent of this history, that leads us forward to contemporary times and the acknowledgement of the vibrant Indigenous communities still in existence here, resonates along the Niagara River corridor and throughout the Niagara Peninsula extending out to Six Nations of the Grand River, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and beyond.
The National Day for Truth and Reconciliation calls upon people to honour “the lost children and survivors of residential schools, their families, and communities.” Public commemoration of this tragic history is seen as a “vital component of the reconciliation process.” In this context, as one of Canada’s leading expressive arts organizations, the Shaw Festival takes very seriously its responsibilities and obligations to make good on addressing systemic inequities and developing an institutional culture that uplifts, inspires, and affirms the value and validity of all members of its company and constituency.
[Image description: A picture of Tim Johnson is in a circular frame, centred in the top portion of the image. "In Honour of National Day for Truth And Reconciliation, a note from Tim Johnson, Shaw Festival Board Member" is written below.]
