Our quilt incorporates 2 First Nations sections. My earlier blog discusses the nations that we found within Niagara: Neutral, Aneshnabeg, 5 Nations Iroquois and the Mowhawk who fought with the British during the War of 1812. Our focus was on the people who lived in Niagara and who were buried here.
Traditionally, First Nations of this area used mass graves for their burials. Both the Neutral (known to their Huron neighbours as the Attiwandaronk, were called “la nation neutre” by the French because of their refusal to become involved in the hostilities between the Huron and Iroquois http://www.tbhs.ca/hughes/treasure.html) and Aneshnabeg (including Odawa, Ojibwe, Potawatomi, Oji-Cree, and Algonquin peoples) 5 Nations Iroquois also know by their indigenous name Haudenosaunee (comprise Onondaga, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora peoples) The Mohawk joined the confederacy in 1722.
It is believed that outlying bands would gather every 7-10 years, bringing with them their deceased’ carefully wrapped remains, along with treasured artefacts. These would be ceremonially buried in mass graves. Hence, the distinctive mounds that can still be observed today. http://niagarafallsmuseums.ca/discover-our-history/history-notes/ossuary.aspx
As the Neutral primarily inhabited the areas of Grimsby through Lincoln and further to the South/Thorold, the left wing of the crow would shelter these sites.
The composition comprises the Federal Government’s plaque with information pertaining to the reburial of human remains and artefacts. Behind are the 6 concrete slabs used to cover the reburials. In the background are 4 trees photographed behind the plaque – one of which is partly showing behind the sign.
The right wing would cover the Fort Erie section which represented peoples who travelled freely across the Niagara river: Aneshnabeg and 5 Nations Iroquois. By all indications, this mound was created when human remains and artefacts were removed during the expansion work on the Peace Bridge at the turn of the new millenium. http://www.oag-bvg.gc.ca/internet/English/pet_113_e_28835.html The First Nations Interpretive Centre and Gallery also known as Mewinzha: A Journey Back in Time, was built at this time. The clan animals were photographed in the Gallery as they formed a design in the polished stone floor. We have rearranged the symbols to form a “banner” in our composition.
During the early part of the millennium I had been completing my undergraduate degree in Canadian Studies and beginning a Masters of Education: both degrees centred around First Nations peoples of Canada with a focus on the peoples of Southern Ontario. My research took me into various 6 Nations Iroquois communities where I got to know elders and artists who provided me with invaluable insight into life as it had been historically and during the present. Concepts that predominated through my journey were Turtle Island (North American continent over which First Nations had the rights and responsibility of protection), Medicine Wheel which centred around the four directions of the spiritual, emotional, physical and mental, and crow, the protector of the ancestors and vision for present and future.
This textile call for entry “As the Crow Flies” spoke to me on all these levels.
My crow had been partially completed but now all feathers had to be assembled. Stitching seemed the best option for attaching to the silk cloth covering the wood frame. We were now ready for photography.
