 What natives have given to CanadaWere it not for their knowledge of foods and medicines, which they willingly shared with the newcomers, explorers and settlers would not have survived the rigours of this inhospitable clime. It was Huron women who cured Cartier's crew of scurvy with a medicine prepared from the bark of a fir tree in vitamin C. Native peoples introduced settlers to corn, beans and squash, which along with the Andean potato have become the staples of our diet. They taught us how to make maple syrup. Exploration of the interior of this vast northern land would not have been possible with the Indian guide, pemmican and the canoe, that light, easily manoeuvred craft capable of shooting the swiftest of rapids and being carried across portages. Settlements were not hacked out of untouched wilderness but built on the sites of native villages (Quebec City where Stadacona sat, Montréal at Hochelaga), and streets were laid out along Indian trails (Yonge Street, the world's longest, being the prime example). Our rivers and lakes, our provinces and capital cities often bear their original Indian names. The Indian trapper was the essential but horribly exploited player in that centuries-old commerce that opened up the country-the fur trade. Our national sport, hockey, is Algonquin in origin, taken by the fleeing Hurons to Quebec in 1649. Lacrosse, snowshoes, toboggans and the kayak all are native in origin. Native peoples gave us the moccasin, that most comfortable of footwear, and the parka. In two world wars, native reservations contributed more men per capita than any other segment of the population. In the War of 1812, First Nations fought bravely alongside the British against the Americans. My own great-great-grandfather, Captain Borland, an Ojibwa trader with the Northwest Company, won military distinction at the Queenston Heights (and held Sir Isaac Brock in his arms as Brock lay dying). Indeed, were it not for the native allies in this war, Canadians might well be Americans today. Perhaps the greatest aboriginal contribution to Canada, however, is their political and spiritual legacy: their creation of an egalitarian, democratic society, their belief in religious tolerance, and their understanding of the connectedness of all living things and the sacredness of Mother Earth. It must be remembered that most immigrants came to Canada to escape poverty, famine, or religious and political oppression; the freedom and prosperity they sought they found here on native soil. And it must be remembered, too, that the great populist movement of the late 20th century, the environmental movement, was born in North America and draws direct inspiration from Native thought. Canada is an aboriginal nation and our debt to our native brethren is enormous. Is it not time we acknowledged and repaid it?
Gail Manning
Acknowledgements
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