National Indigenous Peoples Day
Theatre of the Beat is fortunate to work and tour across the country. For National Indigenous Peoples Day we wanted to educate both ourselves and our patrons on the history of the land we live and operate on. Our communications coordinator researched the history of the Danforth and surrounding area specifically, as this is where our office is located.
The history of Tkaronto is vast and incredibly diverse. It is the traditional territory of many nations: the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples.
Over millennia, Indigenous peoples in Tkaronto adapted to changes in the environment and developed their technologies as they did so. These technologies include the bow and arrow and agriculture techniques. Corn, beans and squash, the Three Sisters, were incredibly important food sources. In the area of Tkaronto, ancestors of the Huron-Wendat Nation developed villages that were surrounded by crops year-round.
The villages were connected to both local and long-distance trail networks that you may be familiar with. These include the Carrying Place trails that connected Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay.
North of the Danforth and south of Massey Creek archaeologists have identified a site of an ancestral Huron-Wendat village, which is just a few blocks away from our office. Not much is known about the Doncaster site which, according to the Toronto Historical Association, demonstrates the need for future archaeological investigation.
After so many years of cultural genocide and colonialism it is more vital now than ever to educate ourselves on the history of the peoples whose land we reside on. It is important to listen to and uplift the voices of indigenous peoples and continue to uncover and recover as much history and culture as possible.
About 3km from our office is a little restaurant that specializes in Aboriginal cuisine. Tea n Bannock has been serving Torontonians dishes that “reflect culture both the past and present” for the past ten years. I was able to make the trek into the city to have a meal there and absolutely adored the atmosphere and the excellent food.
If you have the opportunity, check out Tea n Bannock for yourself!