Resources

Over the past several years, the Trust has made a concerted effort to share stories of all of the people of Ontario – providing a forum to look back over more than 10,000 years at the people who have called this province home. The Trust continues to redefine the narrative – to ensure that the heritage we protect and that the stories we tell are a respectful, accurate and authentic portrayal of the peoples who have lived on and contributed to this land known as Ontario.

Explore stories and resources by theme

Indigenous heritage

• Read the Heritage Matters ... more! newsletters from June 2020 and June 2021, which focus on National Indigenous History Month)
• Chief R. Donald Maracle (Chief of the Mohawks of Bay of Quinte) discusses the significance of Christ Church, Her Majesty’s Chapel Royal of the Mohawk – Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory
• Miptoon (Anthony Chegahno), a Nawash Elder, talks about the sacred site of Nochemowenaing
• Josephine Mandamin (Water Walker) explains how walking with the water helps to raise awareness about water conservation
• Waubageshig recounts a memory of his father falling through the ice on Lake Simcoe
• Konrad Sioui (former Grand Chief of the Huron-Wendat Nation) explains how Ontario got its name
• Anne Taylor – All land is sacred (an article about how important all land is, about how all land must be treated with respect and honour)
• France Picotte – A thirst to learn (an interview on the connection between language and culture, and how that reflects on one’s sense of identity)
• Brian Waabishki-makwa McInnes – The Elders taught me (a piece about the significance of language to Indigenous culture)
• Bob Sutherland – Reconnecting with Cree culture, language and land (this interview where Sutherland reflects on his experiences and travels reconnecting with Cree relations in the Rocky Mountains)
• Gord Jones – Pimachiowin Aki – Canada's newest World Heritage Site (learn why this site was named to UNESCO's list as Canada's first "mixed" World Heritage Site)
• Duncan McCue – More than words: why I’m trying to learn the language of my ancestors (a story about how learning to speak Anishinaabemowin has helped McCue connect to his people and his culture)
• Rick Hill – Clay connection – Indigenous living and creativity (an article about how taking from the earth connects us to the earth)
• Philip Cote – Remembering our ancestors (artist Philip Cote explains his mural depicting the Creation Story of the Anishinaabe people)
• M. Margaret Froh, President of the Métis Nation of Ontario, explains the significance of the Métis sash
• Mike Fedyk – Cultural landscapes, the Métis way of life and traditional knowledge
• Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux – Suffrage and Indigenous women in Canada (a reflection on leadership by Indigenous women in the past, present, and future)
• Taylor Gibson – Still alive and speaking (a reflection on language and culture)
• Anne Taylor – Kinomaage Waapkong – The Teaching Rocks (an introduction to the carvings at Petroglyphs Provincial Park)
• Amber Lloydlangston and Bimadoshka Pucan – Voices of Chief’s Point (songs and stories from the past brought to life again)
• Janice Forsyth – Aboriginal athletes: Competing for recognition (chronicles stories about famous Indigenous athletes)
• Provincial plaque commemorating Chief Francis Pegahmagabow, 1889-1952
• Provincial plaque commemorating Jean-Baptiste Lainé Site
• Provincial plaque commemorating The Anishinaabeg at Lake of Bays
• Provincial plaque commemorating Champlain in Ontario, 1615
• Provincial plaque commemorating the Battle of Moraviantown, 1813 (Battle of the Thames)

More Indigenous heritage resources

• Hear directly from 10 Indigenous teachers and leaders as they share their knowledge about the importance of treaties, treaty relationships and rights in Ontario
• From Historica Canada, watch a video on the timeline of residential schools
• Also from Historica Canada, watch this Heritage Minute on Chanie Wenjack
• Historica Canada’s Voices From Here: Richard Hill, filmed on September 5, 2019 on Six Nations of the Grand River Territory; Hill was the first recipient of the Thomas Symons Award for Commitment to Conservation, presented in February 2020 by the Lieutenant Governor at our ceremony at Queen’s Park
• Review the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s final report, as well as the 94 Calls to Action
• The Shingwauk Residential Schools Centre, based out of Algoma University, was recently awarded the 2020 Cornerstone Award by the National Trust for Canada; the project, Reclaiming Shingwauk Hall, transformed the main halls into a space that showcases the history of the residential school system, and the stories of survivors and the children who never made it home
• Learn about the former Mohawk Institute Residential School with a virtual guided tour of the property and its history, produced by the Woodland Cultural Centre; you can also virtually tour the school as part of the Centre’s Save the Evidence campaign

Black history

• Read the Heritage Matters ... more! newsletter from July 2020 (focused on Ontario’s Black heritage)
• Take a video tour of the Josiah Henson Museum of African-Canadian History (learn about the life and work of author and abolitionist Josiah Henson)
• Dr. Afua Cooper reflects on how Black history in Ontario inspires her
• Watch this interview with Natasha Henry (educator and President of the Ontario Black History Society) about the history of Emancipation Day
• Shannon Prince (Curator, Buxton National Historic Site & Museum) discusses the legacy of the Buxton Settlement
• Kendra Campbell – To be dignified, stylish and Black in the 19th century was to defy expectations (an examination of an exhibit that focused on 19th-century Black portraiture)
• Wayne Kelly – Fighting for freedom (learn about a little-known corps of men of African descent who fought in the War of 1812)
• Check out featured stories on Heritage Matters that celebrate Ontario’s Black heritage
• Check out the Trust’s recommended reading on Ontario’s Black history
• The Trust's Slavery to Freedom and Ontario's Black heritage web resources provide history, a timeline and resources
• Provincial plaque commemorating Mary Ann Shadd Cary
• Provincial plaque commemorating Harriet Ross Tubman
• Provincial plaque commemorating Puce River Black Community
• Provincial plaque commemorating Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott
• Provincial plaque commemorating Hugh Burnett and the National Unity Association
• Provincial plaque commemorating The Queen's Bush Settlement, 1820-1867
• Provincial plaque commemorating The Provincial Freeman
• Provincial plaque commemorating the First Regular Baptist Church, Dresden
• Provincial plaque commemorating The Banwell Road Area Black Settlement
• Provincial plaque commemorating Chloe Cooley and the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada

More Black history resources

• The Archives of Ontario's online exhibit entitled The Black Canadian Experience in Ontario 1834-1914: Flight, Freedom, Foundation
• The Canadian Encyclopedia's Black History in Canada collection
• Ontario Black History Society
• Historica's Black history playlist on YouTube
• Canadian Diversity, a publication of the Association for Canadian Studies: Facing the Change: Canada and the International Decade for People of African Descent
• The Harriet Tubman Institute for Research on Africa and its Diasporas
• BlackPast, a detailed American reference centre of African-American history
• The United Nation's International Decade for People of African Descent

Human rights and equality

• Natasha Henry – We've always been here: Black women's history of voting rights and politics in Canada (the president of the Ontario Black History Society provides some history on Black women's voting rights)
• Dr. Lily Cho – Chinese immigration 9: Certificates that produced non-citizens
• Margi Oksner – Canada’s newest landmark: The Canadian National Holocaust Monument
• Armando Perla – The Canadian Rohingya – telling the full story
• Thomas H.B. Symons (former Chair of the Ontario Heritage Trust and of the Ontario Human Rights Commission) reflects on the history of the Ontario Human Rights Code
• Key dates and figures in the women’s rights movement in Ontario and Canada
• Alice McClintock speaks about Toronto’s first free school, Enoch Turner School House
• Mélanie-Rose Frappier (2014 Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Award for Youth Achievement) reflects on her vision for reconciliation
• Provincial plaque commemorating Sexual Diversity Activism at the University of Toronto
• Provincial plaque commemorating Chloe Cooley and the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada
• Provincial plaque commemorating Hugh Burnett and the National Unity Organization
• Provincial plaque commemorating the Ontario Human Rights Code
• David Legg and Ian Brittain – Disability in sport (showcases some little-known Paralympians)
• David Rayside – Making history (chronicling a landmark ruling that added “sexual orientation” to the Ontario Human Rights Code)
• Jeremy Dias – Opening the doors to acceptance and understanding (an introduction to the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity)

Women’s history

• Read the Heritage Matters ... more! newsletter from October 2020 (focused on women’s history)
• From Happy Hill to Parliament Hill: An interview with trailblazer the Honourable Jean Augustine (Canada's first Black female Member of Parliament discusses a career of service and advocacy)
• Rita Rose – Canada’s first elected woman chief (a profile of Chief Elsie Knott of Curve Lake First Nation written by her daughter)
• Dr. Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux – Suffrage and Indigenous women in Canada (a reflection on leadership by Indigenous women in the past, present, and future)
• Kimberly Murphy – Elizabeth Bagshaw: Fighting for reproductive rights in Canada (an article about the 70-year career of the physician Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw)
• Anne Kingston – The cult of Doris (an article about the legacy of painter, writer, and educator Doris McCarthy, reprinted with permission)
• Barbara M. Freeman – Kit Coleman: Journalism pioneer
• Dr. Charles Hayter – Vera Peters and the fight against breast cancer
• Dr. Rose Fine-Meyer – Frost on the bedroom walls: Sharing women’s stories in public spaces
• Provincial plaque commemorating Almanda Walker-Marchand et la Fédération des Femmes Canadiennes-Françaises
• Provincial plaque commemorating the Women’s Law Association of Ontario
• Provincial plaque commemorating Jean Lumb
• Provincial plaque commemorating E. Pauline Johnson (Tekahionwake)
• Provincial plaque commemorating Mary Pickford

Celebrations of diversity and identity

• The online exhibit Snapshots of Franco-Ontarian heritage explores the French presence in Ontario stretching back over 400 years
• The online exhibit Snapshots of Ontario's sport heritage celebrates the diversity of sports in Ontario
• Search the Trust’s Places of Worship inventory – the only comprehensive listing of religious properties in the province
• Jeremy Dias – Opening the doors to acceptance and understanding (the founder of the Canadian Centre for Gender and Sexual Diversity writes about the importance of cultural space for LGBTQ2+ communities)
• Rick Hill – Clay connection – Indigenous living and creativity (an article about how taking from the earth connects us to the earth)
• Philip Cote – Remembering our ancestors (artist Philip Cote explains his mural depicting the Creation Story of the Anishinaabe people)
• Dr. Siobhan O’Flynn – Kensington Market: Hidden histories (read about a project to research the intangible heritage of a multicultural Toronto neighbourhood)
• Nadine Williams reads her poem “An Immigrant Child,” about the immigrant experience in Canada
• M. Margaret Froh, President of the Métis Nation of Ontario, explains the significance of the Métis sash
• International Year of Indigenous Languages
• Provincial plaque commemorating The Armenian Boys' Farm Home, Georgetown
• Provincial plaque commemorating The Banwell Road Area Black Settlement
• Provincial plaque commemorating Jeanne Lajoie
• Provincial plaque commemorating the First Regular Baptist Church, Dresden
• Provincial plaque commemorating the Knesseth Israel Synagogue
• Provincial plaque commemorating the French Community in Welland
• Provincial plaque commemorating The Franco-Ontarian Flag
• Provincial plaque commemorating The Flying Frenchmen – Didier “Cannonball” Pitre
• Provincial plaque commemorating The Flying Frenchmen – Édouard "Newsy" Lalonde
• Provincial plaque commemorating The Flying Frenchmen – Jean-Baptiste “Jack” Laviolette