Sustainability Rooted in Heritage
Douglas Jack

While popular knowledge of the West Island of Montreal is often bounded within the time frames of European settlement, the area has an extremely rich and long First Nations history. This tradition provides a deeper sense of place and connection upon which to base current discussions of sustainable development for the area. One of the striking things about First Nations heritage was the ability of these communities to combine human settlement with ecological richness, a key challenge for current sustainable development.

First Nations people have lived on Tsi Tetsionitiakon, the Island of Montreal, since time immemorial. Due to its critical placement in the major river system of northeastern North America, Tsi Tetsionitiakon served a central role in the social and economic fabric of First Nation communities. The Kanien’kehaka term “Tiohtiake”, referring to the entire greater Montreal region, means “place where the people split”. A broader allegorical meaning could also be taken to be “place where the nations and their rivers unite and divide”. This area was a critical link in the chain of trade and communication that stretched for at least 1000 kilometers in every direction, and across the entire continent. As Kanien'kehaka and other First Nation toponomies are descriptive of ecology and social relations, they are of immense importance. As part of graphic language cultures, descriptive names can be translated into any phonetic language and therefore become a source of unity as opposed to division among diverse language speakers.

It is likely that the original inhabitants of Tsi Tetsionitiakon were Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse, Iroquois League),
including the Kanien’kehaka (People of the Flint or Mohawk) and the Wendat (Huron) nations. A wide range of other nations including Algonquin and others lived, used and traveled through the area. While evidence locating the first villages of Tsi Tetsionitiotiakon has still not been gathered, we know from historical records, including Jacques Cartier’s journals, that there were numerous settlements across the island. These communities established the basic pattern for subsequent European settlements, as early settlers relied upon their First Nations neighbours for aid and knowledge as well as appropriation of resources after conquest. As one native elder related, “wherever an old church steeple can be found is likely the site of a native village”.

A island-wide network of 45 creeks and 10 lakes, many passable by canoe, greatly facilitated the development of trade and the establishment of native villages. These creeks and rivers are now covered over with buildings and cement provided zero-impact transportation and augmented the agro-forestry of First Nations people. Before the degradation of the St. Lawrence River, it was a major run for Atlantic salmon and a variety of other fish and eel species. Elders remember that before the backfilling of Pointe Claire’s shoreline (Parc Bourgeau), one could catch Pike fish four or five feet long in this marsh.

This ecological and cultural history was obliterated through recurring waves of war, destruction and feudal development starting in the 1500s upon first contact between First Nations communities and Europeans. The spread of diseases such as measles and smallpox devastated and killed an estimated 95% of First Nation populations across North America and Tsi Tetsionitiotiakon was not an exception. Native survivors were actively hunted with dogs and driven off the island during the years of 1642-1701. Subsequently, European feudal administration was organized to exclude remaining First Nation peoples. Denial of civil claim to lands and rights resulted in mass expulsion of the remaining First Nations communities from the island to surrounding regions and across the continent. Kahnawake and Kanesatake Kanien’kehaka families have strong heritage roots on the island.

In order to move forward to a sustainable future, it is time for reconciliation based on the recognition of this history. Attention must be paid to the ways that current urban planning, education and civil governance continue to ignore or devalue First Nation heritage. For example, designing with nature, longhouse intergenerational living, social, economic and political foundations to human relations, agro-forestry, complimentary horticulture, river and lake eco-productivity, recycling of resources and other elements of indigenous living provide us with a potential roadmap for achieving sustainable development. As it stands now present monuments and place names across the island honour only Europeans, many of whom were directly responsible for the destruction of First Nation democratic communities. The markers of First Nations habitation, and those of an indigenous way of life, have been erased. The following four maps are an initial effort at putting these markers back onto the Tiohtiake landscape.

• Historic First Nations Settlements and Landmarks: This map shows some of the early sites of First Nations villages as documented in written and oral histories and through archaeological evidence. Far from being uninhabited, there is evidence of many settlements across the region.
  
• First Nations Land Uses: The area around Montreal has been used in a wide diversity of ways through the years. Based primarily on histories with First Nations elders, many of these sites have been mapped. For example, eel or bass fishing spots, corn fields and traditional hunting grounds are found on this map.
  
• Biophysical Landmarks: As part of an effort to live in an “indigenous” way, more attention must be paid to the actual landscape. This map shows some of the biophysical features of our current and past landscape.
  
• First Nations Place Names: First Nations people have lone lived in Tiohtiake and many of their names for particular places within this region have survived in collective memory. Notable about these names is the fact that most of them are descriptive of biophysical features – an alternative to the European convention of naming places after prominent individuals or events. This map is a collection both of First Nations and of other descriptive names that suggest an alternative to the European naming conventions widely used.

First Nation place-names attached mapping are a fragment of those used by the nations who lived and traded in the greater Montreal region (Tiohtiake). These names were drawn from the memories of many elders and through archives organized by First Nation cultural and language organisations and were compiled by the Sustainable Development Association. This research has involved tens of thousands of volunteer hours. In order to facilitate electronic communication, the names used do not include the diacritical marks used in the Kanien'kehaka script. Within the limitations of volunteer resources, errors of spelling, context and meaning are likely. It hoped that making this research available to a wider public will contribute to a greater recognition of the need for, and help stimulate academic, social, economic and political support for a process of Ethno-historical compilation led by First Nation researchers.