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Kahentinetha (sometimes Kahn-Tineta) Horn, activist, civil servant (born 16 April 1940 in New York City, United States). Horn has dedicated her life to defending and promoting Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk) sovereignty, history and heritage. She has been a spokesperson for Indigenous and women’s issues since the 1960s. Her continued activism and sometimes radical actions have made her a high-profile figure in the Indigenous rights movement.

Six Nations of the Grand River, Ontario, is the common name for both a reserve and a Haudenosaunee First Nation. The reserve, legally known as Six Nations Indian Reserve No. 40, is just over 182 km², located along the Grand River in southwestern Ontario. As of 2019, Six Nations has 27,559 registered band members, 12,892 of whom live on-reserve. Six Nations is the largest First Nations reserve in Canada by population, and the second largest by size. There are several individual communities within the reserve, the largest of which is Ohsweken, with a population of approximately 1,500. (See also Reserves in Ontario.)

Six Nations is home to the six individual nations that form the Hodinöhsö:ni’ Confederacy (Haudenosaunee). These nations are the Kanyen’kehaka (Mohawk), Onyota’a:ka (Oneida), Onöñda’gega’ (Onondaga), Gayogohono (Cayuga), Onöndowága’ (Seneca) and Skaru:reh (Tuscarora).

Red Jacket (Otetiani), Indigenous leader (born 1750 near Canoga, Seneca County, New York; died 30 January 1830 at Seneca Village, near Buffalo, New York). Otetiani was also known as Red Jacket. This is based on an ornate red officer's coat he received from the British. He received this coat in recognition of wartime service during the American Revolution. He supported the American side during the War of 1812.

Frederick Ogilvie Loft (commonly known as Fred or F.O. Loft), Mohawk chief, activist, war veteran, reporter, author and lumberman (born 3 February 1861 on the Six Nations reserve, Grand River, Canada West [ON]; died 5 July 1934 in Toronto, ON). Loft founded the League of Indians of Canada, the first national Indigenous organization in Canada, in December 1918 (see Indigenous Political Organization and Activism in Canada). He fought in the First World War and is recognized as one of the most important Indigenous activists of the early 20th century. His Mohawk name was Onondeyoh, which translates as “Beautiful Mountain.”

The Onondaga are an Indigenous nation in Canada. They make up one-sixth of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy; the rest include the Mohawk, Cayuga, Seneca, Oneida and Tuscarora. Onondaga traditional territory is located outside Syracuse, New York. Onondaga peoples also live on Six Nations territory near Brantford, Ontario. According to the Government of Canada, in 2021, there were 675 registered members of the Bearfoot Onondaga First Nation and 858 registered members of the Onondaga Clear Sky First Nation. (See also First Nations.)

Canada is a country so vast that too often, it seems, its history is lost inside its geography. A striking example is the history of Indigenous peoples, whose long, rich narrative is well-preserved by them, but seldom gets the same attention on a broader scale — even when their stories affect us all.

Six Nations of the Grand River in Southern Ontario is the largest reserve community by population in Canada. It is the location for one of Canada’s largest cultural revitalization movements. During the mid-20th century, artist Elda “Bun” Smith began collecting pottery shards that she found throughout Six Nations. With the assistance of potter Tessa Kidick, Smith and other local potters helped to revitalise pottery on Six Nations. They influenced future generations of artists. Six Nations pottery is now one of the most collected ceramics in Canada. It features in gallery and museum collections around the world.

Waneek Horn-Miller, athlete, activist, broadcaster (born 30 November 1975 in Montreal, QC). Horn-Miller, a Mohawk from Kahnawake, Quebec, was co-captain of Canada’s first Olympic women’s water polo team and a gold medallist in water polo at the 1999 Pan American Games. She is a well-known activist for Indigenous rights and a prominent role model, mentor and advocate for youth involvement in sports. The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity named her one of the country’s most influential women in sport in 2015.

Os-Ke-Non-Ton (also written Oskenonton, meaning deer in the Mohawk language, also known as “Running Deer”), baritone, actor, spiritual leader (né Louie Deer c. 1888 in Caughnawaga [now Kahnawá:ke], QC; died c. 1955 in Lily Dale, NY). Os-Ke-Non-Ton was a celebrated singer and performer who showcased his culture across the globe. He also worked as a healer at a spiritual centre in Lily Dale until his death.

The Hamilton Opera Company was founded in 1961 by the soprano June Kowalchuk and the former D'Oyly Carte singer Clifford Cox.

Hiawatha is an important figure in the precolonial history of the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) of present-day southern Ontario and upper New York (ca. 1400-1450). He is known most famously for uniting the Five Nations—Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Mohawk—into a political confederacy. In 1722, the Tuscarora, a tribe from much farther south, joined the Confederacy, forming what we now know as the Six Nations. The story of Hiawatha should not be confused with the popular poem by Henry Wordsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha (1885). While Longfellow references Hiawatha, the poem’s focus is actually an Algonquian cultural hero, Nanabozho. Whether this was an intentional or accidental error, Longfellow’s poem confused the history of Hiawatha.

Eleazer Williams, Protestant Episcopalian minister, pretender to the French throne (b at Lake George, NY, about 1788; d at St Regis Reservation, NY 28 Aug 1858). Williams was of mixed Haudenosaunee and white ancestry from the Caughnawaga (now Kahnawake) Reserve near Montréal.

Underlying the move toward the establishment of an independent or quasi-independent Indigenous justice system is a recognition that there are certain values and customs historically attached to Indigenous communities. In addition, the concept of an independent justice system is viewed as being consonant with the notion of the inherent right of Indigenous self-government.

Burlington, Ontario, population 186,948 (2021 census), 183,314 (2016 census), is located at the head of Lake Ontario. It borders Hamilton, Milton and Oakville. Burlington was first incorporated in 1873 as a village, as a town in 1915, and as a city in 1974. Amalgamation created the modern boundaries in 1958, combining the Town of Burlington, Nelson Township, and part of East Flamborough Township. Throughout history, the Burlington area has been home to different Indigenous groups, namely the Neutral, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabeg, including the Mississauga. The land is covered by treaties 3, 8, 14 and 19 (see Upper Canada Land Surrenders).

On 4 August 1701, the French concluded a peace agreement with the Five Nations Haudenosaunee (Iroquois). This brought to an end almost a century of hostilities marked by atrocities on both sides. The Haudenosaunee were permitted to trade freely and to obtain goods from the French at a reduced cost. In exchange, they pledged to allow French settlement at Detroit and to remain neutral in the event of a war between England and France. The accord assured New France superiority in dealing with issues related to the region’s First Nations. It also gave the French the freedom to expand militarily over the next half century.

John McIntosh, farmer, apple breeder (born in the Mohawk River valley, NY 1777; died at Dundela, Canada West 1845).

Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, British army officer (born 29 January 1717 near Sevenoaks, England; died 3 August 1797 near Sevenoaks). Jeffery Amherst was the commander-in-chief of British forces in North America during the Seven Years' War, which saw France surrender Canada to the British. Several streets and towns in North America — including Amherst, Nova Scotia, and Amherstburg, Ontario — were named in his honour. However, Amherst’s legacy is controversial, given his policy towards Indigenous peoples. This included his suggestion in 1763 to deliberately infect Indigenous peoples with smallpox during Pontiac’s War. In 2019, Montreal’s Amherst Street was renamed Atateken Street; Atateken means “brothers and sisters” in Kanien'kéha, the Mohawk language.