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Create AccountPatricia Rolston. Pianist, choral conductor, teacher, b Vancouver 28 Nov 1929; LRSM (1948), ARCT (1949), BA (McMaster) 1963, MA (State U of New York) 1970. Patricia Rolston studied piano privately with Pearl Kerr in Vancouver, winning the Eaton Scholarship in 1949.
Iroquoian describes an ethno-cultural and linguistic group of Indigenous peoples that historically lived in the Great Lakes area. Indigenous nations described as Iroquoian include the Haudenosaunee, Huron-Wendat, Neutral, Tionontati (Petun), Wenro, and Erie.
Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture (often known simply as Edith Monture), Mohawk First World War veteran, registered nurse, (born 10 April 1890 on Six Nations reserve near Brantford, ON; died 3 April 1996 in Ohsweken, ON). Edith was the first Indigenous woman to become a registered nurse in Canada and to gain the right to vote in a Canadian federal election. She was also the first Indigenous woman from Canada to serve in the United States military. Edith broke barriers for Indigenous women in the armed forces and with regards to federal voting rights. A street (Edith Monture Avenue) and park (Edith Monture Park) are named after her in Brantford, Ontario.
Long-distance running has long been a popular sport in many Indigenous communities. Competitive long-distance running demands extended periods of intense, disciplined training, physical fitness, strength, endurance and emotional fortitude. A number of Indigenous athletes from Canada have earned international recognition for their long-distance running prowess. (See also Indigenous Olympians.)
This article is from our Toronto Feature series. Features from past programs are not updated.
Lacrosse, the Creator’s Game, is known to various First Nations in North America by many different names, including baggataway (Algonquian), kabocha-toli (Choctaw) and tewaarathon (Mohawk).
There are 40 First Nations in Quebec. First Nation is one of three groupings of Indigenous people in Canada, the other two being Métis and Inuit. Unlike Métis and Inuit, most First Nations hold reserve lands, and members of a First Nation may live both on and off these reserves (see also Reserves in Quebec). While the term First Nation can describe a large ethnic grouping (e.g. the Cree Nation), in other cases it is synonymous with the term band, a word originally chosen by the federal government and used in the Indian Act. The word band describes smaller communities, such as the ones listed below. Many First Nations prefer the term First Nation over band. In terms of larger ethnic groupings, First Nations in Quebec are Algonquin, Cree, Naskapi, Mohawk, Innu, Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik, Abenaki, Anishinaabe, and Atikamekw.
Stadacona was an Iroquoian village located at the present site of Quebec City, Quebec. It had an estimated population of about 500. French navigator Jacques Cartier was led to the village on his second voyage in 1535 and wintered at a safe distance, across the St-Charles River.
Lacrosse is one of the oldest organized sports in North America. While at one point it was a field game or ritual played by First Nations, it became popular among non-Indigenous peoples in the mid-1800s. When the National Lacrosse Association of Canada was formed in 1867, it was the Dominion of Canada’s first governing body of sport. Lacrosse was confirmed as Canada’s official summer sport in 1994. The Canadian national lacrosse teams (men and women) rank highly in the world standings, both in field and box lacrosse.
Huron Eldon Brant, Mohawk soldier, war hero, automobile mechanic (born 30 December 1909 in Deseronto, ON; died 14 October 1944 near Bulgaria, Italy). Brant was awarded the Military Medal (MM) for attacking a superior enemy force during the battle for Grammichele in Sicily (seeSecond World War) but was killed later during a battle on the Italian mainland (see The Italian Campaign).
Lee (Alfred) Hepner. Conductor, teacher, b Edmonton 24 Nov 1920, d Vancouver 24 Jul 1986; ARCT 1950, B MUS (Toronto) 1951, BA (Washington) 1957, MA (Columbia) 1961, honorary FRHCM 1970, PH D (New York) 1972.
The Battle of Beaver Dams took place during the War of 1812. On 24 June 1813, American troops marched from Fort George and intended to surprise the British at Beaver Dams. Laura Secord, a woman living in Queenston where the Americans had temporarily lodged, learned about this plan, and set off on a journey to warn the British. When the Americans resumed their trek to Beaver Dams, they were ambushed by Kanyen'kehà:ka (Mohawk) and other Indigenous warriors. The Americans lost the battle, surrendering to British troops led by Lieutenant James FitzGibbon (also spelled Fitzgibbon). The Battle of Beaver Dams established the importance of professional soldiering, Indigenous warfare and luck involved in British victory.
(Jamie) Robbie Robertson (b Klegerman). Guitarist, songwriter, singer, actor, producer, b Toronto 5 Jul 1943; of Mohawk and Jewish parents; honorary LLD (Queen's) 2003, honorary LLD (York) 2005.
Thomas Charles Longboat (Gagwe:gih), distance runner, Olympian (born 4 July 1886 in Ohsweken, Six Nations of the Grand River; died 9 January 1949 in Ohsweken). Tom Longboat was an Onondaga distance runner from Six Nations of the Grand River. One of the most famous athletes of the early 20th century, Longboat pioneered training methods still used today. He is considered one of the first celebrity athletes in Canada, with his athletic successes known across North America and overseas. He was a leader in establishing marathon running as an international sport and won many marathons in record-breaking times, beating competitors from all over the world. Longboat was the first Indigenous person to win the Boston Marathon (1907). He competed for Canada at the 1908 Olympic Games. He was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.
John Kim Bell. Conductor, administrator, pianist, composer, conductor, born Caughnawaga (now Kahnawake) Reserve, near Montreal, 8 Oct 1952, to a Mohawk father and American mother; B MUS (Ohio State) 1976.
Daniel de Rémy de Courcelle, governor of New France 1665-72 (b in France 1626; d there 24 Oct 1698). Courcelle, a nobleman and a military officer, arrived at Québec "breathing nothing but war" and determined to defeat the powerful Iroquois Confederacy.
Elmer Jamieson, educator (b on the Six Nations Indian Reserve, Ont 30 Aug 1891; d at Toronto 18 Apr 1972). He received his BA from McMaster in 1913. He enlisted in the army, and censorship of his letters led him to write home in Mohawk.
Flint and Feather, first issued in 1912 by the Musson Book Company in Toronto, was the largest collection of Pauline Johnson's poems to appear during her lifetime.
Jaime Robbie Robertson, singer, songwriter (b at Toronto 5 July 1943). Robertson is the son of a Jewish father and a mother of Mohawk descent. He was raised on the Six Nations Reserve in Ontario north of Lake Erie.
Archibald Stansfeld Belaney (also known as Grey Owl), writer, conservationist (born 18 September 1888 in Hastings, England; died 13 April 1938 in Prince Albert, SK). Belaney was a well-known conservationist and writer in the 1930s who falsely presented himself as an Indigenous person. Although born in England, he portrayed himself as the son of a Scottish man and Apache woman and named himself Grey Owl. His articles and books stressed wilderness conservation and became bestsellers in Canada and Britain. Shortly after his death in 1938, a newspaper article exposed his real identity as Archibald Belaney.
