Whose ‘Traditional Land’ Is This? 

Even though the Nation of Canada and the City of Toronto recently hosted the Pan Am Games – and the financially-inept Ontario government absorbed most of the $2.5 billion in costs – people from faraway lands were greeted with this:

“The Mississaugas Of The New Credit ‘First Nation’ is proud to be the host ‘first nation’ of the Toronto2015 Pan Am/Parapan Am games. 

“As chief of the Mississaugas, I welcome you to our traditional lands…”

This foolishness {“our traditional lands”} went by with virtually no comment from Canadian historians or our governments; indeed, our governments were complicit in spreading what amounts to an historical lie. This has become commonplace, with Canadian officials constantly thanking the ‘traditional’ landowners, even when — as in this case — their claim is ridiculous…  Continue reading ‘The Toronto Purchase’ →