M’CHIGEENG—The work of the Ojibwe Cultural Foundation (OCF) often takes place out of sight and therefore too often out of mind. This past month, OCF members travelled to Queen’s Park to accept an Ontario Heritage Award for Excellence in Conservation from the province’s Lieutenant Governor.
“It was cool,” said junior curator Shaelynn Recollet who was part of the delegation to receive the award, along with collections manager Naomi Recollet and executive director Glen Hare, a sentiment echoed by her colleague Naomi.
Ms. Recollet explained that the award was presented in relation to the Pathways to Reclamation: The La Cloche Cataloguing, Learning and Sharing Project, an archaeological reclamation project in collaboration with the University of Toronto and Sagamok Anishinawbek.
“I am very proud of the work that Naomi and Shaelynn have done here,” said Mr. Hare. “The work being done by our people, for our people, has been a long time coming and it is great they are being properly recognized.”
“This year’s award recipients have made tremendous contributions to heritage in Ontario through their care, their insight, and their expertise, and by making heritage accessible to people—physically or online,” said The Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario in presenting the awards. “They have helped people learn about others and about themselves, and in doing so, they have strengthened the bonds within, and between, generations and communities.”
“I’m honoured to celebrate the outstanding recipients of the 2024 Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards,” said Graham McGregor, minister of citizenship and multiculturalism. “Their dedication to preserving our cultural and built heritage plays a vital role in keeping our shared history alive. Through their work, they help us stay connected to where we come from—and they inspire people across Ontario to value and protect the stories that shape us.”
“The Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards shine a light on the exceptional work young people do to shape the future and make their communities a better place. As a founding supporter of this initiative, we’re honoured to recognize Ontarians who create sustainable change each year,” said David Simmonds, senior vice-president at Canada Life. “We proudly congratulate all the nominees and recipients on this outstanding achievement.”
“These recipients include dedicated lifelong volunteers, innovative projects blazing new trails, and young people just beginning to make their marks,” said John Ecker, board chair of the Ontario Heritage Trust. “Each represents the hard work of heritage. Together, they embody some of the best and boldest approaches to heritage work in Ontario today.”
The Pathways to Reclamation project brought together community partners the OCF and Sagamok Anishnawbek with University of Toronto members Alicia Hawkins, an associate professor of anthropology, and Sarah Hazell, an archaeologist and member of the Nipissing First Nation and a PhD student in the department of anthropology “to identify the artifacts and ancestors’ belongings from the Fort La Cloche archaeological site.” The project was supported by Connaught Community Partnership Research Funding, and “provided the opportunity to uncover more about the history of the Anishnawbek people and allow community members to learn about archaeology and Anishnawbek history on the north shore of Lake Huron.”
Ms. Recollet shared that the project catalogued the contents of 43 bankers boxes full of artifacts that had been collected by various institutions in the 1960s and 70s at the Fort La Cloche archaeological site. Although members of local First Nations communities were involved in the archaeological digs, they had no control over the finds that have since languished among the University of Toronto’s vast collections.
The Fort La Cloche trading post was established by the North West Company, a competitor to the Hudson’s Bay Company, in the late 1700s and was situated on the North Shore of the North Channel, about 10 miles east of the mouth of the Spanish River, on the direct route from Montreal to the west via the Ottawa River.
“This project grew from the idea of doing archaeology with First Nations about issues that are important to them,” said Sarah Hazell, an archaeologist and member of the Nipissing First Nation and a PhD student in the department of anthropology in U of T’s Faculty of Arts and Science. “It has turned out to be much more than a cataloguing project. We have built important and lasting relationships with our First Nation research partners and participants. We continue to work together on improving the heritage management and stewardship of ancestors’ sites and belongings.”
“My students and I have learned so much through working side-by-side with people from Sagamok and Manitoulin Island on this important project,” agreed Alicia Hawkins, associate professor of anthropology at University of Toronto Mississauga. “We are very grateful for the recognition and support that this project has received.”
The Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards are annual juried awards, administered by the Ontario Heritage Trust, that “recognize people’s outstanding achievements across a variety of pursuits in preserving and promoting Ontario’s heritage.”
There were nine projects and eight individual recipients of the 2024 Lieutenant Governor’s Ontario Heritage Awards. The recipients were recognized at a private ceremony during the afternoon of April 25 at the Legislative Building in Toronto, presided over by the Honourable Edith Dumont, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario and John Ecker, chair of the Board of Directors of the Ontario Heritage Trust.
