Noting the fifth anniversary of the Caledonia occupations, Karen Dearlove at
Active History has
a perceptive piece on the separate histories, just a few kilometres apart, of Brantford and the Six Nations reserve in southern Ontario.
The Brant Museum and Archives is the local museum in Brantford housed in a Victorian home. The museum has been open since the 1890s, and the majority of its exhibits and artifacts reflect life in late 19th century Brantford. There is little mention of the Six Nations or the Haldimand Tract.
And just down the road:
The history presented at the Woodland Cultural Centre and the Mohawk Chapel appears to run parallel to that of the Brant Museum and Archives, what Epp calls the two solitudes of settler and aboriginal communities. Brantford is a mere 25 km from the centre of the Six Nations Reserve, but the two seem worlds apart.
Must be true of similar communities right across the country....
