Our final speaker series session of 2023 was held via Zoom on the evening of November 29th. We were excited to welcome Peter Tilley as our guest to talk with us about The Ottawa Mission, its history, its role and the ongoing challenges that it and our community face. Given the housing and opioid crisis we are experiencing today, Peter’s presentation could not have been more timely.

Peter is the current CEO of The Ottawa Mission, having joined them in June 2013. Before this, he had spent 14 years as the Executive Director of the Ottawa Food Bank and has been a part-time professor at Algonquin College. Apart from this, Peter volunteers on community boards, including Ottawa Public Health, the Chair of the Ottawa Inner City Health and a Board member of the Alliance To End Homelessness and Soldiers Helping Soldiers as well as being a volunteer at Parkdale United Church. He is far more than an administrator, however, he takes the time to speak to shelter guests, lending them a friendly ear, and calling them by their first names.

Peter told us that there is a big safe in the basement of The Mission that contains a lot of their archives, including many old photos and ledgers. From these, he has been able to piece together the following history of The Ottawa Mission.

The Ottawa Mission can trace its origin to September 20, 1906 when a public meeting was held to discuss opening a shelter for homeless men camped along the Ottawa River. By January 1907, a shelter, The Union Mission for Men, had opened on George Street, moving to its current location on Waller Street in 1912. Peter provided some general context for the opening of the shelter in 1907, reminding us that at that date Canada had a population of 6.5 million of which over 50 % were rural, women and Indigenous people were not allowed to vote, life expectancy was 50 years and the population of Ottawa stood at 110,000. The first Superintendent of The Union Mission, James Joab, established its cornerstone principle by declaring that “No man would ever be turned away the first night they came to The Mission”.

Peter explained that the main focus of The Mission in those early days was “Three Hots and a Cot” (3 meals & a bed), which is still a key component of their services today. Peter shared a photo of the time, showing that the men were in suits with ties and their hats on their laps. Meals were then 10 cents, though you could get a voucher for a free meal. One of the first great challenges they faced was providing service to returning veterans of the First World War, many of whom were suffering from what was then called “shell shock” and what we now know as PTSD, broken men needing help.

On October 29, 1929, the “Roaring 20s” came to a “Roaring Halt” with the crash of the New York Stock Market and the resulting disruption of the world’s economies. Thousands of people lost their jobs and so had no income. This was reflected in the number of meals served by The Mission: in 1929, 73,000 but in 1932, 425,662. This was a time of constant struggle for the staff, with many appeals to the public, just to keep the doors open and stay true to their vow that no one would be turned away. Things were very basic, but they got through it.

Following the Second World War The Mission found that alcoholism was rampant among returning veterans suffering from PTSD. The Mission served as a refuge for those men who could only deal with the brutality of what they had experienced through a cycle of drink and sleep, before they passed on. Peter said that The Mission offered “Soap, Soup and Salvation”.

Canada experienced an economic boon from the 1950s through the 1970s, and The Mission continued to offer its services. It still supported those suffering with alcoholism, but found it was also providing a place for those who just needed a meal and a bed, and in some cases, Americans who had come north to avoid the draft for the war in Vietnam. By the late 1960s and into the 1970s, men dealing with drug addiction became a new population needing support.

Peter explained that by the mid-1980s the boom had ended and governments entered a period of cut-backs and downloading of services that had effects throughout the community. In particular, the Ontario government closed facilities such as Rideau Regional, that cared for individuals living with a variety of cognitive and emotional impairments, forcing many into the community without support. Peter explained that, under the leadership of Diane Morrison, the first female Director of The Mission, they grew by 60 beds in the mid-1990s to meet this new need.

The Pandemic hit The Mission hard. They transitioned some of their services, such as addiction and mental health counselling from in-person to virtual, handed out take-our meals to the community through their loading dock, delivered meals to others in the city through a food truck. Peter said that the staff team worked with little break and no vacation through the first 18 months of the pandemic to ensure that they continued to provide their services. The major projects they had planned were placed on hold and are only now being revived as the heaviest effects of the pandemic wane.

Peter shared a number of photos of The Ottawa Mission as it looks today, including images of the kitchen, dining hall, bedrooms, showers and one of the two apartment buildings they own and run as mixed-market rental buildings. The Ottawa Mission now has its own in-house maintenance team that takes care of its buildings, including the former Albert Inn, that is now the home for their Addiction Program and the former Rideau Bakery, which runs their Food Services training program.

Peter wrapped up his fantastic presentation by discussing the range of services now offered by The Ottawa Mission and the challenges they face. Today The Ottawa Mission offers a wide range of services. Although its overnight and addiction programs remain restricted to men, for reasons of safety, all of its other services are open to both men and women. These include: primary health care, mental health care, dental care, foot care, a wide range of education, job readiness and job training programs, housing support and a food truck program among others. Today, as well, the demand for these services is growing. With the opioid crisis, the housing shortage, the rapid rise in price of food and other necessities and the influx of refugees there is even greater pressure on The Mission and there staff than ever before.

The Ottawa Mission is “ALWAYS OPEN, NEVER CLOSED”, 24 / 7 every day of the year, for over 115 years, with over 1,000,000 hours of service to the most vulnerable in our community.

Its work must continue but for that to happen, they need your help. Only 25% of their funding comes from governments, the rest comes directly from members of the community. To volunteer or donate, please see The Ottawa Mission website.

To watch Peter’s full presentation, please see The Ottawa Mission: Supporting Our City's Most Vulnerable on the HSO YouTube channel.

Our final in-person speaker presentation of 2023 took place on the afternoon of November 12 and was again hosted by the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. We were pleased to welcome Marc Aubin, author, community historian, former President of the Lowertown Community Association and member of the King Edward Avenue Task Force, who spoke to the 60 attendees about the devastating effects on the Lowertown community of urban renewal projects that took place between the 1950s and 1970s. He began by giving us a brief history and description of Lowertown.

Lowertown, which Marc explained had first been laid out by Colonel By in the 1820s, is bordered by the Ottawa River to the north, the Rideau River to the east, Rideau Street to the south and the Rideau Canal to the west. It was a working class community, primarily French Catholic, but with a significant Irish Catholic component, along with a Jewish community and the first Italian community in Ottawa. Sussex, Dalhousie and St. Patrick were the major local commercial streets, with the Byward Market and Rideau Street being frequented by all citizens of the city. It was a vibrant community, self-reliant and historically one that defended French language rights.

Following the Second World War, a planning policy known as “Urban Renewal” dominated the thinking around housing policy in the governments of western nations. The war had led to a decline in the condition of the housing stock, due to the diversion of the required materials to the war effort. The end of the war created an increased demand for housing from returning veterans starting families. Urban Renewal promoted the wholesale replacement of buildings in what it deemed as “blighted” areas with new social housing projects. It was believed that the clearing of these blighted areas would also yield social benefits by resolving issues including: immorality, vice, crime, juvenile delinquency, infant mortality, poor health and an apathetic population. The introduction of upgraded roadways was also a strong motivation. Not surprisingly, lower income neighborhoods were those chiefly targeted for these renewal projects. The City of Ottawa initially identified a number of communities, the National Capital Commission also being involved, and the affected communities had little to no options for appeal. One of these communities was Lowertown East.

Lowertown East is that section of Lowertown east of King Edward Avenue, covering about 186 acres and consisting of 3 sub-communities, Bishop’s Lots, (early smaller lots), Anglesea Square, (architecturally more similar to Lowertown West) and Macdonald Gardens, (a later community from the 1920s). In 1968 the population of the area was 9,400, 90% of which was French Catholic. There was also a strong Jewish presence and a study taken at that time found that 75% of the residents wanted to stay in the community.

The first large scale urban renewal project in Canada took place in Toronto starting in 1948. In 1956 Central Mortgage and Housing Corporation modified its policies to approve urban renewal projects, for which the City of Ottawa received funding in 1958. In 1962, the National Capital Commission expropriated the northern portion of Lowertown, destroying some 400 housing units. This was followed by the expansion of King Edward Avenue, cutting down 100 large elms, to support the new Macdonald-Cartier Bridge that opened in 1965. The City of Ottawa began expropriation in Lowertown East in 1967, continuing until 1977. In 1971 the first social housing project was opened in Lowertown East. The community had already begun to organize against these renewal projects, as early as 1965, as did other communities within Ottawa. In 1975 key members of the Housing Department resigned over a dispute relating to demolition policy with them Councillor Georges Bedard and Mayor Lorry Greenberg, bringing an end to Urban Renewal as a policy in the city.

The destruction of city centres across North America led to a backlash, Jane Jacobs being among the leaders of this movement. In Toronto, pressure from the public eventually forced Premier Bill Davis to cancel the proposed Spadina Expressway. Nationally, a 1968 Task Force led by Paul Hellyer concluded that between 70% - 80% of the buildings demolished under urban renewal projects could have been rehabilitated. As a result of these findings, Federal financial support of urban renewal projects ended in 1973.

Unfortunately for Lowertown East, it was the final project approved and one of the largest. Despite the efforts of resident committees to oppose the planned renewal, or to modify it, it proceeded without approval from the community. Between 1967 – 1977 there were 462 expropriations in Lowertown East, an estimated 1,400 families were forced to relocate at a cost of $31 Million ($250 Million in 2023 dollars). Among the issues identified by the community were: inconsistent / inadequate compensation, excessive rents in new buildings, the destruction of the French language character of the community, no provisions for elderly residents, an abandonment of a mixed income strategy leading to ghettoization. These concerns remained unaddressed.

There were a couple of positive outcomes of the urban renewal of Lowertown East. The community countered the planned redevelopment through the construction of three cooperative housing projects, the rebuilding of the Catholic Community centre and through the creation of a new French language High School, De La Salle Academy. There were however far more negative outcomes. These included the loss to the community of many of the more affluent and educated members, who fled to the suburbs or other parts of the city, the loss of the Irish and Jewish communities, the closure of the major churches and synagogues, the creation of a transient population who had little control over their own housing, the segmenting of the community by major roadways, the belief that the renewal had been an organized attempt to destroy the main Francophone community and a lingering distrust of municipal politicians and staff. Today, even though the community has regained much of its former strength through such organizations as the Lowertown Community Association, it still finds it difficult to  achieve its community goals and finds itself fighting similar battles as it had in the past to preserve its heritage. The battle never ends.

Following Marc’s presentation, we were honoured to have Councillor Stephanie Plante answer a few questions. She promoted the idea of creating a Lowertown Museum, similar to those in other communities which are now part of Ottawa. She also spoke of the need for elected officials to obtain input on policies and programs that will affect them. She emphasized the responsibility of Councillors to seek out this input from those who may not normally provide it, due to their age, language, income or other factors.

Marc has written two books that relate to Lowertown:

• BLIGHT, published by Crow’s Nest Books in 2018 is a “fictional” account of the struggles of an activist against City Hall. It is available at Blight by Aubin, Marc .
• CUNDELL STABLES, THE LAST STABLE IN LOWERTOWN. (With Karen Bailey)

Founded as the Union Mission in 1906, the Mission has grown as Ottawa has grown, supporting our community through the Great Depression, through the postwar years to present day, providing healing and hope to thousands every year.

Peter Tilley discusses the remarkable legacy of The Ottawa Mission.

The Historical Society of Ottawa is excited to announce we’re launching a blog! Are you a historian, heritage professional, or member of the public who is actively engaged in historical research related to the Ottawa area, who is interested in sharing your research? While you may be familiar with our other publications, including our pamphlets and Ottawa Stories, this platform provides a space for those interested in showcasing their work in a shorter blog format.

As a start, we will publish one blog post a month which will be posted on our website and promoted on our social media platforms.

Subscribe to our blog page and follow us on Facebook and Instagram to receive further details on contribution requirements.

We were fortunate to have two guest presenters for our Zoom speaker session of October 25, 2023. Paul Litt, an author and Professor of Public History at Carleton University, (cross-appointed to the School of Indigenous and Canadian Studies), met with us live via Zoom while Brenda Norris, daughter of Phyllis Turner Ross, sister of John Turner and a remarkable individual in her own right, graciously pre-recorded an interview with Paul Litt and Ben Weiss to share with us.

Paul told us that Phyllis Gregory’s parents were both from the Maritimes. Her father was a mining-hoist engineer and her mother was the daughter of a ship owner. They had moved to British Columbia as part of the gold rush and had settled in Rossland. Phyllis was bright, hard-working and ambitious, so in 1921, aged 17, and encouraged by her mother, she enrolled in the University of British Columbia, then a small and relatively new institution in Vancouver. This was an unusual step for a woman at this time, not only that she chose to go to university but in her selection of programs. Paul explained that, in general, society still held to traditional gender roles, although it was beginning to accept women as professionals in the field of Health Care, Social Work, Education or other “nurturing” applications. Phyllis, however, chose Economics and Political Science, fields which were considered to be appropriate only for men. After graduation she went on to graduate school, winning a scholarship to study Economics and Politics at Bryn Mawr College near Philadelphia. In 1927 she received another scholarship and entered the college’s doctoral program. She studied at the London School of Economics in 1927-1928 and then travelled to the University of Marburg in Germany to do research for her thesis. While in England, she met Leonard Turner. The couple had three children: John, (who became our 17 ^th Prime Minister), Brenda, (our pre-recorded guest this evening) and a middle child, Michael, who died in infancy. In late 1932 another tragedy befell the family when Leonard, aged 28, died from complications following a thyroidectomy. This left Phyllis alone, far from home, unemployed, in the middle of the Depression and with two children to support.

Returning to her parents in Rossland, Phyllis took some time to consider her future. By the fall of 1933, however, she had moved to Ottawa to take a trial position with the newly formed Tariff Board. Brenda remarked that Phyllis had been told not to bring her children along, in case things didn’t work out, but she did anyway, and things certainly worked out well. Paul explained that the Civil Service at that time was becoming more professional, transitioning from one based on patronage appointments to one based on merit, and so becoming one of the best Civil Services in the world. Its senior ranks were also exclusively male. Women were allowed to work in the Civil Service but were required to resign when they married. Widows, recognized as heads-of-households, and so needing to work, were accepted, if not welcomed. Phyllis, as a devote Catholic, was also unusual in what was a predominantly Protestant and Anglican organization.

Charming and attractive, Phyllis quickly became well known and well liked in Ottawa. Paul noted that she frequently served as the official escort for R. B. Bennett, who Brenda revealed had romantic interests in her, and for Mackenzie King, who did not. Phyllis, for her part, was focussed on her work and her family. Paul recounted that by 1939 her hard work and ability saw her rise to the role of Chief Research Economist for the Tariff Board. The outbreak of the Second World War only added to the demands that work placed upon her. She was seconded to the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, which Paul explained was established at the start of the war to stop the inflation and war profiteering that had taken place during the First World War. Phyllis was initially responsible for the acquisition and allocation of sugar. Hoarding of sugar by consumers, coupled with a drop in supply as the ships generally used to carry it became unavailable, was creating a crisis. Phyllis worked tirelessly to restore the supply and then determine how it should be distributed between Canadian consumers, Canadian industry and Great Britain. Later, she became the “Oils and Fats Administrator”, an unattractive title, but a vital role. Paul listed some of the uses of oils and fats, which included: as lubricants, paints, polishes, soaps, shampoos, ink, adhesives and explosives, as well as being a food product. To conserve the supply, Phyllis imposed production controls, rationing and recycling. To increase the supply, she encouraged the development of a cod liver oil industry on the east coast and a dogfish liver oil industry on the west coast. She also persuaded farmers to plant flax to prevent an anticipated shortage of linseed oil. She was increasingly involved in negotiations with the British and Americans, travelling frequently to Washington. Paul pointed out that Phyllis was the highest ranking woman in the federal public service at that time, though paid less than her male counterparts.

Paul described how the press, anxious to protect and support the existing gender stereotypes, dealt with the power and success of a woman. One NBC radio host remarked that Phyllis, who was very attractive was “Not at all the movie version of a woman economist”, while Maclean’s magazine wanted to assure their readers that despite her career success, she was still beautiful, had a great fashion sense and could cook, clean and sew. Nor did it interfere with her role as a mother. Brenda recalled that her mother had hired a much-loved Scottish housekeeper, Isabelle Kennedy, who handled most of the daily domestic duties. Brenda went on to say that she and John had a wonderful childhood. Their mother always put the children first, though she expected them to do their best. When asked if it mattered that there was no father in the home, Brenda observed that during the war, most families had no father in the home, so they were no different than anyone else.

Brenda told us that Phyllis met Frank Ross, a B.C. based industrialist and millionaire, who asked her to marry him in 1943. At her insistence, however, they waited until 1945, when their war work was done. Phyllis left the Public Service, aged 41, and they moved to Vancouver, where she turned her talents to volunteer work. She served on the executive of the Canadian Federation of University Women and the senate of the University of British Columbia, becoming their Chancellor in 1961, the first woman in the Commonwealth to hold such a position. In 1955, Frank was appointed as Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia, Phyllis throwing herself into this new challenge. Brenda commented that they entertained frequently, noting that they became close to several members of the Royal Family.

Paul revealed that by 1981, Phyllis was beginning to suffer from the effects of Alzheimer’s and died in 1988, never knowing that John had gone on to become Prime Minister.

In conclusion, Paul noted that there is still much we don’t know about Phyllis Turner Ross, especially about her private life. As a career-woman, Phyllis was a trail-blazer and it is strange that no biography has yet been written, and that today she is largely unknown. Paul expressed his hope that the interest shown by the Historical Society of Ottawa in the life of Phyllis Turner Ross will spark a graduate student to undertake the thorough research demanded of a thesis and warranted by the career and life of this remarkable woman.

To view the full presentation by Paul and Brenda, please see Phyllis Turner Ross Career Woman and Single Mother on the HSO YouTube channel .

To read the Historical Society of Ottawa pamphlet # 120 “Phyllis Turner Ross - Career Woman and Single Mother”, by Paul Litt and Christine F. Jackson, please see the publication section of our website .

The story of John Napier Turner, Canada's 17th Prime Minister, is well known. Less known is the story of his remarkable mother, Phyllis Gregory Turner Ross, a single mother who came to Ottawa in the 1930s looking for work to support her two children... and worked her way up to become the highest-ranking woman in Canada's wartime civil service.

Paul Litt tells the story of Phyllis Gregory Turner Ross, along with a special interview with Phyllis' daughter, Brenda Norris.

Randy Boswell, noted journalist, educator, researcher and frequent presenter for the Historical Society of Ottawa was our guest speaker at our in-person session of October 21, 2023, hosted again by the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library. Randy, who estimates that he has written some 400 – 500 animal based stories throughout his career, thoroughly entertained his audience, which despite inclement weather and Queensway closures, numbered 37.

Randy noted that Ottawa has lots of green space, waterways and semi-wilderness areas and as such is a wonderful place for animals and animal encounters. He pointed out that many of our most meaningful animal encounters happen not with wild animals but with our own pets. Randy showed us photos and related stories about a number of pets, including his own, with celebrity connections.

Pat was, for 17 years, the strength, inspiration, confidant and partner of his human companion, who wrote of Pat almost daily in his diary. On the 17 ^th July, 1941, just two days after Pat’s death, his grief-ridden companion, compelled by his own duties, officiated at the opening of the Lord Elgin Hotel. Dressed in a gray suit, a black tie in mourning of Pat, and with bright flowers in the buttonhole of his coat, that he had picked from Pat’s grave that very morning, he managed to get through the ceremonies, nearly breaking down toward the end. Prime Minister William Lyon MacKenzie King went on to have two more dogs, both of which he also named Pat.

Rustie, an orange cat, (her name often being misspelled as Rusty), who also lived for some 17 years, was widely reported to have gotten too heavily into the catnip one night, going on a bender and becoming totally intoxicated, while celebrating the first Mayoral victory of her companion, Charlotte Whitton. Charlotte created the “Rustie Whitton Memorial Trophy” in Rustie’s honour and presented it annually for the National Capital Cat Club, of which she was a member. Christine Columbus was another cat of whom Charlotte was a companion.

Cats, it would seem, not only celebrated election victories but for some 40 years, took over Parliament Hill. The Parliament Hill Cat Colony, a popular attraction, was formally started in 1970 by Irène Desormeaux. Upon her death, her work was continued by René Chartrand and other volunteers. The cats received food, medical care and even custom-built housing. The sanctuary was closed in 2013, the remaining residents being adopted into good homes.

Randy told us of several animals who held key roles at Rideau Hall and of a little known feature of that property.

George, an Irish Setter whose companion was the Right Honourable Vincent Massey, our first Canadian-born Governor General, is well remembered for the help he gave to Queen Elizabeth II. During the 1957 Royal Visit, George carried her handbag on a short walk around the grounds of Rideau Hall. Cashew joined the staff of Governor General Jules Leger, after the latter had suffered a serious stroke. It was Cashew’s job to walk the Governor General around the grounds and so aid in his recovery. A press conference was held to introduce Cashew to the public, but, unfortunately, he was somewhat overshadowed by the arrival of Margret Trudeau, who as an aspiring photo-journalist had decided to attend the event. Perhaps strangest of all animals who found themselves in a role at Rideau Hall were two moose presented to the Marquess of Lorne, while he served as Governor General. He decided that these animals should be put to harness and used to pull his carriage. The Rideau Hall coachman, Harry Bristow, was given the task, which seems to have met with some, though limited success. On one occasion, in order to demonstrate how well trained the moose were, one was brought into the dining room at Rideau Hall, where it apparently behaved. Randy went on to let us know about a dark sidebar to this story. The two moose were the gift of Edgar Dewdney, a key figure in the development of the Residential School system in Canada and someone who used access to food to starve Indigenous peoples into submission.

The grounds of Rideau Hall hold within them an unexpected feature, a pet cemetery. George, Vincent Massey’s dog, is one of about a dozen pets of former Governors General that are buried here. Included in this number is the Black Lab of H.R.H. The Duke of Connaught, who served as our Governor General from 1911 to 1916. This particular Black Lab had a name, although common for black dogs at that time, we now recognize to be a very offensive racial slur. Upon the dog’s death it was buried in the pet cemetery, a tombstone marking his grave and proudly displaying its name for all to see. Finally, in 1993, almost 80 years after it had been erected, Ray Hnatyshyn, during his term as Governor General, ordered the removal of the offending marker.

Randy explained that not all animal stories relate to recent animals, some involve those from the long past.

Elkanah Billings, of our local Billings family, was educated and worked briefly as a lawyer. Later, he became the editor of the Ottawa Citizen, but his true passion was the natural sciences. He was hired as the first paleontologist for the Geological Survey of Canada . While in this role he received some unusual samples of rocks from Newfoundland, which after careful examination, he identified as fossils of animals. As these fossils were found in a Precambrian deposit, a time when life on earth was not thought to exist, Elkanah’s claims were hotly disputed and dismissed. Time however proved his analysis correct and these samples are now among the most significant in the world.

More recently, some 13,000 – 10,000 years ago, as the last ice-sheets retreated, much of Eastern Ontario, Western Quebec and the northern portions of New York and Vermont were covered by the Champlain Sea. Randy told us of some dramatic evidence of this, the discovery in 1948, of the bones of a Beluga whale that were uncovered in a gravel pit near Uplands. The Beluga has since found a home in the Museum of Nature.

As we were running short of time, we reluctantly, (or maybe not), chose to skip the undoubtedly charming stories about lice and tapeworms. Fortunately, you can read these, along with many other fabulous stories and view the photos, for yourself as Randy has generously shared his complete presentation with us — see the featured document: A Menagerie of Ottawa Animal Tales.

Our first virtual speaker session of the year was held on September 27, 2023, and featured a pre-recorded presentation by Jim Stone, supported by Merv Sarazin who introduced Jim and remained with the presentation to answer questions and provide additional background. Jim, a retired Foreign Service officer and amateur historian, focussed his presentation on the life of Grand Chief Pierre Louis Constant Pinesi (1768 – 1834) and the turbulent times in which he lived. Jim also provided a more general history of the Alongkin* peoples of the Ottawa area in the 150 years or so prior to Chief Pinesi’s birth. Jim is not Indigenous himself and assembled the information for his presentation from published and archival sources, not traditional Alongkin knowledge, though he has consulted with the people of Pikwakanagan First Nation where a number of Chief Pinesi’s descendants live.

Jim described that, starting in the early 1600s, things began to go badly for the Alongkin people of the Ottawa valley. They were ravaged by a series of European diseases and their consequences. Later, they were driven from their lands by the Iroquois who were expanding their territory. As a result, the Ottawa valley became nearly depopulated. It was not until the signing of the Grand Peace of 1701 between the French, Alongkin, Iroquois and others, that the Alongkin began to return to this area.

Jim explained that prior to the influx of settlers, Alongkin family hunting grounds were fairly fixed and well respected. Chief Pinesi described his hunting grounds as being south of the Ottawa River, centered on the Rideau River. The exact boundaries, which would have followed natural land forms, are today unknown. Based on a meeting documented by Philemon Wright that he had with two Chiefs who were protesting his logging activities, it is possible that Chief Pinesi had some access to or use of lands to the north of the Ottawa River. Chief Pinesi and his family, he had 12 children, many of whom died young, would have travelled widely in his hunting grounds. He would also have travelled throughout the greater territory, especially to the Lake of Two Mountains, now Oka, where there was a summer gathering of Alongkin, Nipissing and Mohawk peoples, along with a French Catholic Mission.

Just prior to the 1800s, settlers began arriving in the Ottawa watershed. This resulted from the British domination of North America established by the Treaty of Paris in 1763 and spurred on by the American Revolution, which ended in 1783. Loggers cleared the forests, destroying the habitat of the animals hunted by the Alongkin, and settlers divided the land for farming. Both groups also competed for the same fish and animals that fed Chief Pinesi, his family and the other Alongkin people. Construction of the Rideau Canal was especially devastating. The dams required for the waterway, such as at Hog’s Back, transformed the river into a series of essentially long lakes, destroying fishing grounds at the base of rapids and flooding traditional camping and cultural sites along the shores and on its islands. The large workforce also accessed the same natural food sources, driving some species to near extinction in the area.

Chief Pinesi and four of his sons were among the many Indigenous warriors, Alongkin, Nipissing and Iroquois, who fought with the British in the war of 1812. Indigenous warriors are known to have fought at Queenston (October 13, 1812), Odeltown (August 19, 1812), Chateauguay (October 26, 1813) and Beaver Dams (June 24, 1813). Alongkin and Nipissing warriors were prominent in the capture of Colonel Boerstler's Detachment of 512 US soldiers at Beaver Dams. Jim emphasized that these warriors fought as allies, not as soldiers of the British army. Merv Sarazin commented that had it not been for the impact of Indigenous warriors, Canada as we know it might not exist, having fallen to the Americans at that time.

Jim pointed out that much of Chief Pinesi’s life was dedicated to attempting to protect his people’s rights to their ancestral lands and to their way of life. He submitted about 20 petitions, in conjunction with other Alongkin and Nipissing Chiefs, to the governments of Upper and Lower Canada seeking their acknowledgement to Alongkin title to their lands, compensation for lands already lost to settlers, and restrictions on further settlement. The governments did not act upon these petitions, despite the observation by Chief Pineisi that the Alongkins had helped defend the British interest in the area. In 1819, in response to pressure from the increasing number of settlers, the government of Upper Canada signed a treaty with Mississauga Chiefs that included the Alongkin lands of the Rideau River watershed, including Chief Pinesi’s family hunting grounds. No treaty for land compensation was ever signed with the Alongkin.

Chief Pinesi and his wife both died in August 1834 as a result of a Cholera epidemic that was sweeping Upper and Lower Canada. Jim believes that they are buried in the second Catholic cemetery at Lake of Two Mountains, though no record of the exact location of these graves survives.

You can watch Jim’s full presentation on the HSO YouTube channel.

A more complete written version of Jim’s work with footnotes can be downloaded from Grand Chief Constant Pinesi – Kichi Sibi Trails (kichisibiancienttrails.ca) .

Additional, Merv Sarazin referred to the book “The Ancestors are Arranging Things”, by Noreen Kruzich, available for purchase online or from the Ottawa Public Library.

*The term “Algonkin” is used to refer to the Anishinabeg living in the land claimed by Chief Pinesi on both sides of the Ottawa River and all its tributaries from Oka to Mattawa, including the headwaters of the latter river. The term Algonquin refers to a much larger group of Indigenous people. This term parallels that used by Noreen Kruzich in her book "The Ancestors are Arranging Things".