When we acknowledge that, here in the Ottawa Valley, we are on the “unceded” and “unsurrendered” land of the Anishinaabe Algonquin people, what does that really mean? A preliminary understanding of the history behind the land claims of the Anishinaabe Algonquin peopleis offered in a “Report on the Algonquins of Golden Lake Claim” prepared for the Ontario Native Affairs Secretariat in 1993. The following is the text of the report’s “Executive Summary”.  Here is a link to the full report, residing on the Government of Canada website: https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2018/aanc-inac/R32-492-1993-1-eng.pdf. This report…

Beginning on November 26, 2025, subscribers to Rogers TV will be able to enjoy a brand new season of our series, “Time Travelling with the Historical Society of Ottawa”, a collaboration between Rogers TV and the Historical Society of Ottawa. Each week's new episode will air Wednesday @ 7:30 p.m. and then be rebroadcast Friday at 5:30 p.m. and the following Tuesday @ 10:00 a.m. on Rogers TV Channel 22. Here is the schedule of episodes and our featured presenters: Wednesday, November 26, 2025 @ 7:30 p.m. - Call To Arms:…

Initial surveys of the Rideau corridor had been carried out as early as 1783, in the wake of the American Revolution. It wasn’t until after the War of 1812, however, that increased concern over the possibility of renewed American attacks led to further surveys of the land between the Ottawa and St. Lawrence Rivers, with a view to building a canal that would bypass the exposed American border along the St. Lawrence. In this fascinating new film, produced especially for the “HSO 2026 Bytown200 Bicentennial Storytelling Challenge” by film maker…

At the 2026 Ottawa Regional Heritage Fair – to mark this year's bicentennial – the Historical Society of Ottawa, founder and patron of the ORHF, will present the “HSO Bytown200 Award” to the top student project specifically pertaining to Bytown, the Rideau Canal, or the impacts of Bytown and/or the Rideau Canal on the Indigenous people for whom the Ottawa area has been their traditional home. Each year we also present the “HSO Indigenous Sacred Chaudiere Falls Award” for a student project that reflects and celebrates Indigenous history, culture and traditions in…