Canada Day Hours

Happy Canada Day everyone! The Dundas Museum and Archives will be closed on Friday, July 1st in recognition of the public holiday.

We will resume normal hours on Saturday, open 1pm to 4pm, and will be closed Sunday and Monday as per usual.

We hope everyone has a safe and relaxing long weekend!

National Indigenous People's Day

The Dundas Museum and Archives, located on the traditional territories of the Erie, Neutral, Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Mississauga Peoples, would like to wish everyone a very happy National Indigenous People’s Day.

The Canadian Federal Government instituted the holiday in 1996 to honour Indigenous cultures, including that of the Inuit, Metis, and other First Nations. It is a day of celebration of Indigenous culture, art, music, food, dance, and storytelling. It also coincides with the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, which is both historically and symbolically significant.

National Indigenous People’s Day also falls within National Indigenous History Month. The Dundas Museum and Archives is home to a number of Indigenous artifacts, which provides us insight into the Neutrals (called the Attawandaron by the Wendat), a group of Indigenous people who left the valley due to warfare prior to the settlement of Dundas by Europeans. The land was then acquired by the Crown through the Between the Lakes Purchase of 1792, made between the Crown and the Mississaugas of the Credit Nation, which allowed for loyalist settlers to begin moving in to create the town called Dundas.

While Dundas provided refuge to immigrants, however, Canada’s original residents were faced with increasing restrictions, abuse, and loss of sovereignty. The Mohawk Residental School, which operated from 1828 to 1970 only 35km away from Dundas, was only the first school in a network of systemized abuse of Indigenous children, intended to remove the culture we now celebrate today.

The attempts by the Canadian government to eliminate Indigenous culture and assimilate Indigenous peoples into settler society make the commemoration, and celebration, of those cultures, not only joyous but defiant. Despite the best efforts by the colonial authorities, Indigenous people and their cultures are still here, still alive, vibrant, and diverse.

Looking for a way to celebrate? Check out the resources below!

One Dish, Many Stories (podcast): Jordan Carrier, a Piapot First Nation woman currently residing in Hamilton, ON, has recently launched “One Dish, Many Stories”, a podcast intended to teach “the people who live, work and play within these lands…[about] the Indigenous nations who lived, travelled through and used these lands for sustenance. How this growing urban center has impacted Indigenous peoples and the resilience [and] strength of the urban Indigenous community”

Group of Six: Coloring & Activity Book (PDF): A booklet produced by a group of young artists from the Six Nations of the Grand River, and Goodminds.com, a Brantford book supplier who focuses on Inuit, Metis and First Nations produced materials and educational resources. Both a good colouring book, and a good website for resources! Click Here

CBCListen: The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has compiled playlists so you can listen to a variety of Indigenous artists. Discover your next favourite artist! www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-music-playlists/37-indigenous-canada

Woodland Cultural Centre/ Mush Hole Project: The Woodland Cultural Centre, which includes a Museum with over 35,000 items, includes in their exhibition information on the Neutrals, as well as other Indigenous peoples in southern Ontario, if you would like to learn more about these specific elements. Although their NIPD event was held virtually on the evening of June 20th, you can join them next month for another virtual movie screening, or for a virtual tour. They have also recently initiated The Mush Hole Project, based on the name given to the Mohawk Residental School by its survivors, to “produce an immersive, site-specific art and performance installation that responds to the former residential school.” www.mushholeproject.ca

Nativeland.ca: Visit native-land.ca to discover more about who’s land you live on, and who your neighbours are!

Happy Pride!

A floral background with a photo of a pride flag hanging in the Museum Shop window. Next to the photo are the words “Happy Pride from the DMA

The staff and board of the Dundas Museum and Archives would like to wish our community a very happy Pride! At the Museum, we aim to create a community space where everyone feels welcomed for who they are, regardless of gender expression or sexual orientation.  

Our artifact and archival collections are sadly sparse when it comes to the documentation of local LGBTQ2+ people, groups and organizations, and we’re always trying to expand our collection to tell a wider variety of stories from the valley. If you or your family have any LGBTQ2+ stories, artifacts or images related to Dundas, please share them with us! Both historical and contemporary collecting are important elements of gaining a more complete picture of life in Dundas.  

 

Archives & History 

While the Museum’s collections may not currently be particularly informative on the subject of local LGBTQ2+ history, other archives have dedicated collections which may shed more light!  

“Pride Through History”: The YWCA’s group speqtrum holds regular LGBT2+ events in Hamilton, including this month’s Newcomer Welcome event being held tomorrow, Wednesday, June 15th, which will include games and discussion on “Pride Through History.” spectrum.ca 

HPL LGBT2SQ+ Community Archive: In 2018 the Hamilton Public Library, based on the acquisition of the Michael Johnston papers, created an LGBT2SQ+ Community Archive, housed at their Central Library’s History & Archives department. More information is here: buildingthearchive.hamont.org

The ArQuives: A national LGBTQ2+ archive originally founded in 1973 (located in Toronto but with a number of online exhibits here: digitalexhibitions.arquives.ca as well as online descriptions and finding aids).     

Community Resources

Below is a collection of groups and organizations specifically serving the LGBTQ2+ community of Dundas and Hamilton

YWCA speqtrum: A program of YWCA Hamilton that is youth-founded and youth-focused, speqtrum focuses on skill-sharing and community building for 2S-LGBTQIA+ young people in Hamilton. speqtrum.ca

AFFIRM: An organization that seeks to integrate identity affirmation with cognitive-behavioural interventions that are already known to work, presented as an 8-session series targeted at LGBTTQQ2SA+ youth and adults and geared towards reducing depression and enhancing coping skills while validating the strengths of participants. www.projectyouthaffirm.org   

PFlag Canada (Hamilton/Wentworth Chapter):  A national organization that offers peer-to-peer support striving to help all Canadians with issues of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. We support, educate and provide resources to anyone with questions or concerns. pflagcanada.ca

Queer Ontario: A provincial network of gender and sexually diverse individuals — and their allies — who are committed to questioning, challenging, and reforming the laws, institutional practices, and social norms that regulate queer people. queerontario.org/

Kyle’s Place: Although no longer operating a physical location, the organization can be contacted remotely, and promotes community access to resources, particularly for community members who are marginalized due to race, class, age, mental health, or ability. They offer non-perishables and grocery gift cards, no-cost gender gear and financial support for name and gender marker changes.  

Positive Space Network: A group building community and creating safer spaces for 2SLGBTQ+ youth ages 6-24 by creating youth-focused programming, providing mental health support and cultivating community partnerships.  positivespacenetwork.ca

LGBT Youthline: A youth-led organization providing peer-to-peer support for 2SLGBTQ+ youth across Ontario since 1994. www.youthline.ca  

Pride Hamilton: A volunteer-run group dedicated to organizing Pride events throughout the year. www.pridehamilton.com  

The AIDS Network (Hamilton, Halton, Haldimand, Norfolk & Brant):  Provides support services to people living with and affected with HIV and AIDS and populations vulnerable to HIV infection. aidsnetwork.ca/need-help/hamilton-support-services/   

The Recovery Village has put together some information regarding substance use, abuse and treatment for LGBTQ2+ individuals, who are at a higher risk of misuse from an earlier age, as well as facing greater mental health challenges due to loneliness, ostracization, and societal and family pressures. www.therecoveryvillage.com/resources/lgbtq/  

Dundas 175: What Dundas Means to Me

The latest Feature Exhibit at the Dundas Museum and Archives, Dundas 175: What Dundas Means to Me, is on now!

Premiering at our Made in Dundas Family Festival, the exhibition will continue through the summer until September 10th.

We want to thank everyone who contributed their artifacts, photos, memories, stories and quotes, bringing the exhibit to life.

Although the exhibit is ongoing, we continue to accept submissions that can be incorporated throughout the summer and make valuable additions to our collection.

If you’d like to view memories of Dundas from the past 175 years, or if you would like to contribute to the exhibition, stop by the Dundas Museum!