Newcomers to Nogojiwanong learn Lessons from the Land

Dozens of tiny toads hopped across the stone pavers outside the Canadian Canoe Museum on July 1, finding refuge from the scorching sun underneath folding chairs, between volunteers’ feet, and in the shade cast by boxes of supplies set on the grass as organizers prepared for the sixth annual Lessons from the Land event.

Museum staff warned attendees to watch out for the corn kernel-sized amphibians as they arrived, joking that they seemed to have appeared overnight; just in time to welcome participants to the community gathering.

As newcomers, longtime Peterborough residents and Indigenous knowledge keepers came together on the shore of Little Lake, the annual event invited participants to spend July 1 immersed in teachings about the land, Indigenous cultures, and relationships with one another. 

Organized by the New Canadians Centre (NCC), Lessons from the Land has become the organization’s alternative to its former Multicultural Canada Day celebration. The shift created a dedicated space for local First Nations members to gather and share teachings while inviting newcomers and longtime residents alike to reflect on truth and reconciliation.

“We’d always heard that July 1 was difficult for the Indigenous partners who would come and sing or perform on that day,” said Yvonne Lai, director of community development at NCC. “So we decided then to move to a two-week multicultural festival leading up to July 1, and then just to make this alternative space on July 1 that was just focused on reconciliation and learning from Indigenous elders.”

For Lai, the setting itself has become part of the event’s meaning. “It’s a really amazing thing to be hearing and listening to teachings while you’re surrounded by birds chirping, the insects, the blue sky and the water,” she said.

The morning opened with teachings, songs and a smudging ceremony led by Curve Lake First Nation elder Janet McCue, accompanied by her sister Linda McCue.

Gesturing to the bundles of tobacco, sage, and cedar placed in a basket at her feet, McCue explained that the medicines are offered in gratitude and used to prepare people in a good way for learning from one another. She then shared stories of her mother and grandmother, along with teachings about ode’imin, or the strawberry. She explained that translated from Anishinaabemowin, ode’imin means heart berry, and it is a sacred food symbolizing the connection between heart, mind and body.   

McCue later invited children to join her in performing traditional songs. Toddlers and young kids from diverse cultural backgrounds eagerly stepped forward, each handed a small drum or shaker as they learned songs honouring water, women, and all of creation.

The opening ceremonies finished with a circle dance. A large space was cleared so that dozens of participants could join hands and move together to the drum beat.

From there, the crowd dispersed to take part in one of several hands-on activities, including traditional porcupine quill art, an Indigenous medicines workshop, a fast-paced children’s game exploring the challenging journey that salmon face during spawning season, and guided voyageur canoe tours on Little Lake.

For many newcomers to Canada, the Little Lake tour offered their first opportunity to paddle a canoe. For others, it represented their first ever experience on a Canadian waterway.

NCC’s wellness and community education manager Bhisham Ramoutar ensured each paddler was signed in and geared up with a life jacket and properly fitted paddle before hitting the docks. He told Peterborough Currents that this activity was at full capacity, with 35 registrants and a long wait list.

Ramoutar explained that helping to organise the Lessons from the Land event is something he looks forward to each year. “As someone who’s new to Canada, I think it’s important for all settlers that we are committed to reconciliation and learning about Indigenous culture, and this is an important day to do that work,” he said. 

Guided by Canadian Canoe Museum staff, participants learned about the history of voyageur canoes, Indigenous water routes, and the significance of the Otonabee River as they paddled together across Little Lake beneath the blazing July sun. On the way back, the guide steered the canoe directly toward the Little Lake fountain.

For a few brief moments, the canoe disappeared into the cool mist beneath the 250-foot jet fountain (the tallest in Ontario) as laughter erupted from every seat. Paddlers raised their faces toward the spray, cheering together as the water washed over them, offering a few welcome seconds of relief from the heat.  

Lauren Guest, an outdoor programs facilitator with the museum, said those shared first experiences are among her favourite parts of the job.

“I know I heard some people here say that it’s their first time ever in a canoe,” she said. “Being in a boat together with folks who are also sharing this first time experience definitely helps settle the nerves a little bit.” 

Guest shared that drop-in voyageur canoe tours are held at the Canadian Canoe Museum every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday over the summer months at 11:30 a.m. for anyone interested in experiencing local waterways from a voyageur canoe.

Ayobami Olaiya, who had attended Lessons from the Land the previous year, said returning to the canoe felt entirely different the second time around. “I came for the first time last year, and I was a bit shaky. I couldn’t even hold my phone because I was too nervous,” he said. “But this time around I’ve gained a little bit of confidence so I was doing videos… It was fun.”

Another newcomer, Mazoor Meerani, attended Lessons from the Land for the first time this year after living in the city for three and a half years. He told  Peterborough Currents that he had “an amazing first time experience” on the water with his loved ones.

Meerani said the event reinforced what he appreciates most about his adopted community, a shared belief in the value of cultural diversity. “People are coming from different parts of the world, and they bring their own culture, their language,” he said. “Diversity is actually a beauty of the universe.”

After returning to the Canadian Canoe Museum, the paddlers rejoined the rest of the group for a community meal featuring Three Sisters soup, bannock bread, and strawberries. 

Looking back over the event, Lai said relationship-building remains at the heart of the New Canadians Centre’s work. “Our mission is focused on organizing programs and events and providing services for people coming to Canada,” she said. “But a very big, important component of our work too is bringing community members together into that mission… building relationships really is at the core of how we need to move forward.”

As families lingered to explore the Canadian Canoe Museum and children continued tapping rhythms they had learned that morning, Lessons from the Land offered a reminder that reconciliation is not only built through formal commitments, but also through shared songs, community meals, and moments of learning together on the land and water.