A river worshipped, a river wronged : the history of the St. Mary's River, and its people, from its formation to industrialization (15,000 ybp. - present)
For roughly 15,000 years, the area of the St. Mary's River known as Baawitigong (rapids) has been home to the Anishinaabeg, whose identity and lifeways are inextricably linked to the river. The area became an important location for the first Indigenous populations on the Great Lakes, the Copper People, during the Seven Fires migrations, and later became a capital of the modern Niswi-mishkodewin (Three Fires Confederacy). Its location in the centre of the continent also made the St. Mary's River a target of colonial expansion, and thus made Baawitigong (a.k.a. Bawating, Baawitig or Pawating) a strategic location of Indigenous resistance against imperial forces from the seventeenth century until the present. This makes the River an ideal case study with which to understand the impacts of colonization. Colonial populations did not have the same relationship with the river as the Anishinaabeg had; the Colonists did not view the river as a living force, but instead as an impediment to their westward migration and a bank of natural resources to be exploited. Rather than looking to the Natural Baseline of the river to inform their lifeways, the Colonists worked to alter the river for their own purposes. In the early-nineteenth
Elder, Colin
DA Great Britain
A river worshipped, a river wronged : the history of the St. Mary's River, and its people, from its formation to industrialization (15,000 ybp. - present). For roughly 15,000 years, the area of the St. Mary's River known as Baawitigong (rapids) has been home to the Anishinaabeg, whose identity and lifeways are inextricably linked to the river. The area became an important location for the first Indigenous populations on the Great Lakes, the Copper People, during the Seven Fires migrations, and later became a capital of the modern Niswi-mishkodewin (Three Fires Confederacy). Its location in the centre of the continent also made the St. Mary's River a target of colonial expansion, and thus made Baawitigong (a.k.a. Bawating, Baawitig or Pawating) a strategic location of Indigenous resistance against imperial forces from the seventeenth century until the present. This makes the River an ideal case study with which to understand the impacts of colonization. Colonial populations did not have the same relationship with the river as the Anishinaabeg had; the Colonists did not view the river as a living force, but instead as an impediment to their westward migration and a bank of natural resources to be exploited. Rather than looking to the Natural Baseline of the river to inform their lifeways, the Colonists worked to alter the river for their own purposes. In the early-nineteenth
river worship river wrong history mary river people formation industrialization present area mary river know rapid home whose identity lifeways inextricably_link river area become_important location first indigenous_population great copper people migration later_become capital modern location centre continent also_make mary river target colonial expansion thus make strategic location indigenous resistance imperial force present make river ideal case_study impact colonization colonial population relationship river view river living force instead impediment westward migration bank natural_resource exploit rather look natural baseline river inform lifeways work alter river purpose early_nineteenth