THE BROCK STREET BURIAL in Peterborough, Ontario

Date:  September 2007

The stone – granite I think – measures 50” long, 38” wide, and 31” high.  It sits on Brock Street, P’boro, between the sidewalk and the edge of an asphalt parking lot across the street from Price Choppers.

The words on the plaque attached to the face of the stone are:

THE BROCK STREET BURIAL

Here on December 6, 1960, the skeletal remains of a man who lived in this area about 2,000 years ago were discovered by Douglas Yaxley of Peterborough.  Buried with the man were 29 artifacts attributed to the Point Peninsula culture which occupied the Trent River system before the Christian era.

See P’boro Examiner, December 7, 1960:

“Expert Says Indian Bones ‘Important Find’”,  and “Indian Grave Uncovered” – “Royal Ontario Museum archaeologist Walter Kenyon examines an excavation where bones believed to be 2,000 years old were found under the Brock Street parking lot Monday.  Mr. Kenyon describes the find as “a most exciting discovery”.  Another picture and story on front page, second section.”  [Cutline with photo of Kenyon]

Recorded by Jean Koning, Peterborough, ON, in my computer files, September 2007

Further comment, January 6, 2014:

While this refers to the presence of First Peoples in the territory we call Peterborough some 2,000 years ago, it may not cause Canadians to realize that the ancestors of those same First Peoples are still living among us today.  Neither does it help us to recognize the fact that the First Peoples were never “conquered” and that they are, in fact, a nation of sovereign peoples within whose homeland we now reside.

This is why it is important - nay, imperative - to observe the protocols concerning the relationship between two sovereign nations: The First Peoples by whatever name they call themselves in their own language  (in Peterborough territory it is probably the Mississauga Nation of the Anishinabek  - or Ojibwe) and Canada, as we settler/immigrants call our nation.

To learn about the protocols in your territory, please consult the nearest Indian Friendship Centre or First Nation.  There are people who would be most willing to help you learn about these protocols, such as presenting tobacco to an Elder, or how to listen effectively within the Talking Circle.  

I always ask, in the same way that I now share this blog, by saying that I am speaking and writing in the spirit of peace, respect and friendship.

Thanks for listening.

Jean Koning.