The Power of Art to Tell a New Story

Well, I am taking a holiday this week.  I am staying home, which happens to be on Georgian Bay where people go for their holidays,  Since I am trying to do “holiday” kinds of things, my partner and I decided to take the 2 ½ hour boat tour on the Miss Midland.  This takes you from the Midland town docks, through Severn Sound, all the way around Beausoleil Island and back again.  We have done this trip in various segments in our own little boat and so it was nice to sit on the top deck and let Captain Steve pilot us through the many shoals and some of the 30,000 Islands.

Along the way, a prerecorded informational soundtrack was played.  This dealt with the names of various islands, the industries in some of the towns and some of the history of the area.  The script seemed dated as a few newer attractions were not mentioned but I’m not sure when it was written.  When the script dealt with the First Nation in the area and the Indigenous people who had lived here (and still do) for thousands of years before Etienne Brulee and Samuel de Champlain arrived four hundred years ago, the narrative was a bit sketchy.  Since I have been trying to learn the actual history of the area, some of the “information” was in my opinion, generated from within a colonial mindset.  Important facts were left out and some facts were told in a sanitized way that washed the European settlers clean of anything we might not approve of now.  It occurred to me that the script needed updating to reflect what we now know happened.  I am considering writing to the company that runs the tour to suggest this.  Thousands of tourists from around the world and from across Canada take this tour during the summer months and the misinformation is not helping the reconciliation movement.

The next day, my partner and I stopped at a local gas station and restaurant in Port Severn, just off of Hwy. 400.  We got our hamburgers and went to sit in the large dining area that was empty and quiet.  We have been there before and so I was surprised to see a new mural on the wall of the dining room.  We left our burgers and went to inspect it. 

New mural in Port Severn highway rest stop

On the left hand side, the artist, Tim Nijenhuis had depicted Samuel de Champlain arriving in the area and being greeted by Chief Aenon,the leader of the Wendat people,  who had lived in this territory for thousands of years. 

Detail of mural by Tim Nyenhues 2019  Port Severn ON.

This reminded me of the statue that was installed in nearby Penetanguishene in 2015 to commemorate this meeting in 1615. Sculptor Timothy P. Schmalz created the statue as an apology for the statue in Orillia from 1915 which has Champlain high above the fur trader and priest who are above the crouching Wendat men.

The Meeting statue by Timothy P. Schmalz in Penetanguishene, ON, 2015

Statue of Champlain on top, on left, a fur trader looking down on two Wendat men
 and on the right a priest holding up a crucifix above two Wendat men.  1915 in Orillia, ON.

You don't have to be an art historian to see that the narratives that these three pieces of art are telling, are quite different. I thought about the power of art and culture to share and propagate these narratives.  In the Penetanguishene statue, Schmalz has the two men holding a wampum belt to represent the agreement to share the land and not interfere with each other.  In the Orillia statue, Champlain is much larger than the other men and the statue has an obvious hierarchical structure.  But now, thousands of visitors will stop by and see this new mural in which Champlain looks a little confused while Aenon holds out a welcoming hand.  Or perhaps you might see a different narrative there.  I am only guessing.

To the right of the two men are depictions of the original Big Chute Marine Railway and Port Severn, where the restaurant is located.  Flying above them are four flags.  From left to right they are:  the Annishinaabe flag, the Haudenosaunee flag, the Metis flag and the Canadian flag to represent all the people who currently call this land home.

Anishinaabe flag on left and Haudenosaunee flag on right

Metis flag and Canadian flag

Visitors may have to use their phones to fact check what they are seeing.  I didn’t notice a plaque explaining the mural but there may have been one.   I saw one child posing between Champlain and Aenon to have his picture taken.  Now that's another interesting thing about murals.  People can kind of join in and take a selfie with Champlain and Aenon.  This is a new opportunity for people travelling up and down Hwy 400 between Barrie and Sudbury.

I know someone who loved the Orillia statue of Champlain when she was a little girl some sixty years ago.  She has fond memories of stroking the faces of the Wendat men and thinking them beautiful.  As a child she missed the fur trader, priest and especially Champlain who was high in the sky.  I wonder how children who are now posing between Champlain and Aenon will remember this mural.  Perhaps it will become iconic for them.  But it is telling a new story from our shared history and that new story will be the one they remember.

Artist Tim Nijenhuis' signature on the mural.