Abstracts
Abstract
The topic of Egerton Ryerson’s relationship with the First Nations is complex, a very large story. The key question returns again and again, what kind of relationship did the founder of Ontario’s school system have with the Indigenous Peoples? The focus of this article is on the First Nations group he knew best, the Mississauga, in particular the Credit Mississauga, the Ojibwe-speaking Anishinaabeg at the western end of Lake Ontario. As Ryerson is such a central figure in Ontario history, and even has a major university in the province named after him, I hope that young scholars, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, will advance this discussion in future work.
Résumé
Le sujet de la relation d’Egerton Ryerson avec les Premières Nations est complexe, une très grande histoire. La question clé revient encore et encore, quel genre de relation le fondateur du système scolaire de l’Ontario avait-il avec les peuples autochtones? Cet article porte sur le groupe des Premières nations qu’il connaissait le mieux, les Mississauga, en particulier les Credit Mississauga, les Anishinaabeg de langue ojibwe à l’extrémité ouest du lac Ontario. Comme Ryerson est une figure centrale de l’histoire de l’Ontario et qu’une grande université de la province porte même son nom, j’espère que les jeunes universitaires, tant autochtones que non autochtones, feront avancer cette discussion dans leurs travaux futurs.
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Appendices
Biographical note
Don Smith taught Canadian history at University of Calgary from 1974 to 2009. As a graduate student at the University of Toronto in 1971 Ontario History published his first article in Canadian history, on Grey Owl, the famous Canadian writer and conservationist. A biographer as much as an historian, his final article in Ontario History is also biographical, focusing on Egerton Ryerson and the Mississauga. He writes: “Ontario History welcomed me as a young scholar and again, half a century later, once again just as warmly. The circle is completed!”