On Saturday October 26th , from 1pm – 3pm, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum will host a book launch of
a seminal anthology, Landscape of Nations: Beyond the Mist, co-edited by Tim Johnson and Rick Hill.
The launch will include a 45-minute presentation, following by a book signing with several of the book’s
contributing authors.
This beautifully illustrated 256-page, coffee table book features contributions from 17 authors and
scholars, leading Indigenous knowledge holders, numerous photographers, mapmakers and artists and
chronicles the history of Indigenous peoples here in Niagara since the end of the ice age.
General Editor, Rick Hill, is a renowned educator of Indigenous cultures, histories and arts and currently
serves as an Indigenous Innovations Specialist at Mohawk College. Said Hill, “It is amazing to think that
for some 13,000 years, my ancestors have been living within the beautiful environs of the Niagara
Peninsula. And that my relatives continue to call this place our home. The land continues to inspire us
and continues to sustain us as Indigenous peoples.”
It is the land that provided the conceptual inspiration for the book, according to Tim Johnson, Concept
and Managing Editor. Johnson is the Senior Advisor for Heritage and Legacy with the Niagara Parks
Commission, Senior Advisor to Plenty Canada, and serves on many boards as Indigenous Cultural
Advisor. “The Niagara Escarpment is an unmistakable landmark that has aided human wayfaring and
navigation for millennia,” said Johnson. “It is one of the grandest environment stages ever created, and
upon this stage, the Niagara Falls performs without fail each and every day.”
By peering through the mist and the ‘shrouds of history’, their book reveals previously unknown insights
and revelations of the Indigenous experience, in particular the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabek
cultures, and dispelling various versions of "the truth” using a variety of sources, including
archaeological data and British Indian Department records.
Published by the Niagara Parks Commission, in association with Plenty Canada, Six Nations of the Grand
River, and the Clench House Foundation, the book will be available for purchase at the Niagara-on-the-
Lake Museum, or can be purchased in advance at www.notlmuseum.ca
Said the editors: “ [This book is] in honour of our elders whose commitment to the Seventh Generation
provided us with guidance and inspiration, making our lives purposeful and this work possible.”
What: Landscape of Nations: Beyond the Mist
When: Saturday, October 26th from 1-3 pm.
Where: NOTL Museum, 43 Castlereagh Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake, ON.
The event is free to attend but please email aklassen@nhsm.ca to reserve your spot.
For more info: www.notlmuseum.ca