Etobicoke - Place of the Alders: Honouring the Original Story

Philip Cote from the Moose Deer Point First Nation. My Indigenous name is Nodjmowin, which means “healer.” I am an Artist, Ancestral Knowledge Keeper, Educator, Historian and Young Spiritual Elder.

The title of this mural is Etobicoke—Place of the Alders: Honouring the Original Story

The story begins 13,500 years ago and is told from the oral histories of Ojibway, Anishinaabe, Algonquin, Potawatomi, Odawa and Mississauga peoples. Our oral history speaks about the Ice Runners—the people who occupied this land during the Ice Age, known as the “Oh-kwa-ming-i-nini-wug.” They were hunters and gatherers of megafauna, such as mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, camels, horses, mastodons, saber-toothed cats, and short-faced bears. During this time of the Ice Age, glaciers reached a mile high along what is now Davenport Road to the Humber River and formed a narrow ledge traveling north along the edge of Etobicoke up to the 401 highway and westward.

Etobicoke means “place of the alders” and is an Indigenous reference to one of the first kinds of trees occupying this land. After the glaciers receded, leaving the land barren, nature began to rebalance itself. Alder trees began spreading their seeds across the landscape. Alders gave shelter to the land, flora and animals that would make this place their home, including the Indigenous Peoples.

A contrast is depicted in the mural between the ancient story of the days of the ice wall and Toronto today. The mural is a testament to both the environment and the enduring presence of Indigenous Peoples in this area. It visually realizes one of the main calls to action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission: for Indigenous narratives to be heard once again across the land, unfiltered by the Western lens.

The mural speaks of a new beginning — a merging of two cultures. Intergenerational legacies are breaking down xenophobic stories of Indigenous Peoples as told in the written Western history of this land.

The 1,200- year-old prophecy called the Seven Fires speaks of a time when Indigenous people will emerge from colonialism, where the spirit of leadership will honour the ancestors’ cultural wisdom and reflect a deep understanding of Indigenous cosmology, promoting a true sense of identity.

We are all on a migration toward the Eighth Fire—a time of merging of all people to create a sense of kinship and peace.

The major symbols used in the mural are:

• Alder trees symbolize Etobicoke, “Place of the Alders.” 

• The coloured circle above the Toronto skyline represents the connection to the Sacred Fire, the sun. 

• Birds are considered spiritual messengers from the universe or a higher spiritual being. 

• The hearts on the backs of the birds represent love. 

• The eagle headdresses symbolize a connection to the Creator. 

• Eagle feathers honour 

• The turtle symbolizes “Turtle Island” or North America, as well as the 13-moon calendar. 

• Fish symbolize the underworld or the spirit world through their connection to the water.

• Jagged white wall reflects the time when the Ice Age was receding in the Toronto area.

• The blue of Lake Ontario depicts sparkling water, where life begins.

• Stars in the sky represent the

• The colour orange symbolizes

• The faces of Indigenous people looking at the skyline of Toronto, a city of newcomers, speaks to reconciliation between colonizers and Indigenous Peoples. The faces also represent ancient wisdom.

What will be the future relationship between these peoples?