At Home and Abroad

Dr Jason King is Academic Coordinator of the National Famine Museum, Strokestown Park, and the Irish Heritage Trust. Honouring Indigenous Aid pays tribute to the Anishinaabe, Haudenosaunee, and Wyandotte-Huron First Nations in Canada West (now Ontario) that contributed to Irish Famine relief in 1847 when they faced considerable hardship, broken treaty relations, and forced relocation. A substantial trove of recently discovered archival records that document these donations for the famine afflicted Irish and Scots from First Nations in Canada West. One of the most poignant letters offering aid was written by Chiefs Joseph Sawyer (Newechekeshequeby , also known as Sloping Sky), and Peter Jones (Kahkewaquonaby, also known as Sacred Feathers) from the Mississaugas of the Credit who were in the midst of being removed and forced to relocate from their home. Joseph Sawyer’s descendant, Darin Wybenga, Traditional Knowledge and Land Use Coordinator, Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, honours the generosity of his ancestors and other First Nations in Canada West.