November 2, 2024
Queenston Heights Park, Niagara-on-the-Lake
Valour and Victory: Indigenous Veterans Day
Valour and Victory: Honouring Indigenous Veterans
Saturday, November 2, 2024 / 1:00 p.m. / Queenston Heights Park
Valour & Victory honours the contributions and sacrifices made by the Six Nations and Native Allies during the Battle of Queenston Heights and the War of 1812 in support of their British and Canadian compatriots.
This annual memorial and reconciliation service remembers Indigenous soldiers who, through courage, strength and peacemaking, helped secure victory at pivotal events throughout the War of 1812 to secure freedom for all Canadians. This year’s event commemorates the eighth anniversary of the unveiling of the Landscape of Nations Memorial in Queenston Heights Park. During the ceremony, Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC) will also be unveiling a new plaque commemorating the national historic significance of Teyoninhokarawen (John Norton).
Valour and Victory aligns with Niagara Parks’ ongoing commitment to reconciliation, education and the preservation of Indigenous history.
Event Program
Landscape of Nations Memorial
Valour and Victory: Honouring Indigenous Veterans
National Historic Person Plaque Unveiling for Teyoninhokarawen (John Norton)
Opening
Travis Hill
Traditional Greeting
Karl Dockstader
Welcome from Niagara Parks
Niagara Parks Chair Bob Gale
Remarks
Senior Advisor Tim Johnson
Six Nations Elder
Rick Hill
Veteran and Service Member Recognition
Wendy Jocko
Rick Mt. Pleasant
Plaque Unveiling for Teyoninhokarawen
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC)
HSMBC Ontario Representative Dr. Stephen Azzi
HSMBC Remarks
HSMBC Northwest Territories Representative Sarah Jerome
Parks Canada Representative
Ernie Gladstone, a/ED, Indigenous Affairs Branch, Indigenous Affairs and Cultural Heritage, Parks Canada
Designation Proponent
Richard Merritt
Honour Song
Phil Davis
Moment of Silence Followed by Firing of Cannon
2nd Lincoln Artillery
Laying of Wreaths
Ceremonial Fire
Brian Kon
Battle of Queenston Heights
The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle of the War of 1812. It marked an essential moment in the emergence of a fledgling country whose borders and character were being tested and defined.
It was during this battle that Native Allies pinned down an overwhelming force of the American army, allowing the British and Canadians to counterattack and regain the Heights.
Landscape of Nations
The Landscape of Nations Memorial is dedicated to the Six Nations and Native Allies that participated in the War of 1812. Limestones from the Queenston Quarry represent each nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy in a sunburst pattern. Abenakis, Delaware and nations from the north are also honoured in the memorial.
The Landscape of Nations Memorial affirms the proper place of Indigenous people at the core of Canadian history and signals their ongoing role in contemporary life and national affairs.
Haudenosaunee Reconciliation
Valour & Victory also recognizes the historic entreaty of peace and reconciliation made at Niagara on August 31 and September 1, 1815, between the Haudenosaunee of the Grand River and those of New York that became American Allies.
The War of 1812 witnessed a civil war among the nations of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy fighting on both sides of the conflict. At this solemn service to mark National Indigenous Veterans Day, we remember the fallen, the dedicated and the peacemakers whose valiant efforts forged a lasting peace.
Close and