November 16, 2019
Queenston Heights Park, Niagara-on-the-Lake
Valour and Victory
Valour and Victory: Honouring Indigenous Veterans at the Landscape of Nations Commemorative Memorial
Valour & Victory honoured the contributions and sacrifices made by 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 remembered 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.
The 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.
Landscape of Nations:
The Landscape of Nations Commemorative Memorial affirms the proper place of First Nations peoples at the core of Canadian history and signals their ongoing role in contemporary life and national affairs. After 207 years, Valour & Victory gathered the community at the precipice of Queenston Heights with a clear vision and the capability to address an historic omission—the acknowledgement of Canada’s first Allies.
Haudenosaunee Reconciliation
Valor & Victory also recognized 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 Aboriginal Veterans Day, we remembered the fallen, the dedicated and the peacemakers whose valiant efforts forged a lasting peace.
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