Toronto Garrison Crossing (was Fort York Pedestrian and Cycle Bridge) | ?m | ?s | City of Toronto | Pedelta

Ouch. I wasn't expecting that twist but now that you mention it...

Oh, maybe you meant because it will be almost an extension of Tecumseth St. Honestly I didn't think of that at first.

But Tecumseh needs to be recognized in this country. The only real monument we've got to him is this

thamesville.jpg


The Americans fought AGAINST him and even so they've gota much better one:

card00595_fr.jpg
 
Map location at this location,

and the bridge:

FortYorkBridgePlan.jpg


The bridge and Techumeth Street vicinity. Don't know about the spelling, but then it is probably a phonetically spelling. Techumeth Street is north of Fort York itself. The bridge is west of Fort York but paths should connect the street and bridge.
 
I'm not sure it'll be for Tecumseh specifically but there was a design competition held recently for a new monument commemorating the Native veterans of 1812 to be located at Queenston Heights as a compliment to the Brock memorial.

Also, at the location of the Battle of the Thames monument there is a master plan to develop the 8 acre site with gardens and interpretive centre etc. that will tell the story of both the battle and Tecumseh. Check it out here: http://www.tecumsehmonument.ca/about/
 
I did not know about the Queenston proposal, thanks. As to the Thames proposal, good idea. But Tecumseh is a key nation-builder* and he deserves a statue at Queen's Park, Parliament Hill, or some other place of national importance. I favour a full traditional statue ona plinth, with some white guy kneeling below in adoration. Sort of like this, in reverse.

plattsburgh-champlain-monument.jpg


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*Yes, he only spent a few months of his life in Canada. But his contribution to the war is equal to Brock's. And his is a key story of betrayed promises to natives ... and of the plight of the immigrant to Canada!
 
There is a common error in the photo that most of us take as fact. The feather headdress, or war bonnet, is worn only by a dozen or so plains tribes or TV and movie actors. Tecumseh was from an eastern woodland or Shawnee people speaking Algonquian, originally around today's Ohio.
 
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That's a statue of Champlain and has nothing to do with Tecumseh. But yes you are right about the inappropriate dress. Inappropriate everything really!
 
I did not know about the Queenston proposal, thanks. As to the Thames proposal, good idea. But Tecumseh is a key nation-builder* and he deserves a statue at Queen's Park, Parliament Hill, or some other place of national importance. I favour a full traditional statue ona plinth, with some white guy kneeling below in adoration. Sort of like this, in reverse.

*Yes, he only spent a few months of his life in Canada. But his contribution to the war is equal to Brock's. And his is a key story of betrayed promises to natives ... and of the plight of the immigrant to Canada!

I'd be very careful about appropriating Tecumseh as a national icon. We would run the risk of relying on the old "disappearing savage" trope, a theme that has been perpetuated through centuries of expansionist and assimilationist policies. I don't see anything appropriate in commemorating Tecumseh's defeat as such, especially if that defeat is framed from the British/Canadian perspective. What we can and should commemorate is the fact that, regardless of his defeat and the centuries of broken promises and oppression that followed, the nations Tecumseh lead then still exist today. The resilience of North America's Aboriginal peoples is the real story here, and as such, I would want to see the nations that fought alongside Tecumseh heavily involved in any memorial.
 

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