Joshua Manitowabi is looking to the past to understand how today’s maps have been shaped by historical Indigenous communities.<\/p>\n
An Indigenous political historian specializing in Indigenous histories and education, Manitowabi researches the history of map making in eastern Canada \u2014 starting with the very first maps created.<\/p>\n
\u201cI study European cartographers and how they began mapping North America and how they learned their cartographic knowledge from Indigenous peoples,\u201d says the Brock University Assistant Professor of History.<\/p>\n
With help from Indigenous guides, Manitowabi says European travellers navigated rivers and the Great Lakes in large canoes as they journeyed further into Canada. Along the way, the Indigenous guides shared place names and the stories behind the names.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe European cartographers documented the information, and I am interested in how this original cartographic information was used in maps created in the 17th and 18th centuries,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Through his doctoral research, Manitowabi discovered that some of the very first maps made in were in fact written in Indigenous languages. But, by the time the maps were published during this era, it became hard to determine which Indigenous communities had been where and when.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn considering the dates of these early maps of Canada, I realized that cartographers would have gathered the information ten to fifteen years earlier than their published date. For example, if you take a map published in the 1660s, the Europeans were actually there in the 1640s,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
The realization sparked further interest in Manitowabi as he began looking closely at archival records and sorting through plagiarised maps created by \u201ccopycat\u201d cartographers.<\/p>\n
Following the trail of early maps of Canada, Manitowabi came across a very accurate map published by a skilled cartographer in 1681 that reflected Indigenous communities and locations aligned with historical records. This map references both Ontario and Lake Ontario.<\/p>\n
\u201cOntario is a Mohawk word that means \u2018beautiful shiny lake\u2019 or \u2018beautiful shining waters.\u2019 It describes what you see when you look at the lake and the water shines, glimmering like the stars,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Manitowabi\u2019s doctoral work, which he is currently developing into a book to be published by McGill-Queen\u2019s University Press, also examines the history of his home community on Manitoulin Island.<\/p>\n
His research explores the history of mapping in Michigan, Ontario and the area around Lake Huron, drawing on a map of Manitoulin published in 1950s in Anishinaabe language.<\/p>\n
Manitowabi says all the original place names on the map are in Ojibwe, and he spoke with Anishinaabe language speakers, knowledge keepers and elders to continue the work of mapping the island.<\/p>\n
\u201cI began visiting elders who had a copy of that map, and they told me more stories about the place names. I began adding information to the map in the Anishinaabe language, including the stories behind how these places got their name,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Manitowabi’s research has sparked great interest on Manitoulin, especially at Wikwemikong High School where he has been invited to come speak with Indigenous students about a career in history and mapping.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want Indigenous youth to see how they could have a career doing this type of work, especially if they love looking at maps and learning about geography. Studying mapping is language revitalization, it is history, oral stories and learning how to operate digital different technology like ArcGIS,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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