When Cultures Collide
Where the river ends
And the ocean begins,
Cultures collide and history’s tide
Erases a way of life
For the indigenous people.
St. Lawrence Iroquoians
Welcomed the French
To the shores of “Kanata”
At Stadacona with ceremonial greetings,
Exchanging gifts and ideas.
But only the riches of the land
Are considered worthy:
Natural habitats retreat
And the environment suffers.
First Nations people would fare no better
Against these foreign invaders.
***
Notes:
“Kanata” is the Saint Lawrence Iroquois word for village, referring to Stadacona (present-day Quebec City, Quebec), and was interpreted as “Canada” by the French explorer Jacques Cartier (1491–1557) in 1535. The St. Lawrence Iroquoians existed from the 14th century to about 1580. They disappeared soon after the arrival of the Europeans, and it is suspected that diseases transmitted by the Europeans to them (for which they had no immunity) were a major reason for their demise.
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