Audio installation brings Indigenous teachings to Niagara Glen
A new feature at the Niagara Glen will connect guests to nature and incorporate Indigenous teachings related to the site.
On Saturday, Niagara Parks Commission held a ceremony to unveil Rekindling All Our Relations, an audio tour experience curated and produced by Michele-Elise Burnett, President of Kakekalanicks Indigenous Consulting Company and Landscape of Nations 360.
It will be free of charge for visitors who download an app ahead of listening to the audio content, which combines musical compositions from renowned Indigenous artists with rich narratives incorporating Indigenous teachings that encourage a deeper connection with the natural world and unique environmental features of the Niagara Glen.
Niagara Parks also describes the tour to have a mix of traditional and musical creations portraying lessons and stories through an Indigenous lens.
Burnett's son William Riech Jr. was responsible for audio engineering on the project. The idea came during the COVID-19 pandemic, Burnett said during Saturday’s ceremony.
“We had been disconnected from the umbilical cord of our beautiful Mother Earth,” she said about times during the pandemic.
“I could just see it unfolding,” she said about how her creative juices started flowing. She then approached Niagara Parks with her idea.
“Next thing I know, I’m down at the Glen checking out different areas and different trails we could ignite,” she said.
Burnett described the project as theatre of the mind and noted her background in the radio industry.
“You’re not at the mercy of the size of the screen – but here at the Niagara Glen – your screen is the landscape you walk into,” said Elise-Burnett.
Within the Glen, there is a tree known to 325 years old.
“Just imagine what that tree could tell you – who it has met along the way,” she said.
The project was launched to kick off National Indigenous History Month, and is also supported by the Niagara Parks Foundation, Indigenous Tourism Ontario and the Federal Economic Development Agency of Ontario.
Both Burnett and her son William “carry with them a profound respect for their heritage and a commitment to honouring the teachings of their ancestors, which has translated into this deeply authentic and unique audio tour experience, the first of its kind in Canada,” Niagara Parks said in a news release.
Rekindling All Our Relations, will “introduce us to the birds, the winds, the waters, the plants, the four-leggeds and our ancestors who will all share teachings, stories and Indigenous ways of knowing through song, spoken word, dance and storytelling,” said Burnett, adding the tour is “meant to be a journey to reawaken our senses and reconnect with the world around us.”
Niagara Parks chair Bob Gale said travel experiences that allow visitors to learn about and immerse themselves in local Indigenous culture in unique and authentic ways are in high demand, especially across Canada.
“The Niagara region is home to an incredibly rich Indigenous history and experiences such as this audio tour help to share that history with both local residents and the millions of guests that visit Niagara each year,” said Gale.
The Niagara Glen is home to four kilometres of rugged hiking paths that wind through the pristine pocket of Carolinian Forest, taking guests on a journey past prehistoric rock formations, hundreds of at-risk species of flora and fauna and breathtaking lookouts to take in the beauty of the Niagara Gorge and swirling whirlpool rapids of the Niagara River, said Niagara Parks.
At the ceremony Saturday morning, guests were welcomed by music from award-winning Native American (Kiowa/Comanche/Tuscarora) singer-songwriter, actor, author and health psychologist, Darryl Tonemah. The ceremony began with a message of welcome and thanksgiving by Indigenous elder Grandmother Jackie Labonte, followed by remarks on behalf of the Niagara Parks Commission by Chair Bob Gale and the Niagara Parks Foundation by Director Sylvie Chartrand-Rafi.
Kris Dube, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Niagara-on-the-Lake Local
