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A talk about the Champlain monument with Dr. Michael Stevenson

He concluded that the statue remains of value to the modern-day Orillia although the issue remains controversial
2018-04-25 stevenson champlain.jpg
Dr. Michael Stevenson, professor at Lakehead University in Orillia, shared his research into the history of Orillia’s Samuel de Champlain Monument at a recent public forum.

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ORILLIA MUSEUM OF ART AND HISTORY
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Dr. Michael Stevenson, professor at Lakehead University in Orillia, shared his research into the history of Orillia’s Samuel de Champlain Monument to a large crowd at the Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH). 

It was a timely topic, as Parks Canada dismantled the monument last fall, and it appears that it will be returned to Couchiching Beach Park in May. There are varying opinions on what should be done with the statue.

The issue of how societies remember conflict is one focus of Dr. Stevenson’s research areas. He stated that the last decades of the 19th and early 20th centuries were probably among the most prolific periods of monument building in the British Empire. Today, academic focus on the commemoration and memorialization of these events is intense. Dr. Stevenson’s study of the Champlain Monument has stimulated an interest in the topic of the representation of Indigenous people in historical memory through monuments, art and literature.

C. H. Hale, president of the Orillia Board of Trade and publisher of the Orillia Packet, spearheaded the creation of the sculpture to promote the town. A major international competition was held for the sculpting of the monument. British sculptor Vernon March, who was awarded the contract, would later go on to design the National War Memorial in Ottawa. Scholars in Canada were roundly critical of March’s early designs representing the monument’s side panels of 'Commerce' and 'Christianity'. Dr. Stevenson pointed out that there was no criticism of the posing of the side panels that depicted the Huron figures below the Europeans.

The unveiling of the Champlain Monument in May 1925 was the biggest one-day celebration in Orillia’s history, with dignitaries from across Canada in attendance. Vernon March was on hand to supervise its construction. The event was reported around the world. There was an historical re-enactment that did not include Indigenous participants. The focus of the event was the importance of harmonious French-English relations in Canada that were the long-term legacy of Champlain’s explorations in North America.  

The Champlain Monument continued to be a proud symbol for many Orillians for many decades, but Indigenous discontent about the legacy of colonialism and their treatment at the hands of the government grew in strength, beginning in the 1980s, and forced the reconsideration of monuments depicting Indigenous people in the historical narrative of Canada.

As one example, Dr. Stevenson described the campaign to alter the Hamilton MacCarthy monument to Champlain at Nepean Point in Ottawa. Eventually, the Anishinaabe scout was removed from the base of that monument and placed separately in Major’s Hill Park. Similarly, protests against the statue to Louis Riel, unveiled in 1971, eventually led to it being replaced by a statue showing him as a respected Father of Confederation. In Orillia, these same forces caused complaints to grow against the portrayal of the Indigenous people in the Champlain Monument. John Wesley Oldham of the United Church led a campaign to have a new interpretive plaque placed at the base, while leaving the monument untouched. There was no action by Parks Canada to make this happen.

Dr. Stevenson concluded that the statue remains of value to the modern City of Orillia, and the issue remains controversial, as evidenced by the vandalism incident in 2006. He then opened up the floor to a lively discussion among people with varying views on the monument, providing his insight into the topic from an historical perspective. Attendees went away with a better understanding of the history behind the creation of the monument of Samuel de Champlain and an appreciation of the differing viewpoints.

The 2017-18 Speakers Series continues at OMAH at 7:30 p.m. on May 16, with OPP Inspector (retired) Irena Lawrenson’s talk about Restorative Justice and its use within Ontario’s Judicial and Indigenous Communities. Restorative justice, a different way of addressing conflict and crime, has been part of Canada’s criminal justice system for over 40 years, and yet little is known about it. What is it? How does it work? Why may there soon be a resurgence? Admission to the History Speaker’s Evenings are free, donations to OMAH are welcome.

Tickets for the Carmichael Art History Lecture scheduled for May 9 are on sale at $15 per person at OMAH. Please join us to hear guest speaker Brian Harris’s talk about Canoe Lake and the mysterious death of noted artist Tom Thomson.

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