Media Release
June 21, 2026
Niagara Geopark, The Brown Homestead, and Niagara Academy for Indigenous Relations Mark National Indigenous Peoples Day with New Initiative and Installation of Indigenous Trails Network Digital Platform and Sites Digital Platform and Sign.
Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario — On National Indigenous Peoples Day, Niagara Geopark, The Brown Homestead, and the Niagara Academy for Indigenous Relations are proud to announce a new collaborative relationship grounded in truth-telling, historical understanding, and reconciliation.
As an early expression of this new collaboration, the three organizations are pleased to unveil a new interpretive sign on The Brown Homestead property featuring a map with link to the digital platform entitled Indigenous Trails Network of the Niagara Region. The installation recognizes Niagara as a place deeply shaped by Indigenous movement, knowledge systems, diplomacy, and stewardship for thousands of years.
The digital map highlights important Indigenous trails, routes, and culturally significant sites throughout Niagara, offering visitors a deeper understanding of the region as an Indigenous landscape long before colonial settlement. It invites residents and visitors alike to reconsider Niagara through the lens of Indigenous history and presence.
“This project helps restore an understanding of Niagara that has too often been overlooked,” said Tim Johnson, project director and president of the Niagara Academy for Indigenous Relations. “The trails and sites represented here tell a story of movement, connection, diplomacy, and relationship. They remind us that Indigenous history is not something confined to the past — it is living, present, and foundational to understanding this region.”
“If we are serious about deepening our connection with the Earth and contributing to an improved quality of life for all who live here, Indigenous knowledge must be embedded at the very core of our work,” said Perry Hartwick, chair of the Niagara Geopark. “This new platform will allow us all to travel the pathways used by Indigenous people for thousands of years and experience some of the many ancient cultural sites that exist throughout the Region.”
Additionally, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between The Brown Homestead and the Niagara Academy becomes effective on June 21, 2026, National Indigenous Peoples Day.
The partnership between The Brown Homestead and the Niagara Academy also creates new opportunities to examine the nuanced historical relationship between the Mohawk people and Palatine German settlers, beginning in colonial New York in the early 1700s and extending into the Niagara Peninsula.
“As a colonial-era historic site, we have a responsibility to include voices other than our own to reflect a fuller, more honest story," said Andrew Humeniuk, executive director of The Brown Homestead. "Our partnership with the Niagara Academy for Indigenous Relations is an opportunity to do just that. By drawing on our continuing friendship and alliances, we commit to further exploring the shared histories of Indigenous and settler communities here in Niagara in a way that honours Indigenous knowledge systems, and strengthens our connection to place."
These relationships were often far more complex than conventional colonial narratives suggest. They included cooperation, cultural exchange, shared land use, mutual support, and collective responses to colonial pressures. The history reveals a dynamic relationship shaped by both practical realities and human connection; connections being renewed today.
This important story will be explored further at the upcoming Niagara Roundtable Conference, taking place on September 19, 2026, at the Pillar and Post Conference Centre in Niagara-on-the-Lake. This event is open to the public and available to those who complete an RSVP reservation.
The conference will feature several major presentations examining Indigenous relations, including the historical relationship between the Palatine Germans and the Mohawk Nation. Through historical research and Indigenous perspectives, the presentations will reveal the complex dynamics of coexistence, alliance, adaptation, and resilience that shaped this shared history.
The conference aims to challenge simplistic narratives of Indigenous relations and instead present a fuller account of the social, political, and cultural realities that influenced life in early North America and continue to shape relationships today.
“The story of Indigenous relations in this region extends far beyond recent conversations around reconciliation,” Johnson added. “To understand where we are today, we must examine the deeper histories — histories of encounter, cooperation, conflict, adaptation, and survival. This work is about truth, and truth requires us to look honestly at the relationships that shaped Niagara over the past four hundred years.”
Guided by principles of respect, reciprocity, accuracy, inclusivity, and sustainability, the partnership between Niagara Geopark, The Brown Homestead, and the Niagara Academy reflects a shared commitment to ensuring these histories are researched, interpreted, and communicated with integrity and with Indigenous perspectives at the forefront.
Together, these organizations look forward to building meaningful educational programming, research initiatives, and public dialogue that deepen the understanding of Niagara’s layered histories and contribute to reconciliation through knowledge, relationship, and truth telling.
Funding for the project came from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario.
About the Niagara Academy for Indigenous Relations
The Niagara Academy for Indigenous Relations is dedicated to advancing Indigenous education, historical understanding, cultural awareness, and reconciliation through research, public engagement, and collaborative partnerships.
About The Brown Homestead
The Brown Homestead is a historic site in St. Catharines committed to preserving rural Niagara history, celebrating heritage conservation and craftsmanship, fostering public education, and supporting meaningful community engagement around heritage, cultural landscapes, and stewardship.
About the Niagara Geopark
Niagara Geopark is a Canadian registered educational charity dedicated to deepening the connection to Niagara's geologic heritage and enhancing the understanding of key issues facing society, such as the use of the Earth's resources sustainably and mitigating the effects of climate change. The Geopark is working to establish a world-class UNESCO Global Geopark designation for Niagara.
Media Contacts:
Andrew Humeniuk
Executive Director – The Brown Homestead
ahumeniuk@thebrownhomestead.ca
Tim Johnson
President - Niagara Academy for Indigenous Relations
niagaraacademy1764@gmail.com
Perry Harwick
President – Niagara Geopark
