Was Toronto the site of a bloody and brutal battle that wiped out a whole people? Why is the Sunrise Records at Bloor and Yonge of historical significance? And where exactly are Toronto's ancient Indian burial grounds?

These and other questions are answered in a new series of interactive tours being run by the Native Canadian Centre as part of a larger effort to embrace the city's pre-conquest history. Toronto is sometimes called a forgetful city --  the constant evolution of condos and commerce all cramming for space with little appreciation for what was there before -- but its First Nations history is being given a welcome, if long overdue, boost by Phil Cote, a Toronto-based artist and historian, and Jon Johnson, a professor of Indigenous Studies at York University, the lead tour guides. The series, called The Great Indian Bus Tours, offers the public a chance to explore the city's indigenous history, aboriginal wars, lifestyles, medicines, and forms of government. Toronto might be racing into the twenty-first century, but it was once the home of farmers and hunter-gatherers, burial grounds, and historic battles, and Cote sees his role to bring that history to light.

"Toronto has a rich aboriginal history but very few people know about it," he says. "Our job is to change that."

The tours are part of a growing movement to embrace the city's aboriginal history. St. Michael's Hospital, for example, is currently establishing an Indigenous Knowledge Network to collect oral histories from elders in Ontario and Saskatchewan, focusing on birthing, pregnancy and parenting practices. The premise is to help aboriginals reconnect with traditional knowledge that was lost during the residential school experience, and incorporate this into community health programs. The CBC has also taken a similar approach and is currently recording oral histories and creation stories from across Canada as part of its Legends Project. The aim is to archive unique traditions and practices, and broadcast them to a wider public on shows like Ideas, before it's too late.

"We want to increase our presence in Toronto," says Rebeka Tabobondung, who works as a researcher on the St. Michael's project. "This is part of the movement of indigenous people to document their knowledge."

The tours visit burial grounds, like the one that used to be at the Sunrise Records at Bloor and Yonge (but, unfortunately, was razed in the mid-1800s) or the very visible one at the aptly-named Indian Mound Crescent, a quiet suburban Scarborough street, where a grassy knoll in Tabor Hill Park covers an ossary containing the bones of close to 500 Iroquois people, who were buried about 1250 A.D. Although the burial was disrupted in 1956 when the archaeologist Walter Kenyon disinterred the bones, they were subsequently reburied at the original site with a special indigenous ceremony.

Standing on top of the burial ground on an overcast and drizzly day, Cote and Johnson quietly stop their lecture, close their eyes, say a prayer and offer a gift of tobacco.

"Our ancestors still have a connection to this earth even though they've passed on to the spirit world," Johnson explains of the ceremony. "They look out for the present generation and still provide guidance."

One reason for the tours, explains Cote, is to correct existing misperceptions about aboriginal history, like the common belief that they were merely hunter-gatherers. Instead, Cote and Johnson discuss archaeological evidence that suggests they farmed squash, beans, and corn in the Toronto area. During a walk through the grasslands that surround the Evergreen Brick Works, they point out different plants, explaining how they were used for medicines. For example cedar leaves were used to make a tea high in Vitamin C, milkweed was used to clean out the liver, and the sumac tree was used for abortions, explains Johnson. "They had over 400 different sorts of plants they used."

Sometimes the tours, like any good history book, focus on stories that aren't particularly flattering to their subjects. While First Nations are sometimes presented as entirely peace loving, the tour discusses several bloody battles, including a late 17th century massacre.  The Iroquois "axed and sliced" an entire Southern Ontario people (or about 40 families) called the Petun out of existence, says Cote. "This was a very wealthy area, and there was a lot of heavy fighting between the different nations in their attempt to gain control of the fur trade."

The Great Indian Bus Tours seeks to deepen contemporary knowledge about Toronto's natives, but they also mark a changing approach in First Nation communities themselves. Indigenous knowledge has not always been willingly shared. The experience of residential schools, and decades of disenfranchisement had left some with cultural amnesia, and others profoundly distrustful about sharing their history. That is changing, Cote says, as people try to move on from those experiences. "These kind of things stop you from feeling secure about sharing anything," Cote says. But "they are fading into the past, and the younger generation really want to know who they are and where they came from. We are doing these tours to educate others, but also to pass on the knowledge to the next generation."  

Cost of tours per person ranges from $20-$25, and schedule depends on demand. Groups tours are also available. Contact the Native Canadian Centre for more details.

Photo 2, 3, 4 - Tour locations: The bluffs at Davenport and Spadina upon which Casa Loma rests are the original shoreline of Lake Ontario.

Photo 5 - Tour location: Fort York

Photo 5, 6 - Tour location: Evergreen Gardens

Alexandra Shimo is an author and journalist based on the Ossington strip. She has lived in several cities, including London, New York and Washington D.C. and is now proud to call the T-dot her home.