Before Waterdown was a village, the land was inhabited by Indigenous people.
And Waterdown District High School (WDHS) history teacher Nathan Tidridge has been working for years on a project to represent that history, and what it means in the present day.
Ten years ago, a group of WDHS students worked together with leaders from Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation to form the Souharissen Natural Area.
Now, a new generation of high school students will work on a 7.05-acre piece of the 55-acre natural area, in time for the 10th anniversary of its creation in August.
Council approved $10,000 from Ward 15’s non-property tax revenue account for the project. The project was also approved by Ogimaa Kwe and the Council of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
Waterdown 'inhabited by Indigenous people for a millennia'
Tidridge was at the forefront of the project in 2014, when the natural area was created.
The local resident had noticed a number of archaeological digs were happening close to the land earmarked for Waterdown South housing developments, around 2008.
“In total, 104 Indigenous sites were found,” Tidridge said in a video he made about the project.
Those digs unearthed a wide array of Indigenous artifacts, showing the long history of Indigenous life in the area.
“This land has been inhabited by Indigenous people for a millennia,” he said.
“Nearly every house built here has found objects connecting this land to the thousands that lived here before.”
Since its creation in August 2014, students from WDHS have worked on a handful of projects in the natural area.
Students painted 205 stones to commemorate the unmarked graves found at Kamloops Residential School, built a garden in a donated canoe filled with soil gifted from Rick Hill of the Tuscarora Nation, and planted white oak trees to commemorate the beginning of reforestation in the area, as just a few examples.
Students to work on project at 'The Ponds'
The new funds from the city will go toward student-led projects at 'The Ponds' part of the Souharissen Natural Area.
The Ponds are west of the Trend Condo Towers. According to Tidridge, The Ponds is a popular spot for residents to take a walk. The area is part of the Souharissen Natural Area, but there currently is no signage to inform people of the land's significance.
For the 10-year anniversary, students will erect a monument stone, put up signs acknowledging the space and will find a name for The Ponds that honours the Neutral Confederacy.
A dedication ceremony is planned for the project on June 21, 2024.
