Indigenous residents want Sir John A. Macdonald statue out of downtown Hamilton
For Audrey Davis, the statue of Sir John A. Macdonald in downtown Hamilton is a daily reminder of the country's long oppression of Indigenous people.
He's a mass murderer. He had an agenda, which was not a good agenda," says Davis, who's executive director of the Hamilton Regional Indian Centre.
Last's week announcement that ground-penetrating radar had found what are believed to be the remains of 215 children on the grounds of a former residential school in Kamloops, B.C., has renewed calls to remove the bronze of Canada's first prime minister from Gore Park.
Macdonald, who was prime minister from 1867 to 1873 and again from 1878 to 1891, played a prominent role in establishing the notorious government-funded, church-run schools where thousands of children were abused and died.
Davis finds little sense - or sound moral judgment - in celebrating a figure that laid the foundation for such a destructive system that led to more than a century of generational trauma that reverberates in Indigenous people today.
The Macdonald statue is no different than a monument to Adolf Hitler, the Nazi dictator who sent millions of Jews to the gas chambers during the Second World War, she says.
I don't think we need to honour or acknowledge or show recognition for people who have done so much harm. So I'm totally in support of removing it."
Such demands for the 2.5-metre likeness of Macdonald - which dates to 1893, two years after he died - from downtown's signature park is on Coun. Nrinder Nann's radar.
But Nann says she awaits input from the Indigenous community before deciding whether to present a motion to her council colleagues.
A city staff audit of colonial markers in Hamilton - an effort that's part of the municipality's urban Indigenous strategy - is also expected before councillors in July, she said. But Nann made it clear she'd like the Macdonald statue gone.
Personally, I believe it should be removed immediately and placed into storage until such time that the colonial audit is complete and recommendations for an appropriate contextualization of the monument that is reflective of the truth and atrocities of the Indian Act and residential school system are identified."
So far, opinions from councillors who responded to The Spectator's request for comment about the Macdonald statue have been mixed.
Like Nann, Coun. Maureen Wilson said Indigenous residents must be consulted first, and thus I would not support any kind of unilateral action" on the municipality's part.
Our actions must be informed by what the Indigenous communities tell us and what is in keeping with Truth and Reconciliation," Wilson said, referring to the years-long federal commission that examined residential schools, the last of which closed in 1996.
Coun. Jason Farr said he'd certainly welcome" a citywide engagement" on the question of removing historical monuments or names of facilities and streets, but also noted the pending staff report.
Apart from that, if our local Indigenous leaders approach council with a concept to recognize someone they feel is a historical figure that should be recognized by statue or monument, I would both welcome and support that."
The Macdonald statue should stay put and a new one to honour the young residential school victims should be erected, Coun. Sam Merulla said.
Our goal should always be to create awareness of the atrocities, so that these types of crimes against humanity never occur again."
Likewise, Coun. Tom Jackson opposes removing the bronze, which he likens to dismantling history."
Instead, Jackson said, he'd strongly support" the creation of a monument to the greatest chief" of Six Nations, as deemed appropriate" by Indigenous communities, to be situated beside the Macdonald statue.
But Tehakanere, who's from Six Nations and recently moved to Hamilton, says the statue of the residential school system's key architect" must go immediately.
Tehakanere is so tired" of seeing the bronze every time he's in the area. It makes me feel disrespected. It makes me feel angry because that statue is there to honour him," the Mohawk language teacher said.
The time for more meetings is long gone," he says, noting other municipal councils, including most recently in Charlottetown, have opted to remove Macdonald monuments.
Robin McKee, a local historian and member of the Sir John A. Macdonald Society in Hamilton, argues the Confederation-era Tory is getting a bad rap in the media instead of praise as a great nation builder.
He was creating a country with everything that we have today at once, and that's why he became sir,'" he said.
If you think he's the architect of the residential schools," McKee added, then all the other Canadian prime ministers are complicit."
Cindy Sue Montana McCormack, however, says Macdonald can't be extricated from his foundational role in creating an abusive regime that has resulted in disproportionate social ills among Indigenous people, including homelessness.
It was Sir John A. Macdonald, unfortunately, who was in power at the time that these types of genocidal policies were perpetrated," said Montana McCormack, acting executive director of the Coalition of Hamilton Indigenous Leadership.
Accounts of unmarked graves at residential school sites have been heard for years, especially among Indigenous communities.
But when the news from Kamloops broke, it opened fresh wounds for many, and frustration over not being taken seriously in the past, Montana McCormack says.
The anger was there. I had to escape out of the house and be out in the fresh air, and try clear my mind and think in a better way."
Like Audrey Davis, she uses the Hitler comparison to explain why the Macdonald statue must go. What would the councillors being saying then? Would they be like, Oh, we need to go back to the Jewish community and see what they say?'"
Shane Pennells, whose biological mother survived residential schools, contends the Macdonald statue shouldn't be removed.
Whether I agree with the morals of the time or not, he has to be seen as a product of those times," said the writer and filmmaker.
Removing history that's offensive or uncomfortable is dangerous," Pennells said, noting he's no fan of the statue.
He offers a suggestion a friend made: A statue of residential school survivors with an explanatory plaque facing Macdonald.
So that people can judge for themselves and get informed for themselves in their own search for truth," he said. Because I really do believe that if we remove history that's uncomfortable, we are going to repeat it."
The Indian Residential Schools Crisis Line is available 24-hours a day for anyone experiencing pain or distress as a result of a residential school experience. Support is available at 1-866-925-4419.
Teviah Moro is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: tmoro@thespec.com