Public Space Essay: The Forks

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History: productions & uses

The Forks is located exactly where it is because of the abundant resources of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers joining, and it has witnessed many historical events of Canadian history. British colonists arrived 1734-present but The Forks has had the presence of the indigenous tribes for 6000 years/4000 B.C.E. they had been using it as a trading hub to gather provisions & as a spot to rest between seasonal migrations from northern forests to southern plains before the colonists arrived. This is the reason why the colonists built Fort Rouge near The Forks, to learn to be permanent residents & take advantage & of a place that has deep roots in beings the centre of trade and exploration. The Forks is at the nucleus of Winnipeg & it is the hearth that spread the dispersion of the colonial settlements in the prairies. Paragraph source page 9.

Timeline of different powers using The Forks after colonists arrived:

1. Fur Trade [<1870]

• Hudson’s Bay Company

2. Post-Fur Trade & Settlement [1870–1900]

• Canadian Pacific Railway - major railway development interconnecting the world

3. Government of Canada [1850-1900]

• Obtained The Forks lands by signing Treaty 1 with Cree & Ojibway

4. Industrial & Commercial Development [1900–1970s]

• Grand Trunk Pacific Railway - rise in transportation

5. Heritage & Renewal Efforts [1980s–2000s]

• Building public space, archaeological impact studies & heritage monitoring were done bring back culture

6. Cultural and Recreational [2000s–Present]

• Canadian Museum for Human Rights [2003-2014]

Making indigenous peoples (IPs) sign treaties they didn't understand has resulted in generations/centuries of suffering, displacement, social injustices, environmental racism, & human right violations for IPs that still continue today.

Example of environmental racism tied to present day:

• Shoal Lake 40 IPs [1991– 2021]: Winnipeg's drinking water comes from here yet the indigenous community living right next to Shoal Lake did not have road access or clean water to use and were under boil advisory. Local IPs were put on the back burner over the city of Winnipeg, even though the live right next to the lake, the problem was solved in 2021. This case says a lot about the government & people in power even in modern day, because it took them 30 years to solve a problem, and only solved it after there was public activism around the issue. When they likely have known about the issue for decades because the Shoal Lake IPs must have written to the government about their water problem.

Also, painting the reputation of IPs in a negative manner has an massive impact on the way society perceives IPs. In a anti-black encouraged society Nova scotia Africville's black residents were discriminated against [via: environmental hazards, displacing the residents by taking their property, not providing them with proper housing & not paying the residents the true cost of their land]

• Reputation example: I have personally heard comments about people around me not understanding why they need to pay more in taxes to provide for IPs, because IPs add nothing to society and just abuse substances. People do not try to understand why IPs are more likely to end up in these negative lifestyles, reasons like IPs not having proper environments to thrive. Also the fact that we are immigrants on their land and if we were actually to pay the true cost of the land/treaties colonists conned IPs out of, it would be pennies compared to taxes we pay. Though it can be argued that this tax and payment should be the government/crown's responsibility since this is their doing. But, I also think too much aid in the form of direct money maybe bad because people don't respect things if they haven't worked hard for it. I hope we give the treaty lands back to IPs, but it seems unrealistic because there is so much money and profit for the people involved. Also, so many generations of landlord-ship have taken place, that are not even linked to the colonists.

IPs in Canada and The Forks are likely still treated differently because of these biases and stereotypes.

I believe there should be better designs, resources, environments and incentives set to pull IPs into educating themselves to learn laws and recognize injustice. Technology and the ease of modern activism is good in this aspect, that IPs can no longer suffer in isolation and have their voices silence, because they can gather support easily via the internet and force the government’s hand into action like Shoal Lake.

Media representations:

The Government of Canada website for The Forks National Historic Site advertises the in-depth history of The Forks from 1734-present and only mentions a short paragraph about indigenous peoples using The Forks since 6000 years ago. This seems like a injustice to indigenous peoples as their long 6000 year history over the short 300 year colonial one, is not even given the importance more than 3 sentences. The different tribes from different regions are given the courtesy of being named, instead they are mentioned as First Nations' groups. This shows the deep rooted assimilation of trying to hide the historical importance and presence this site held for the livelihood of indigenous peoples. I suppose I am doing the same injustice right now by not mentioning all the tribes present/active in The Forks area before 1734, the only information I can find is the current indigenous peoples [Cree, Ojibway, Dakota, Ojibway-Cree and Dene] present in Manitoba. Not enough investigation and journalism has been done to learn about indigenous history before 1734. We need to do this soon before more information is lost through generations, because this is a from of assimilation as future generations forget what they are owed or what wronged them. The government will feel less entitled to pay to IPs because they are no longer fighting because the cannot remember what they have lost.

Another way the government does not show appreciation is language because there are no indigenous languages as official languages. This will also likely not change because language is one of the biggest assimilation tactics because once people start thinking in the same languages as colonists they are easier to control because they now have the same values, and will slowly assimilate into the wider population as parents stop passing down culture/language. It is the start of how a language dies

Current use & personal experiences:

The Forks is filled with communal areas and activities like the following, plus others that I haven't included pictures of like boating, skate parks, festivals and community gatherings (pride parade, folklorama, & etc.).

The Provencher Bridge:

There are many run club meets at The Forks in the mornings, they meet up at The Forks Market and go running around The Forks. It is a good way to familiarize yourself with the area, running in this public space has helped me memorize its layout and the surrounding area of The Forks.

My opinions on The Forks:

Currently when I go to The Forks I feel good because of running clubs and social gatherings I have gone to there. It is easy to lose perspective at The Forks the perspective of its origins because it is a well maintain site because it is a tourist hub. Canada probably doesn't want to leave a bad impression on foreigners. I think The Forks could use a indigenous touch in whatever way they want to represent themselves, and I think that after that The Forks could use more of a multicultural touch like different ethnic shops not shops that are just catered towards tourism. My mind only drifts to thinking about the indigenous origins of the site when I saw indigenous protestors of the red dress movement camping in tents between the Human Rights Museum and The Provencher Bridge. It made me curious and a little afraid for my safety, but happy that these people were spreading awareness for missing and murdered indigenous girls and women.

I have yet to visit the Human Rights Museum and wonder if the history of The Forks is accurately represented there, no matter how controversial or horrible the crimes, because I think a country should share there mistakes so that future generations can learn from them and not make the same mistakes. Also, the Museum would be a good spot for field trips for kids, I remember having field trips to The Forks as a kid and I can only recall the single train cart filled with candy in the parking lot of The Forks Market, which has now been converted to a bicycle shop. It would be cool if the kids learn the history of The Forks interactively at the Human Rights Museum, like they do at the Manitoba Children's Museum with trains, so that they could learn to appreciate the land and its original stewards.

Interview:

With my Manager Amanda at work. These videos contain parts of our casual talk about The Forks.

The Forks ideal location has make it a thriving provider to its inhabitants for 1000s of years - for migration, colonists settlements, fur trade, train transportation, or immigration. Then after the rehabilitation effort of making The Forks a Historical Site the renewal team has transformed The Forks into a thriving public space, that brings a lot of tourism 4 million visitors every year & "contributes $126 million a year to the local economy, and is financially self-sufficient, & doesn't rely on government funding to operate." The Forks does this by focusing on aspects like reconciliation with indigenous peoples, historical preservation, and environmental sustainability. It is taking the right steps to bring awareness to the harm done to IPs & reconsolidate with IPs.

Clayton H. Riddell Faculty of Environment, Earth, and Resources, University of Manitoba 

GEOG 2640: Geography of Culture and Inequality 

Dr. Olga Shugurova 

Aastha Kapoor (7876778)