The Toronto Islands are a unique and magical place. They have a rich cultural history beginning with the indigenous peoples now known as the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation, for whom the Islands (then a sand spit) had spiritual and hunting importance. When European settlers arrived, they used the Islands for fishing, hunting and recreation: Its hotels, swimming pavilions and amusements attracted day trippers from the Town of York, which bcame the City of Toronto. By the 1870s, seasonal camping had started on the Islands and by the 1880s, cottaging began on its shifting sands. Alongside the Islands’ recreational attractions, the residential community eventually grew to include several thousand people, some of whom lived there year-round. However, in 1954, ownership of the Islands was transferred from the City of Toronto to the newly-created Metro Toronto, which set about demolishing homes to create the Island Park. After a long battle, provincial legislation was passed in 1993 to protect the remaining 250 houses from undergoing the same fate. Today, the Islands consist of a car-free community of 750 people surrounded by a public park which is the largest green space in the city, located less than one mile from downtown Toronto. They also contain Toronto’s first water treatment plant, an airport, a school and an art centre.  The  remaining houses have become a housing trust saving them from further gentrification.

The Toronto Islands have a rich cultural history beginning with the indigenous peoples, to whom the Island continues to have spiritual and cultural importance.  I would like to acknowledge that this work was created on the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabe, the Chippewa, and the Haudenosaunee. I would like to thank the Huron-Wendat for sharing these Islands, known as Mnisiing, where I live and work