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Home > Library > National Historic Sites Of Canada System Plan > 3. Current Situation - Thematic Representation > Peopling the Land
The activities in Peopling the Land are as old as humanity, but they have been commemorated only recently in Canada. For example, Canada's earliest inhabitants, the ancestors of present-day Aboriginal peoples, were once viewed almost exclusively through archaeology: many National Historic Sites of Canada are places where the physical remains of their ancient settlements were studied by archaeologists. By contrast, in the 1990s, the National Historic Sites program began to recognize the authority of Aboriginal peoples in explaining the location and significance of their special places. This recognition has begun to provide a more complete and nuanced version of the past.
The Canadian government also has recognized important sites where European powers raised the flags in the seventeenth century. The forms of settlement that forged Canada have begun to receive the national recognition they merit. These include the imprint of the seigneurial system on the landscape of Quebec, the strong Ontario influence on Prairie settlement and the distinctive local survey patterns that encouraged others to pioneer in new areas. Historic districts in towns and rural cultural landscapes have been recognized as part of Canadians' legacy of the persistence and innovation of earlier generations. |
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 Port-Royal,
Nova Scotia
Reconstruction
of 1605 French Port
Grand-Pré,
Nova Scotia
Commemorates
Acadian
Settlement
and Expulsion
Wanuskewin,
Saskatchewan
Complex of Plains
Indian Cultural Sites |
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| Much more can be done to help Canadians understand our nation's migration and settlement practices. Recently, Aboriginal peoples in northern Canada have sought recognition for the complexity of their patterns of seasonal land use. There remain, however, significant and distinctive practices associated with other cultures, in other regions, that have yet to be recognized. |
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Stanley Park, British Columbia
Outstanding Large Urban Park |
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Southwold Earthworks, Ontario
Site of Attiwandaronk Indian Village | |
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Grosse Île and the Irish Memorial, Quebec
Quarantine Station for Immigrants 1832-1937 | |
National Historic Sites Of Canada System Plan