Discover nature’s narratives behind the glowing art installations on our outdoor Heritage Trails courtesy of  Stratford Destination Development Fund 

Stories From Our Community project is generously funded by

Regional Tourism Organization 4 (RTO4)

Featuring five local species that support our 5 acre ecosystem, this attraction is available to all visitors from dusk until dawn, 7 days a week at the Stratford Perth Museum starting December 20, 2025.  

 

Stories From Our Community

This online exhibit endeavours to celebrate Indigenous oral history and biodiversity by providing historical context of natural heritage and stories from our local leaders. We hope to empower our community members and Nations through their voices that embody both the monumental foundations of our identity and a renewal in traditional knowledge sharing. It has been our profound privilege to listen and learn from our Indigenous teachers who continue to steward healthy conversations and conciliation for the benefit of Perth County residents, newcomers, and visitors. Thank you to Patsy Day, Christin Dennis, SP Joseph Lyons, and Eric G. Martin for their tremendous contribution to the Stratford Perth Museum and their continued guidance to preserve our heritage.

Please click on the audio files below to learn more about local oral history.

 

Patsy Day

 

In compliance of the Indian Act of 1876 Patsy’s Mother delivered her at age 6 to the orphanage: Thomas Alway Children’s Home in London. Indigenous women were stripped of their status when they married non native men. This law was in place for nearly 100 years until 1985 after a fourteen year legal battle with the federal government that resulted in Bill C-31 which regained status for Indigenous women in this country.

Patsy was reunited with her birth family in 1989 and soon after earned a teaching degree then taught in her home community of Oneida. She began attending Longhouse ceremonies and learning her traditional language and cultural teachings. When invited, she taught at Thames Valley District Schools and after moving to Huron Perth Patsy began sharing the knowledge and history with the Avon Maitland and Huron Perth Catholic School Boards.

Patsy has earned a Masters of Education Degree and in the past 5 years has facilitated workshops of the 13 Grandmother Moons at the Local Community Food Centre, St. Marys Friendship Centre, Clinton Seniors Centre and begun Oneida language and beading classes at Falstaff Family Centre. She makes herself available to speak to various groups who want to learn more or request a Welcome Address.

She is co-chair of Kaswentha Two Row Now, a group formed to bring awareness of and Indigenous knowledge to all nations resident in Huron Perth.

 

The Creation Story

Select the Play Icon to Listen

 

 

 

Christin Dennis

 

Christin Dennis has been a resident of North Perth since 2006, along with his wife Helen Shaw and their two sons, Seth Dennis and Sam Dennis. Christin is from Aamjiwnaang First Nation in Sarnia and is a Sixties Scoop Survivor. He is the organizer and facilitator of the Tipi of Huron Perth.

A spiritual healer as well as an artist, Christin stresses the importance of traditional teachings and spiritual growth. As such, he has facilitated sweat lodges for 22 years and emphasizes that awareness of self and one’s place in the world is important for members of both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous cultures. By understanding and embracing the teachings of the ancestral past, Christin seeks to preserve a way of life, share its core values, and help build a vision for our future.

Seven Sacred Laws Story 

By David Courchene & Erica Daniels

Told By Christin Dennis

Select the Play Icon to Listen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

S.P. Joseph Lyons

 

S.P. Joseph Lyons is an award‑winning Anishinaabe Algonquin author and the 2022/2023 recipient of the First Nations Communities Read PMC Indigenous Literature Award for Little Bear in Foster Care, written for primary readers. His additional children’s books include Wolf Pup Finds His Pack and Turtle Hatchling Belongs. Lyons is also the author of young adult fiction, including the DRUX Series and Nootau Tales.

Rooted in his Kitigan Zibi Anishinabeg Algonquin and Nipissing heritage, Lyons carries forward the traditions of the Weskarini, the People of the Deer Clan. As a contemporary storyteller, he uses narrative craft to bridge cultural gaps, promote community well‑being, and preserve collective memory. His work is grounded in lived experience as a child and youth who spent years in foster care and was adopted outside his community. He writes to support Indigenous children navigating similar paths of reclaiming cultural identity.

Through his voice, readers and audiences are invited to deepen understanding, strengthen relationships, and honour the resilience of Indigenous children, families, and Nations.

The Deer Story

By Dr. John Borrows

Told By S.P. Joseph Lyons

Select the Play Icon to Listen

 

 

 

Eric G. Martin

 

My name is Eric G. Martin, and I am a North American Native of the Mohawk and Chippewa tribes of Six Nations Reserve, near Brantford, Ontario, Canada. I currently live with my wife and two kids in Kitchener, Ontario.

My Native name is Gwiish Koshi Nodinin (Whispering Windz) and I am from the Bear Clan.

I am a self-taught artist who began stone carving in 1996, creating stone sculptures from soapstone, marble, alabaster, gypsum and limestone. I also work with antler, bone, wood, metals, precious and semiprecious stone, and sometimes ice!

My work includes pipe making and ink prints.

My art can be found in private and public collections world-wide; most notably I have a carving in Mt. Sinai Hospital in Toronto in their public, permanent viewing collection.  I also have a sculpture and wampum belt in the Harbour Village Museum Collection in Grove, Oklahoma. I have done the cover page design of Native Foods the Native Way book for the Ontario Agri-Food Education and Indian Agricultural Program of Ontario. The Six Nations Post Office uses a cancellation stamp of a Tree of Peace, which I designed.

Also, in recent years, a sculpture has been accepted into Toronto District School Board, Wandering Spirit Native High School as a learning sculpture.

In the Summer of 2023, the sculpture ‘What Did She Bring’ was accepted into the Woodland Cultural Museum Indigenous Art Juried show in Brantford Ontario.

During fall and winter of 2023, ‘Raindance’ was accepted into the Collective Colours juried show at the Homer Watson House and Gallery in Kitchener, Ontario, and in the summer of 2024, was accepted into Woodland Cultural Museum Indigenous Art Juried show. In that same year and show ‘Strawberry Moon’ was accepted at Woodland Cultural Museum which is the longest running indigenous art show going on 50 years strong.

In the fall and winter of 2024, ‘River Dreamz’ tied second place in the ‘Along the Grand’ juried show at the Homer Watson House and Gallery in Kitchener, Ontario.

Knowledge of the Hawk

Select the Play Icon to Listen

 

 

 

Zoological Descriptions of Our Heritage Trail Creatures of Light

You may be lucky enough to spot one or two of these species as you venture through our water runoff site created by

Descriptions courtesy of the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority

 

 

Coyote

Coyotes (Canis latrans) are highly adaptable, intelligent, and misunderstood animals, found across North America from wilderness areas to agricultural areas and city parks. In Stratford, coyotes have long lived near humans. They are generally shy and non-confrontational, preferring to avoid people. Attacks on humans are extremely rare.

Coyotes are opportunistic omnivores. They eat small mammals, birds, eggs, fruit, carrion, and occasionally human-associated food like garbage. This flexibility allows them to thrive in urban areas. Coyotes usually live alone, in pairs, or in small family groups, traveling up to 15 km daily to hunt and patrol their territory. They range in weight from 35 to 45 pounds, although their thick fur often makes them appear heavier than they really are. Ontario’s coyotes are generally hybrids of western coyotes, eastern wolves, and domestic dogs. This unique and historically significant genetic ‘canid soup’ is sometimes called a coywolf, which are larger, resilient, and capable of living alongside humans.

Coyotes provide valuable ecological services, including controlling rodents and helping maintain healthy local ecosystems. Conflicts usually arise when food or pets are left accessible. To live safely alongside coyotes:

* Never feed coyotes or leave pet food outside.

* Store garbage in sealed containers.

* Keep pets indoors or supervised; walk dogs on a leash.

* Educate children about wildlife safety and stay calm if a coyote is encountered.

Coyotes are a reminder that urban and wild spaces are interconnected. By learning to share the landscape, we can safely coexist with these curious, resilient, and fascinating animals.

 

 

Deer

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are one of Ontario’s most recognizable mammals. Deer are highly adaptable: their sharp senses, lightweight bodies, and powerful legs let them move easily through forests, fields, and suburban green spaces. Their specialized stomachs allow them to eat a wide variety of plants, including acorns and poison ivy.

Deer belong to an ancient lineage of hoofed mammals that evolved during the Miocene and have survived ice ages, shifting climates, and the rise and fall of large predators. Today, suburban yards, farmland, and fragmented forests provide abundant food and shelter, allowing populations to thrive. Socially, females form small family groups led by matriarchs, while males are mostly solitary outside the breeding season. Male deer grow and shed antlers each year in a cycle influenced by hormones and daylight.

Coexisting with deer brings both enjoyment and challenges. Vehicle collisions, garden or crop damage, and pressure on forests are common concerns. In areas with high deer populations (often due to fewer natural predators) they can reduce plant diversity, impact tree growth, and affect songbird habitats. Simple actions such as driving cautiously, fencing gardens, and supporting healthy forests can reduce conflicts. By fostering respectful coexistence, we can ensure that these graceful animals continue to move through Ontario’s landscapes with the quiet, enduring presence that has defined them for millennia.

 

 

Muskrat

Muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) are small, semi-aquatic mammals that quietly shape Ontario’s wetlands. Though less widely recognized than their larger counterpart, the beaver, muskrats also play a vital role in maintaining healthy marshes, ponds, and waterways.

Muskrats are perfectly adapted for life at the water’s edge. Their dense, waterproof fur, partially webbed feet, and flattened tail make them strong swimmers, and they can hold their breath for up to 15 minutes. Muskrats are mostly vegetarians, feeding on roots, shoots, and stems of wetland plants. They are also skilled builders, constructing dome-shaped lodges from cattails, mud, and reeds. These lodges provide shelter and create micro-habitats for insects, amphibians, and small fish.

Though often seen only as ripples on a pond or silhouettes paddling through cattails, muskrats play a crucial role in Ontario’s ecosystems. By shaping plant communities and maintaining open-water areas, they help keep wetlands diverse and healthy. Their work as “ecosystem gardeners” supports birds, turtles, frogs, and countless other species.

 

 

Hawk

The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is one of Ontario’s most familiar birds of prey. Its broad wings and distinctive rusty tail make it easy to spot, whether perched on a fence post or soaring above fields and suburbs.

Red-tailed hawks are built for flight. Their wide wings let them soar effortlessly on warm air currents, and their eyesight—many times sharper than humans — allows them to spot prey from great distances. A hawk’s strong, curved talons enable efficient hunting, making them skilled predators. While these hawks feed mainly on rodents, they also eat rabbits, snakes, birds, and occasionally carrion. This adaptability allows them to thrive in diverse habitats, including farmland edges, roadways, and suburban green spaces. Their large stick nests, often reused year after year, provide safe spaces for raising young, with both parents sharing caregiving duties.

Though resilient, red-tailed hawks face modern challenges such as habitat loss, vehicle collisions, and disturbances during nesting. Because they sit at the top of the food chain, the presence of red-tailed hawks is a sign of a healthy ecosystem. By giving these birds space, respecting their nests, and supporting healthy habitats, we can coexist with red-tailed hawks and their soaring silhouettes that serve as a reminder of the wildness that persists alongside us.

 

 

Turtle

The painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) is one of Ontario’s most recognizable turtles, its smooth shell marked with bright red and yellow stripes. Painted turtles are expert swimmers, with webbed feet and streamlined shells that help them glide through ponds and marshes. They can survive harsh winters by slowing their metabolism at the muddy bottom of water bodies, absorbing oxygen through special tissues in their skin and throat.

Painted turtles are omnivores, feeding on aquatic plants, insects, tadpoles, and carrion, helping keep wetlands healthy. Painted turtles often bask together on logs or rocks, sometimes even stacking on top of each other. Females travel to sandy, upland areas to lay eggs, which rely on warm temperatures for incubation. Temperature even determines the sex of hatchlings, making them sensitive to climate change.

Painted turtles face many threats including wetland loss, road mortality during nesting season, pollution, and competition from invasive species. Because they mature slowly and live for decades, losing even a few adults can affect whole populations.

You can help painted turtles by keeping wetlands clean, avoiding disturbing basking turtles, and slowing down on roads near wetlands, especially during nesting season. If you see a turtle crossing a road, safely move it in the direction it was heading. Protecting wetlands and these remarkable reptiles ensures they continue to thrive for generations to come.

 

Sources:

 

Thank you to our project Donors for generously bringing this project to Light!