War Resistance in 1812:

Mennonites and Six Nations

2012-02-23T13:53:00.001-05:00

The topic of Mennonites and Six Nationsis not a new one. It's an uncomfortable one in some ways. Mennonitesare implicated in the broken relationships that developed during theperiod following the early 1800s migration to the Waterloo region inparticular.

To my knowledge there has been littlesystematic study of the interactions and relationships betweenvarious First Nations groups and Mennonites during the War of 1812.What I've found in my research indicates that some Mennoniteshad startlingly amicable relations with First Nations while someothers were thornier. There aresome fantastic tales and some embarrassing ones, for those us of whoidentify with Mennonite heritage and are prepared to recognize thebenefits we derived from an unequal relationship between ourancestors and First Nations.

At the Grand River Heritage workshop (Ireferred to in a previous blog) the key highlight for me was RickHill, a First Nations historian. He spoke of a message of peace andsocio-political separatism from the imperial societies in which FirstNations lived.

At times I thought he could have beentalking about Mennonites when he discussed First Nations' attitudestoward the colonial empire. Like Mennonites they didn't reallyidentify with the war as Britain-vs-United States; in many ways theyhad been seeking peace yet they were being asked to wage war on theirrelatives across the border. Some of their “warriors” were simplypaid mercenaries; in fact there were Mennonites who did join themilitia and received financial compensation for it – it wasincredibly meager, but still.

What Rick Hill presented was more of a“people's history”, one which is very hard to access from theavailable sources, since so many First Nations leaders whose identitiessurvive were the very ones who seem to have done more to help the colonizers than the First Nations peoples themselves. He noted that whenever he sees a monument to a First Nations leadererected by Europeans it's usually because those particular peoplehelped whites to achieve their goals, which usually had negative consequences for the First Nations more generally.

It is a complicated history, some ofwhich we're only starting to sort out amid the hype of today and thehistorical perspectives of yesteryears. Rick Hill's presentation alsomentioned the issue of healing through historical study, somethingthat First Nations peoples are longing for, as are many Canadians.

Cutting Edge Heritage!

2012-02-23T08:12:00.000-05:00

Last Friday (Feb 17) I participated as a speakerat the Grand River Heritage Workshop, an annual event focusing onsome aspect of – believe it or not – the heritage of the GrandRiver! The War of 1812 was the focus and I was extremely under-agedfor this particular event, unlike the other heritage events I've know that were teeming with hipsters. I was surprised I didn't get carded.

To my surprise, however, it was CUTTINGEDGE. Seriously. It wasn't a splash of Loyalist-leaning propaganda,awash with valiant war memories, or an undercurrent of nostalgia fora supposedly buff military, but it was largely geared towardacknowledging the pain and devastation of war. It acknowledged that loyalty was not something taken for granted. It should not havebeen a surprise to me since the Grand River watershed saw little ofwar's glory.

[photo of c.1790s cabin of Daniel and Elizabeth (Miller) Hoover near Rainham]

The theme was 'Divided Loyalties' andmy presentation looked primarily at Mennonites and Brethren in Christ(very few Quakers lived within the watershed at that time). It wasnatural for me to deal with the theme of divided loyalties becauseMennonites and Brethren seemed in many cases to have been all tooready to be of service to whichever side of the war came knocking.

They simply weren't interested inresisting evil. Their loyalties were divided between nations, butalso their primary loyalty was to their faith commitments. For examplethere was Daniel and Elizabeth (Miller) Hoover who hosted FirstNations warriors, American raiders, and soldiers from both sides ofthe war. Their home is depicted above. She must have kept quite an interesting guestbook. I can only imagine what the graffiti on the outhouse looked like!

War of 1812: Stupid? Maybe. Important? Yes.

2012-02-20T11:06:00.000-05:00

by Carol Penner

I’veborrowed my title from an article in the Globe and Mail by Jeremy Diamond andDavida Aronovitch (20/02/12). The article uses recent polls to contrast theattitudes in the United States and Canada about war, history and patriotism.The authors speak disparagingly about celebrating a brutal conflict. Insteadthey ask for an investigation into a historical event: what did it mean?

As a Mennonite Christian, I resonatewith this. I’ve been very uncomfortable with any mention of celebration aboutthe War of 1812, and since I live in Niagara, I’ve seen that word a lot in thepast months. Two hundred years may sanitize the battlefields for most people,but the cost in human suffering was real on both sides.

I hope that the coming years willallow us to look at the significance of not just this war, but all wars. “War withthe United States” rings so falsely now, since we are major allies; who knowswhether in 200 years “War with Afghanistan” might also ring falsely.

I am hoping that the anniversary ofthis war (and the anniversary of the declaration of peace in 1814), willencourage peace churches to examine their history, and the significance of thiswar in our own faith journeys. I’m keeping my eyes peeled to see what I canlearn in the coming year!

I am hoping you will do the same. Wouldyou be willing to share your thoughts with our readers on this blog? Send anemail with your blog post to me at the address listed in the sidebar. We would love to hear from you.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/opinions/opinion/the-war-of-1812-stupid-but-important/article2342453/

The bicentennial year is here!!!

2012-01-16T14:32:00.003-05:00

by Jonathan Seiling
So many people have been undertaking projects and preparationsleading up to this year so let the fanfare begin....

Currently there are web pages on the Mennonite Central CommitteeOntario website on this topic. Theycommemorate experience of the historic peace churches in Upper Canada,including Quakers, Brethren in Christ and Mennonites (otherwise known historicallyas the "Society of Friends", the "Tunkers" and"Menonists" in case you're looking for some oddly-spelled propernouns for your next Scrabble match that accepts standard English words not in the dictionary!)

see: http://ontario.mcc.org/warpeace-1812

Visit thesite and you’ll find: 1) an events calendar; 2) the texts and some photos of historicmarkers in Niagara (with translations into French); 3) a link back to thisblog! 4) other materials to be added soon.

The historic markers can be visited in reality and, thanks to theMCCO website, they can be visited in virtual reality. The Quakers' two memorialstones will be set in the spring, one in Port Colborne and one in PortDalhousie. The Mennonite and Brethren in Christ plaques are located next tocemeteries where some the Menonist and Tunker pioneers who experience the Warof 1812 are buried.

The historic markers are the result of planning and collaborationbetween Quaker, Mennonite and Brethren in Christ individuals and groups overthe past couple years. The stones/markers are meant as starting points todiscussions. They are potentially permanent additions to the landscape ofNiagara so that when people run across these markers in post-bicentennialyears, when the pioneers of peace in Upper Canada are once again threatenedwith extinction in our memories, people will see the markers and recall, 'Ohyeah, remember 2012, the year of rigorous discussion on that War Resistance in 1812 blog!"...

A forum in war-full times

2012-01-16T14:31:00.000-05:00

by Carol Penner
Two hundredyears ago, in 1812, groups of Christians in the Niagara Peninsula and otherparts of Upper Canada, refused to participate in the hostilities between theBritish and the Americans. These Christians, from three denominations, (nowknown as) the Quakers, the Brethren in Christ, and the Mennonites, all soughtconscientious objector status from the government. They had been promised thisoption when they first arrived in Canada as immigrants.

What was itlike to be peaceful in a world at war? What did that position cost them, interms of their standing in the community? Were there dissenting voices evenamong these peace churches? How did being peaceful Christians in war-full timesplay out in the lives of women and men of that time?

As Canada andthe United States begin to commemorate the War of 1812, how do we as modern-daypeacemakers respond? How are our beliefs the same or different? What is our relationship to our governmentsin this current war-full time? There are so many questions: we hope this blogwill be a place of lively discussion and dialogue.