CONCEPT

BACKGROUND

The concept of a First Nations Garden has been evolving for more than half a century now. In fact, the idea of a garden featuring "Indian" medicinal plants was included in the initial plans drawn up by Brother Marie-Victorin, the Montréal Botanical Garden's founder, and landscape architect Henry Teuscher. Marie-Victorin's successor, Jacques Rousseau, was a pioneer in Native studies in Québec.

OBJECTIVE

The main objective of the First Nations Garden is to illustrate the close bonds that Amerindians and the Inuit have always had with the plant world. Native knowledge of plants and the various ways they are used are showcased.

This new garden gives the Botanical Garden an ideal opportunity to play its role as a centre of learning and a storehouse of knowledge in natural science, enriched with traditional First Nations wisdom.

CONCEPT

The Botanical Garden and a committee of First Nations representatives agreed on a set of guidelines and criteria to be integrated into the project concept and design.

The theme of the First Nations Garden revolves around a number of considerations, all of them linked to the knowledge, cultivation and use of plant species. The themes are reflected throughout the site, divided into different interpretation zones. The Garden introduces visitors to the eleven First Nations of Québec. They are presented in the three different parts of the Garden according to the types of forests in which their communities are based: the softwood forest, the hardwood forest and the Nordic zone. In Québec, the different nations are located as follows: the Abenaki, Huron-Wendat, Malecite, Micmac and Mohawk are found in the St. Lawrence Valley; farther north are the Attikamek, Cree, Innu, Naskapi and Algonquin; finally, in the Nordic zone, the Inuit, Cree and Naskapi share the same territory.

LAYOUT

Set between the Chinese and Japanese Gardens and the Flowery Brook, the First Nations Garden is bounded on the east by the Alpine Garden and on the west by the ponds and the willow grove. The First Nations Garden is divided into five zones. Four will be used for interpretation as such, and the other is a zone for presentations and gatherings, to accommodate special events.

The first three zones essentially evoke the main ecosystems portrayed in the First Nations Garden:

• Hardwood forest
  In the St. Lawrence Valley and to the south
• Softwood forest
  Boreal
• Nordic zone
  Tundra and forested tundra

The fourth zone is the interpretation pavilion. While its architecture is decidedly contemporary, it blends gracefully into its surroundings in the First Nations Garden. Its designers refer to it as a "non-building."

The fifth zone is located on an island next to the pond. It is basically a visitor activity and gathering area for events and activities organized by the First Nations and the Botanical Garden.

Finally, water, which is so vitally important to the First Nations, is present in two forms. A stream flows from east to west, through the interpretation pavilion and into the pond, and the pond itself is integrated into the structure of the Garden.

While the knowledge and know-how presented often date back several thousand years, visitors will see how ancestral wisdom and handicraft traditions are still very much alive today, and that nature is a central preoccupation in Native life, even though the tools used have changed with the influence of modern technology. The interpretation aspect will illustrate how the First Nations have evolved and taken their place in contemporary society.

TECHNICAL DATA

Area of the First Nations Garden 25 000 m²
Area of the pavilion and covered space 415 m²

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HORTICULTURAL CHALLENGES IN THE FIRST NATIONS GARDEN

Planting trees

Treading lightly

A peat bog in Montréal

Evolving ecosystems

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SPECIES IN THE GARDEN

There are many different plant species in the First Nations Garden, planted in the various zones so as to portray the natural ecosystems. These plants were once used for making everyday objects, for food, medicine, etc., and many still are. They are grouped according to various themes, including seasonal activities, dwellings made from plants, tool and equipment making, medicinal uses and the perception and role of plants. Here are a few of the stars in the First Nations Garden, along with their uses.

Corn
Zea mays

Plants in season
Coptis trifolia Cornus canadensis Clintonia borealis Gaultheria hispidula

Sugar maple
Acer saccharum

Birch
Betula papyrifera

The Tree of Peace
Pinus strobus

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QUÉBEC IN 2001 AND NATIVE CULTURES IN QUÉBEC

There are eleven nations in Québec, representing close to 75,000 individuals and 55 communities dotted around the province. Some of them are located far from the major urban centres and have only a few hundred inhabitants, while others are small towns with a few thousand residents, sometimes located near large cities like Montréal and Québec City. Nine Native languages are spoken in Québec today. In addition, these communities are highly active on the cultural, political and economic scene. They run numerous businesses involved in tourism development, forestry, fishing and the arts. Their cultures are being passed along, maintaining traditions yet adapting to the modern world.

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MEDIA RESOURCES

Marketing and Communications
Montréal Botanical Garden
Tel.: (514) 872-1427
Fax: (514) 872-4917

The Botanical Garden is located at the corner
of Pie-IX and Sherbrooke streets,
near the Olympic Stadium and the Pie-IX metro station.

Botanical Garden
4101, rue Sherbrooke Est
Montréal, Québec
Canada H1X 2B2

Information: 514 872-1400

Website :
www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/jardin

Media and tourism industry
Website :
www.ville.montreal.qc.ca/jardin/medias

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