In celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day and as part of National Indigenous History Month, Indigenous flags have been placed in the first-floor windows of Town Hall. Pictured clockwise from the top left, the flags represent:
- Anishinaabeg
- Haudenosaunee
- Huron-Wendat
- Métis Nation
- Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
Anishinaabeg Flag
The Chippewas of Saugeen and the Chippewas of Nawash, known collectively as the Saugeen Ojibway Nation are the traditional keepers of this territory, part of the Anishinabek Nation, which reaches back to the Confederacy of Three Fires known as the Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomie Nations.
Today the Anishinabek Nation represents 39 First Nations in Ontario. At the center of the flag is the thunderbird (Animikii).
Haudenosaunee Flag
The Haudenosaunee, Six Nations Confederacy includes the Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca, and Tuscarora. The flag represents the original five Nations and is read from right to left with the first symbol representing the Mohawk, then Oneida, at the center is the Great Tree of Peace representing the Onondaga and to the left of the tree is the symbol for the Cayuga and on the far left the Seneca. Each symbol is connected together as a union of Nations and a path of peace.
Huron-Wendat
The flag of the Huron-Wendat Nation shares symbols of culture, territory, and history including the canoe, snowshoe, hut, sweet grass, clans, beaver, and bustards (bird). At the top and bottom of the flag are belts of wampum. The Wendat were trading partners of the Anishnaabeg and in sites across the region items of the Wendat people have been found.
Métis Nation
The Métis Nation are the descendants of Indigenous and European unions which through time formed a new Indigenous people with a distinct language, history, identity, territory, and culture. The Métis flag includes the infinity sign - a symbol of the immortality of a nation and the joining of two cultures.
Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami
The Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami are the national voice of the Inuit in Canada including the Inuvialuit Settlement Region (Northwest Territories), Nunavut, Nunavik (Northern Quebec), and Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador). The flag includes four Inuit symbolizing the four homeland regions. At the center is a maple leaf and below is a symbol for the ulu, a woman’s traditional knife.