As is stated in the University of Toronto’s Acknowledgement of Traditional Land, the University is located on the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and the Mississaugas of the Credit. Although there are many published sources on Indigenous presence in Toronto, there is a relative dearth of published scholarship on the specific subject of Indigenous presence on what is now University land. Sources that are available on this subject pertain to historical erasure, appropriated human remains, and the history and current revitalization efforts surrounding the now-buried river, Ziibiing (Taddle Creek).

The following article discusses University College President Daniel Wilson’s 1884 public repudiation of Indigenous history in Toronto. As is also discussed, Wilson stole human remains from an Indigenous burial site (now known as the Markham Ossuary) and donated them to the University. In 1890, Wilson became the President of the University of Toronto.

Freeman, Victoria. “‘Toronto Has No History!’ Indigeneity, Settler Colonialism, and Historical Memory in Canada’s Largest City.” Urban History Review / Revue d’histoire Urbaine 38, no. 2 (2010): 21–35. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43560271.

Ziibiing, later renamed by settlers as Taddle Creek, is a river that once flowed through land that is now part of the University of Toronto campus. The river, which had long been a significant waterway for Indigenous groups, was dammed by the University in 1859 to create McCaul’s Pond before being subsequently buried in 1884 due to severe sewage issues. Today, parts of the river are now buried beneath Hart House and Philosopher’s Walk.

The following sources discuss Taddle Creek/Ziibiing’s significance to Indigenous groups and its history in relation to the U of T campus and settler history more broadly.

Borrows, John. Recovering Canada : The Resurgence of Indigenous Law. University of Toronto Press, 2002. (See “Introduction” and “Afterword: Philosopher’s Walk – The Return.”)

Court, John P.M. “An Erosion of Imagination: Unfulfilled Plans for a University Botanical Gardens and Taddle Creek, 1850-1884.” Ontario History XCV, no. 2 (2003): 167–91. https://hdl.handle.net/1807/90065.

Court, John P.M. “Taddle Me No Tales,” 1998. https://hdl.handle.net/1807/100599.

Georgiou, Bob. “When Taddle Creek Stank: Why the River Was Lost.” Scenes From Toronto (blog), September 7, 2021. https://scenesto.com/2021/09/07/when-taddle-creek-stank-the-reason-why-the-river-was-lost/.  

Holden, Alfred. “The Forgotten Stream : The Real Taddle Creek – A brief History.” Taddle Creek, December 1997. https://www.taddlecreekmag.com/the-forgotten-stream.

Holden, Alfred. “Taddle Creek: Lost to View but Found in Memory.” University of Toronto Magazine, 1995.

Howard, Heather A. (Bobiwash) and A. Rodney Bobiwash. “Toronto’s Native History.” First Nations House Magazine 1, iss. 1 (2008), 6-9. https://issuu.com/fnhmagazine/docs/1fnhmag.

Kerr, Cameron. “Tracing Taddle Creek: The rise, fall, and revival of the waterway that once flowed through U of T.” The Varsity Magazine: Faultlines (Winter 2022): 38-40. https://issuu.com/thevarsity/docs/faultlines_winter_2022.

Sousa, Eduardo. “Re-Inhabiting Taddle Creek.” In HTO : Toronto’s Water from Lake Iroquois to Lost Rivers to Low-Flow Toilets, edited by Wayne Reeves and Christina Palassio, 234–47. Coach House Books, 2008.

Tait, Kim and Mary Burridge. "A History of T.O.'s H2O.” Magazine of the Royal Ontario Museum 43, iss. 4 (Spring 2011), 28-32.

Below are links to map-based projects about Taddle Creek:

Lost Rivers. “Taddle Creek.” Accessed May 28, 2024.  http://lostrivers.ca/content/taddlekey.html.

Lost Rivers. “Anthropocene Immersion: Unearthing Lost Taddle Creek.” Accessed May 28, 2024.

Tameed, Shafiq. “Rediscover Taddle Creek, one of Toronto’s forgotten waterways.” May 1, 2023. https://torontoverse.com/articles/KiHmVNInEeydZAJCrBIAAg/rediscover-taddle-creek-one-of?fbclid=IwAR2YO9DpQLIWzVmM75n0H6hU3sHv8cKFreZIMghESgi0Di1BVP8ab3KDUJ0.

Recent campus revitalization and research projects have focused on the river and its significance to Indigenous communities, partially in responses to the final report of the Steering Committee for the University of Toronto Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

“Indigenous Landscape.” Accessed July 23, 2024. https://indigenouslandscape.utoronto.ca/.

“Indigenous Landscape Design Draws on Community Input, Consultations | University of Toronto.” Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.utoronto.ca/news/indigenous-landscape-design-draws-community-input-consultations.

“Indigenous Landscape Project at U of T’s St. George Campus to Bring History, Culture and Learning to Hart House Green | University of Toronto.” Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.utoronto.ca/news/indigenous-landscape-project-u-t-s-st-george-campus-bring-history-culture-and-learning-hart.

Life @ U of T. “Taddle Creek: The Indigenous Landscape Project,” November 22, 2019. https://blogs.studentlife.utoronto.ca/lifeatuoft/2019/11/22/taddle-creek-the-indigenous-landscape-project/.

Steering Committee for the University of Toronto Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. “Answering the Call: Wecheehetowin: Final Report of the Committee for the University of Toronto Response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.” University of Toronto, January 2017. https://www.provost.utoronto.ca/wp-content/uploads/sites/155/2018/05/Final-Report-TRC.pdf.

“U of T Research ‘collaboratory’ Uses Global Lens to Pursue Community-Based Indigenous Research | University of Toronto.” Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.utoronto.ca/news/u-t-research-collaboratory-uses-global-lens-pursue-community-based-indigenous-research.

ziibiing lab. “The Lab.” Accessed July 23, 2024. https://www.ziibiinglab.org/the-lab.

Below are resources on Indigenous life in Toronto, not specific to the history of the University of Toronto:

Bolduc, Denise, Mnawaate Gordon-Corbiere, Rebeka Tabobondung, and Brian Wright-McLeod, eds. Indigenous Toronto : Stories That Carry This Place. First edition. Toronto: Coach House Books, 2021.

MacDowell, Sara. “The University of Toronto Libraries Research Guide: The Indigenous History of Tkaronto.” Last modified February 22, 2024. https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/Toronto.  

Sanderson, Frances, and Heather Howard-Bobiwash. The Meeting Place : Aboriginal Life in Toronto. Toronto: Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, 1997.