Reacquaint the Waters of History The Kaministiquia River By Sarah C.R. Mitchell A practicum submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of the University of Manitoba in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Landscape Architecture Department of Landscape Architecture Faculty of Architecture University of Manitoba Winnipeg, MB Copyright © 2014 by Sarah C.R. Mitchell Dedicated to my parents, Dan & Linda, without whom this would have been impossible Above: At Kakabeka Falls during spring flooding,photograph by Heidi Mitchell, 2012 Cover Photo of this Document: View across Lake Superior towards the Sleeping Giant from Mission Island at the Kaministiquia River Delta ii Cover Photo on Album Case: View of the Kaministiquia Delta and the Nor’Westers from the air, photograph by Ben Mitchell, 2013 Abstract The modern interaction we have with the natural environment surrounding our cities is often limited to designated areas that usually contain manicured trails and other well-signed features. When information is very limited or absent we often avoid exploring such areas and instead opt for others both familiar and easily accessible. Mapping as a means to engage a community is a method that encourages exploration and discovery. Often there are hidden treasures of our communities’ backyards that have nearly been lost to time and memory. The opportunities and experiences that such places can offer are too rich to be lost forever. This practicum is an attempt to reconnect and engage residents and visitors of Thunder Bay, Ontario, with the historically significant Kaministiquia River. It focuses on the Kaministiquia from Kakabeka Falls to Lake Superior. By providing the public with information on the river’s attractions and how to access the river, it is hoped that families and individuals will utilitize the information to get outside and explore their surrounding environment. The outcome of this practicum consists of four interventions that aim to engage the community with the Kaministiquia: (1) increased signage and public information; (2) a series of easily understood and accessible maps; (3) a recreational trail system; and (4) improved physical access to the water at three locations. iii The Kaministiquia River and Mount McKay from the Swing Bridge iv Acknowledgements There have been many people along the way who have helped me to reach the completion this practicum and I thank them all. Ted McLachlan, thank you for sharing your passion for both the outdoors and canoeing with me. Your guidance in this practicum has been crucial to its completion. Brenda Brown, thank you for your insightful words and for opening my senses to experience landscapes. Jill Oakes, thank you for enabling me to participate in your sacred lands class, which directly affected the course of this practicum, and for helping me see it through to completion. Thank you to the faculty of the Department of Landscape Architecture who have dedicated much time and effort over the last four years in helping to prepare me for my future. I would like to give a very special thank you to my parents for all the love and support that you have given me throughout this process. Dad, without you canoeing the Kam would have simply remained a distant dream; Mom, as always your reference and editorial skills have been integral to my success. Thank you both for everything. Grandpa Mitchell, thank you for watching over Dad and I throughout our canoeing adventures. Lastly, thank you to my brother, Ben, for your miscellaneous help along the way. Thank you everyone! v Shale rock collected in the Kaministiquia River vi Table of Contents Abstract iii Acknowledgements v Chapter 1 - Introduction 1 Chapter 2 - Location of the Kaministiquia 9 Chapter 3 - Historical Context 11 Chapter 4 - Physical & Biological Context 35 Chapter 5 - Constructed, Civil & Social Context 53 Chapter 6 - Engaging a Community 77 Chapter 7 - Mapping 91 Chapter 8 - Reacquainting the Kaministiquia 97 Chapter 9 - Reflections & Conclusions 131 Appendix A - Flora List 137 Appendix B - Fauna List 143 Appendix C - Maps Reviewed 147 Appendix D - Copyright Permissions 149 Appendix E - Bibliography 151 All photographs, maps, and illustrations, unless otherwise noted, are by the author. vii Figure 1.1: View of Kaministiquia River delta looking west from the air, photograph by Dan Mitchell, 2012 1 Introduction Growing up in Northwestern Ontario, outdoor activities unforgettable experience and is a cherished memory that such as hunting, fishing, and camping were a part of daily has since sparked my imagination. life in many families including my own. However regular these activities were, they were seldom undertaken close to The experience of being on a fresh waterbody is impossible home, home being the city of Thunder Bay, but instead to describe other than to say that it has the ability to reignite were undertaken much further away at places like Lake a primordial sense of exploration. It is evident from recent Nipigon. Often it seems that local sites get visited only projects in both Thunder Bay and Winnipeg that there when out-of-town guests visit and insist on seeing them. is a desire to rediscover and reconnect with the fresh When local sites finally are discovered, the experiences water of lakes and rivers. The University of Manitoba, of such new amazing places so close to home create for example, is currently in the process of developing an long lasting cherished memories that can easily be re- overall master plan for its Fort Garry campus through an experienced due to their close proximity. international design competition. One of the mandates of the competition brief is that the master plan must One such amazing and memorable experience occurred reconnect the campus with the Red River that surrounds many years ago to me during a hot summer afternoon it (University of Manitoba and phase eins 2012). Recently on the Kaministiquia River, locally known as ‘the Kam’. the City of Thunder Bay redeveloped its marina on Lake Although I was born and raised no less than 6 km away Superior at Prince Arthur’s Landing with the intention from this river, it might as well have been located deep that it becomes a gathering point in the city. The City in the Amazon forests of South America for there never recognizes that the marina is only part of the equation seemed any reason to go anywhere near it nor to even know and that the delta of the Kaministiquia, where it flows of its existence. It was not until a weekend fishing trip with into Lake Superior, also needs to be addressed in the near a friend was suddenly canceled that the Kaministiquia future (City of Thunder Bay 2010, 1). was suggested by my friend’s mother as an alternative as she had grown up close by and was vaguely familiar with The Kaministiquia River is the largest of the rivers that it. Even though the fishing was terrible, it rained heavily flow through the city of Thunder Bay and as a result its half the day, and the friendship ended long ago, it was an size I was initially quite intimidated by it. However, after Chapter 1 2 looking into the other area rivers as possible candidates for justification for this selection is that it is the most accessible further research, the Current, McIntyre, and Neebing, it and historically significant portion of the river and it offers became evident very quickly that they all to some degree incredibly beautiful scenery and memorable attractions. It have already been developed with trail systems and was along this section of the river that Colonel Wolseley other facilities that provide opportunities for community ordered his troops to travel to Fort Garry to quell the Louis interaction. The Kaministiquia has all but been forgotten Riel Rebellion. This section of the river also served as the and was therefore in the greatest need of further research. confluence of rail lines and shipping vessels for grain and In 2012 publication of 101 Things to do in Thunder Bay, other goods heading to the Atlantic Ocean. there are no less than nine activities listed that involve the Kaministiquia to varying degrees and yet surprisingly the activity of discovering the river itself is absent (City of Goal, Assumptions & Limitations Thunder Bay and Ontario’s North of Superior Tourism Region 2012). Efforts have been made by municipal This practicum explores how design can be used to and provincial governments to establish venues on the encourage and facilitate the experience of the Canadian riverbanks at a handful of locations but there is nothing occupied wilderness and to reconnect with its past in that weaves them together except the river itself. modern times. The term occupied wilderness recognizes that all lands in this area have been occupied by First “The Kaministiquia route [was] the main east-west Nations peoples for millennia. The notion of an occupied link between eastern and western Canada” used by wilderness for the purposes of this practicum is taken as an fur traders and explorers between the late seventeenth area that while showing few signs of modern development century and the mid nineteenth century and was integral such as heavy industrial activities, habitation, or managed to the early economic development of the area known forests, it has and is occupied by many for a variety of today as Thunder Bay (Beaulieu and Southcott 2010, reasons. The occupied wilderness offers visitors the 27). Although the fur trade route began in Montreal to opportunity to reconnect with nature that conveniently the east and extended west to Winnipeg and beyond, for close by to an urban development but yet shows few signs the purposes of this practicum the area of concern is of the trappings of urbanization.