CFB Kingston hosts re-dedication ceremony at Fort Frontenac
September 5, 2023 – Defence Stories
By: Lieutenant Devon Gorman, CFB Kingston Public Affairs Officer
Caption
The CFB Base Command Team stands with two members of the national Defence Indigenous Advisory Group during the Fellowship Feast at the Fort Frontenac Officer’s Mess, August 8th, 2023. (Left: CWO Prendergast, Centre Left: MWO Brown, Centre Right: MWO Quinn, Right: Col Hatton).
Photo Credit: LCol Iain Clark, CFB Kingston Deputy Base Commander.
Honoured guests from surrounding Indigenous communities joined the CFB Kingston Command Team for a burial re-dedication ceremony at Fort Frontenac on August 8th, 2023, to show proper respect to remains that were uncovered on the site.
The remains were uncovered in March of 2022 by Defence Construction Canada during renovations. It was determined the remains are from an unmarked cemetery at Fort Frontenac that dates to the 17th or 18th century which includes remains of French, First Nations, and Metis peoples. Work was halted and CFB Kingston consulted with First Nations communities with historical and treaty ties to the area on how best to proceed. A small ceremony was held on October 13th, 2022, to calm the spirits of those who were disturbed.
It was decided by CFB Kingston that a more formal ceremony was proper, and the Base took the lead on planning this re-dedication ceremony. Cooperating with the local First Nations communities, Defence Construction Canada, the Defence Indigenous Advisory Group, Real Property Operations, and the Canadian Army Command and Staff College, CFB Kingston organized the construction of a memorial and the hosting of the re-dedication ceremony. Fort Frontenac now displays a new monument, plaque, and Indigenous Garden constructed by Defence Construction Canada and Real Property Operations teams to acknowledge the people who inhabited this land before us and affirm our commitment to improving relations in the future. The ceremony included participation from the Catholic church, First Nations traditions from the Huron-Wendat, Anishinaabeg, and Haudenosaunee peoples. The re-dedication ceremony, attended by many local Elected Chiefs and Elders was followed by a traditional Indigenous Fellowship Feast.
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The Burying Grounds of the Parish of St. Francis, Fort Royal of Frontenac, sits in Fort Frontenac before the re-dedication ceremony, August 8th, 2023.
Photo Credit: Kristy Murphy, Base Photo CFB Kingston.
“This ceremony is to ensure proper respects are being paid to those buried at this historic site, with you all here as witnesses to our commitment,” said Colonel Sonny Hatton, the CFB Kingston Commander, reinforcing the Canadian Armed Forces message of respect and inclusivity towards our First Nations partners.
Fort Frontenac itself has undergone many iterations, beginning as part of New France in 1673 and over time expanding to coexist with various Indigenous communities alongside the predominantly Roman Catholic French. By 1763 Fort Frontenac was relinquished to the British who designated it the Naval Headquarters for Upper Canada in 1812. In 1870 the Fort was turned over to the Canadian military, where it currently exists as a National Historic Site of Canada that has been training officers since 1948. The Indigenous history of Fort Frontenac will be incorporated into teaching of the Fort’s history at the Canadian Army Command and Staff College.