On Tuesday, October 28, Brebeuf College School hosted the Irish Famine Relief of 1847 Exhibit. The event was led by the Toronto Catholic District School Board's (TCDSB) Head of Indigenous Affairs, Andre O'Bonsawin. This powerful exhibit highlighted the remarkable contributions of Indigenous communities who, despite facing their own hardships, provided aid and expressed solidarity with the Irish people during The Great Famine.
The launch featured opening remarks from Dr. Brendan Browne, Director of Education of the TCDSB, alongside Irish Consul General Claire Fitzgibbon, Dr. Mark McGowan, Jason King, and Mike Degagné, to mark this important moment of shared history. Following the presentation, several classes attended a self-guided trail to further their understanding. Teachers were also invited to share curated lesson plans and extended learning links to deepen classroom engagement and support ongoing student inquiry.
250 students participated in the experiential journey exploring how First Nations communities in Ontario donated over £165 (about $18,000 today) to Irish Famine relief in 1847. Students received envelopes—some represented the Anishinaabe (Mississaugas of the Credit), Haudenosaunee (Six Nations), and Huron-Wendat nations, while others represented Irish tenant farmers, laborers, and emigrants.
They walked through the dispossession of the Irish during the Famine Relief in 1847, the arrival of sick and starving Famine emigrants to Toronto, Kingston, and Ottawa, and most powerfully, the council meetings where Indigenous leaders decided whether to help despite their own communities being displaced and their own crops failing.
The students learned that donations were marked with dodems—clan symbols—like signatures on a treaty. They followed the money's journey from Grand River to Hamilton to Toronto to Montreal and across the Atlantic. They heard the actual words of Chiefs Peter Jones and Joseph Sawyer: "It would have afforded us great pleasure to have given a larger amount, but we regret to inform you that our people here are in a very destitute state..."
The exploration ended with the question: "You are now carriers of this story. This happened in Ontario. This is OUR history. How will you complete the circle?"
