Life Within The Maple Leaf by Sandra Simić ©
Life Within The Maple Leaf by Sandra Simić
This article by Sandra Simić is a wonderful example of how people can connect to the places around them. When we do this, we are more likely to care for the biodiversity around us.
The Morning Star by Alex Janvier, an esteemed Canadian Indigenous artist, captured my mind and imagination at once. It seems like my whole Canadian experience might be summarised through this magnificent work of art, which adorns the dome of one of the salons of the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Quebec.
Canadian people back in history used the light of the morning star for direction, in the early hours of winter mornings. The Morning Star tells the story of different phases of the Indigenous history, sending the message of hope for mutual respect.
Similar to enjoying stars at night, I appreciated this work of art comfortably from the chair, looking up at the huge dome above me. The emotion might be compared with the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, the difference here being the peace and silence, as I was able to enjoy it as long as I wanted to.
I am always in awe with art. With all its forms. I feel like art expresses the essence, living hidden from the prying eye, teaching us and walking ahead of us. This mural explained the Indigenous history not only intellectually, but also emotionally, through wonderful combinations of colour expressing optimism and tenderness. My personal feeling of this work of art is that nature always wins, regardless of circumstances.
Turning eyes right, I could see through the glass wall the Supreme court of Canada and the Parliament on the other shore of the Ottawa river. Just earlier in the day, I enjoyed floating on the amphibian boat through this river, producing an abundance of white foam, which reminded me of struggles between the First Nations and colonisators as well as struggles for the rights Canadians enjoy today.
This art made me wish to learn more about the first Canadians which occupied these lands.
I explored the ancient and diverse history of the first human beings living here, through the remarkable exhibition displayed in the First Peoples Hall. Through the stories displayed there in various media formats, I learned how the Indigenous people tied the land and its resources with their identities, how the Great Spirit put human beings on earth and how the First Peoples made spiritual bonds with the land and animals.
For instance, one of the messages was that the Creator put the Algonquin to occupy this land and the life will circle forever, as long as the rivers will flow.
I learned about the significance of nature from the lens of the first inhabitants of these lands. Particularly, I enjoyed the story about the guardian spirit of the Otter, who went before the Great Spirit and promised to educate people about unity, in order for them to live in harmony.
Canadian Museum of History truly deepened my appreciation for Canada, as I learned so much. Interestingly, I was told there is a widespread belief amongst the indigenous peoples that the evil spirits hide in the corners, which makes the shape of the Canadian Museum of History quite unique, as it does not have corners.
I completely understood this intrinsic link between people and nature when seeing the Niagara Falls for the first time.
This experience was nothing like I had imagined. I saw many waterfalls and remarkable natural wonders before, but Niagara Falls exceeded my expectations. Besides seeing the falls from a distance, I also wanted to experience the entering into the Fall itself (until the safe distance) by boat. Birds were flying in freedom within sounds and scent of the water. They were not afraid of the power, but a part of it.
While my boat was slowly approaching the biggest Fall, I felt the power much greater than myself while entering into the Fall, becoming one with the water. Everything was white and wet at one point. White and powerful, while the whole world just disappeared.
All I could hear and see around me was the water, while the screams of joyful excitement by humans sounded like a whisper. Being inside this powerful water mist is undoubtfully an experience that has become a part of myself, reminding me about the intrinsic connection I share with nature.
Reflecting about this experience while observing the complete scenery of the Niagara Falls from a distance (dining on the 13th floor of a nearby skyscraper), I thought about the water. How meaningful it is! At one moment, it may be a snowflake, then freezing ice, mist, vapour, running freshly through the mountain in a river, being a drop in the ocean…Within all these forms, it remains the same. Its essence never changes, just like love. And just like human beings.
Connecting these ideas with Canadian history, made me realize how identity of a nation can be shaped successfully through uniting people coming from all over the globe.
Even though they come from very distinct backgrounds, the dignity of being Canadians shines through. I was very happy to witness that young Canadians consider wars obsolete.
Students at the most respected Canadian universities are fighting for world peace through peaceful protests, which are not covered in global news in the way these noble initiatives deserve, while this was trending on news in Canada every day.
Students belonging to nations which are in war in their countries of origin, now fighting together peacefully, sleeping for many days in front of universities, as sign of protest. I would like to extend my deep respect to all these wonderful young people, may your hearts follow you always.
Visiting the Canadian Museum of History and Niagara Falls are the two most important experiences. However, I also visited many other places which also contributed to my positive impressions.
All these pristine landscapes around Niagara Falls are worth visiting. This is an area with abundance of water, like Lake Ontario or Niagara River, with lovely homes and picturesque vineries immersed in natural wonders. In particular, I was mesmerized by town Niagara-on-the-Lake, which looks like the movie set for perfect life.
These places were in sharp contrast with downtown Toronto, which reminded me of New York City. Even though I also love exploring urban life, the unbelievable strength of the water opened my senses towards a deeper appreciation of the connection between nature and people. I thought about it while standing on the Centre Island shore watching Toronto.
This contrast between the bustling urban noise on the other side of the shore, with the stillness of the Centre Island where I enjoyed listening the birds and silence was astonishing.
Continuing my Canadian story, the tulips were in full bloom in the serene Dorchester Park in downtown Montreal, with squirrels less shy than European ones, friendlier with people. I noticed the traces of European heritage in Montreal in certain buildings like the magnificent Catholic Basilique Cathédrale Marie – Reine – du Monde, the Old Montreal, or during the very long walks by the waterfront of the Old Port. The city is watched over by the wonderful Mount Royal Park.
I was impressed by the space of the underground city below Montreal, which reminded me of Kuala Lumpur corridors in Malaysia, not in a sense that they are similar, but rather the underlying idea. In the same way as Malaysian people enjoy walking through air-conditioned corridors instead of walking on the heat, Canadians enjoy walking in heated corridors during the winter.
And, to complete the story, the next year I also visited the other side of this beautiful country – Vancouver, where the Sun sets in the Pacific Ocean.
Did you know that British Columbia has the greatest linguistic diversity?
In whole Canada there are 53 different Aboriginal languages, according to the information I saw at the Canadian Museum of History. The most widely spoken is Cree. Archaeological evidence shows that First Peoples spread all across North America, adapting to different environments.
In British Columbia, the intrinsic link between people and nature was even more visible as the landscapes were breathtaking.
From the long coastline called Seawall in Vancouver, through fresh creeks, high rainforest trees and mountain tops covered with snow, lovely islands on the way to sunny Victoria and icy waters, all seasons are present at the same time. Geographically, Vancouver and its surroundings are naturally so particular that the season actually depends on the altitude, winds and other elements, bringing different perspective to environment.
This is why the film industry is very developed in Vancouver as, inter alia, it is possible to shoot summer and winter scenes on the same day. It is worth mentioning that Vancouver is also called North Hollywood. I thoroughly enjoyed taking the film tour around Vancouver in order to learn more about the movie industry, from artistic and production perspectives.
While on Whistler Mountain, I was honoured to meet people of the First Nations, who created a Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Centre (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Lil̓wat7úl), sharing their values and insights which confirmed my earlier understanding of the very deep spiritual connection they share with nature.
As an example, when taking a piece of bark from a rainforest tree (to make a basket), a woman thanked the tree by placing both hands on it, explaining that the tree was hurt and needed to recover, showing authentic emotion of love.
I thought this was a true sustainable development, taking from nature only what is needed and not more, sharing life with nature respectfully, within seasons.
I also listened to stories related to “transformers” – beings with superhuman powers – and how they could transform a person into a mountain. Therefore, people look up to mountains remembering their ancestors. I would also like to mention that Squamish and Lil’wat nations lived together in these lands in peace and harmony from the beginning of time.
The question of what belongs to whom was settled wisely by their leaders – they acknowledged that they live side by side and made a protocol around it. There is so much to learn from these cultures, especially today when the world peace is being questioned.
The acknowledgement that the land remains an unceded territory of a particular indigenous nation is displayed on many buildings I visited around Canada.
For example, the City of Vancouver emphasizes this statement on its website: “The City of Vancouver acknowledges that it is situated on the unceded traditional territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.”
Such statements represent the first step in the process of reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples, recognizing the colonial past while looking positively towards future.
I entitled this piece “Life Within The Maple Leaf”, as I wanted to thoroughly explore life within Canada.
Concluding my impressions, I would emphasize the intrinsic link between nature and people as the key takeaway. If we observe a leaf more closely, we shall see there are similar patterns with our own veins. Life is magnificent and nature is closely intertwined with humans.
The retina of our eye shares the same patterns with the leaf veins, through which life flows just like through our own veins. Our fingerprints remind me of leaf veins, tree bark cracks are similar to our wrinkles, while the life struggles we face might be compared with the twinkling of delicate tree leaves on breeze.
For some people, sadly, this would be a harsher wind. Nevertheless, humanity connects us all. Let’s turn over a new leaf and learn together from nature, with appreciation and love, just like the First Nations of this beautiful country.
Sandra Simić
16.03.2025
About Sandra Simić
Sandra is a lawyer and author from Croatia, EU. Her research interests include social justice, world peace through law, art and astronomy.
Travel inspires Sandra to live through unique experiences and learn how humanity connects us all.
Sandra Simić is alumna of University of London, Queen Mary & University College London, where she specialised Public International Law and European law through postgraduate legal studies.
