Decew

Decew House is the final destination of Laura Secord.  There is a new monument there.  It was designed by Douglas Cardinal and celebrates the First Nations peoples. Secord encountered First Nations warriors in nearby Decew's Field.  They escorted her the final kilometre to the British headquarters at Decew House.  The monument is located 5.3 km from the site of the Battle of Beaver Dams, which was fought and won almost entirely by Kanahwake Mohawk and other Native allies. About the monument: "The distinctive design of this compelling architectural sculpture is consistent with Douglas Cardinal’s designs elsewhere in North America, including the iconic Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau and First Nations University in Regina. Its flowing circular organic form is carved out of blocks of solid limestone, nested firmly in the surrounding landscape. The circle is a powerful symbol of welcoming, inclusion, and protection in Native cultures, and the curved walls of the monument are abstract symbols of Haudenosaunee longhouses that open to the East and West.  A central hearth, surrounded by seating, is represented by a translucent glowing glass sphere symbolizing the sun. The sphere was handcrafted by world-renowned master glassblower Angelo Rossi, a Niagara Falls, Ontario based artisan. Embedded in the walls of the monument are two graphic wampum belt symbols - the Hiawatha Wampum Belt, which expresses the Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace, and the William Claus Pledge of the Crown Wampum Belt, which symbolizes the restoration of peaceful relations among Native allies and the British following the War of 1812. A pathway from the monument will lead to a circular garden planted with a single white pine tree – the symbolic Tree of Peace of the Iroquois nations. Three white cedars will also be planted onsite to honour the abiding strength and importance of First Nations women." Our first picture shows the foundations of the Decew House - this is all that remains today.