Content
Skip to Main ContentAccessibility Help
Secret Life of Canada

An American Indian in London

In 1492 Chirstopher Columbus sailed the ocean blue, and then promptly began kidnapping Indigenous people and taking them back to Spain. But who were these people, and where did they end up?

Leah and Falen look into the history of Indigenous people who went to Europe

CBC Podcasts ·
A photograph of Mohawk poet Pauline Johnson is next to a letter written by her mother to her father.
Famed Mohawk poet Pauline Johnson, pictured left, visited London in the late 1800s, and came away unimpressed: "With slums like this in the heart of London, they'll dare send missionaries to our Indians in Canada?" (Daniel Beauparlant/CBC)

In a lot of history books we hear the names of European explorers who "discovered" the Americas. Columbus, Cook, Champlain. All boo-worthy men. But what about the people who went the other way? Indigenous people have been crossing oceans and going to Europe, too. But why don't we know their names? In this episode Leah and Falen look into the story of those who went willingly and those who did not, those who came home and those who did not. With guests Caroline Pennock, Coll Thrush, and Peter Morin.

Listen to the episode here, and get transcripts of our series here.

Key References