Honouring Indigenous presence at Rouge National Urban Park with the Moccasin Identifier

From the earliest stages of planning for the new visitor, learning and community centre at Rouge National Urban Park, Parks Canada has worked alongside the Rouge National Urban Park First Nations Advisory Circle (FNAC), Indigenous co-creators and key partners to help shape a visitor experience that honours Indigenous presence, perspectives and enduring relationships to the land.

One of the distinct design elements visitors will encounter at the future centre is an installation by The Moccasin Identifier™ Initiative. Once complete, a pathway of engraved moccasins will welcome visitors and invite them to reflect on the many Indigenous communities whose histories and ways of being have been shaped by and continue to shape the lands and waters of the Rouge.

Discover how this meaningful installation celebrates Indigenous histories and living cultures, encourages learning and reflects the ongoing partnerships that help guide the future of Rouge National Urban Park.

About the visitor, learning and community centre

The Rouge National Urban Park visitor, learning and community centre will be a welcoming gathering place where nature, culture and education intersect.

Located along the edge of the Rouge Valley, the visitor centre will serve as an iconic gateway to the park and offer opportunities for visitors to connect with the natural, cultural and agricultural landscapes that make Rouge National Urban Park so unique.

Partnership and collaboration are central to the project. Parks Canada has worked closely with the First Nations Advisory Circle, Indigenous co-creators and community partners to ensure Indigenous connections to the lands and waters of the Rouge watershed are thoughtfully reflected throughout the site.

Through this collaborative approach, Parks Canada helps create opportunities for learning, gathering and connection while recognizing the enduring rights, responsibilities and relationships Indigenous Peoples maintain with these lands.

To learn more, visit our project website Visitor, learning and community centre.

About the Moccasin Identifier™ Initiative

The Moccasin Identifier™ is a First Nations-led initiative dedicated to promoting awareness of Indigenous presence, treaty relationships and the shared histories that connect people to the land. Using moccasins as placekeeping markers, the initiative creates opportunities for learning, reflection, and dialogue in communities and public spaces across Canada. Through installations, educational resources and interpretive experiences, the Moccasin Identifier™ helps deepen understanding of First Nations histories, cultures, tradition, and ongoing relationships with their traditional territories. Guided by principles of peace, friendship and education, the initiative supports greater awareness of treaty relationships and contributes to ongoing efforts toward truth, reconciliation and respectful relationships for the future. By making Indigenous representation visible within everyday spaces, the initiative encourages visitors to reflect on their own relationships to the land and the responsibilities we share in caring for it. 

To learn more, visit The Moccasin Identifier™ Initiative.

   Knowing the Rouge Valley

For thousands of years, the Rouge River corridor has been a place of travel, gathering, trade and connection.

Long before the creation of Rouge National Urban Park, Indigenous Peoples (and later generations of non-Indigenous communities) travelled these lands and waterways, built relationships, exchanged knowledge and maintained responsibilities to the land.

The Mocassin Identifier™ installation reflects these enduring connections and serves as a reminder that the stories of the Rouge extend far beyond the park's establishment and continue to be written today.

 Following the moccasins

Every step tells a story.

A total of 133 engraved moccasins will be embedded in the centre’s indoor and outdoor spaces, representing the 133 First Nations in Ontario. Together, they create a visible expression of Indigenous presence, inviting visitors to reflect on the many First Nations whose profound relationships with the land continue today.

As visitors follow the pathway of moccasins, they are invited to consider the connections between people and place, and the responsibilities we share as stewards of the land. The installation serves as both a welcome wayfinding feature and an opportunity for learning, encouraging reflection on the Indigenous Peoples that have cared for these lands since time immemorial.

  Understanding the moccasins

The moccasin is a powerful symbol found across many Indigenous cultures, representing movement, connection and relationships to the land. You can learn more about the mission of The Moccasin Identifier™ Initiative, as well as the inspiration behind the project’s founder Carolyn King’s vision, on the webpage About us.

For generations, moccasins carried people across the landscapes and waterways that sustained communities, supported travel and trade and connected families, First Nations and places. The diversity of First Nations is reflected in their moccasins, with designs, materials and craftsmanship shaped by the distinct environments and cultures from which they originate.

Historically, moccasin designs, materials and decorative elements were shaped by local landscapes, available resources, cultural practices and the needs of the people who wore them. For example, some moccasins were designed for travel through forested environments, featuring soft soles that allowed for quiet movement and close contact with the ground. Others incorporated distinctive materials and artistic elements such as quillwork, beadwork, dyed moosehair embroidery or trade materials.

Across Ontario and the Great Lakes region, First Nations exchanged knowledge, materials and technologies through trade, diplomacy and kinship networks. Moccasin styles often reflected both unique community identities and the interconnected relationships that have long existed among Indigenous Peoples and communities.

 Travelling the pathway of learning and connection

The Moccasin Identifier ™ installation reflects the ongoing collaboration between Parks Canada, the Rouge National Urban Park First Nations Advisory Circle (FNAC), Indigenous co-creators and community partners. Through thoughtful design and interpretation, the installation creates opportunities for visitors to engage with Indigenous histories, perspectives and relationships to place.

Parks Canada has collaborated with The Moccasin Identifier™ Initiative on this project since 2020 and is proud to support its continued growth. In 2023, Rouge National Urban Park provided a $50,000 grant to support the development of an interpretive augmented-reality app, adding a dynamic storytelling layer to this and other Parks Canada sites featuring Moccasin Identifier™ installations. These efforts advance treaty and Indigenous awareness while creating meaningful, place-based experiences for visitors, encouraging reflection on the diverse First Nations represented by the installation and the enduring relationships that continue to shape the Rouge today.

 Advancing reconciliation one footprint at a time

In summer 2026, The Moccasin Identifier™ team joined Parks Canada staff and the Con-Pro construction crew on site to lead a cultural learning workshop and hands-on training. Through stories, discussion and shared learning, participants learned the vision behind the Moccasin Identifier™ and gained a deeper understanding of the Indigenous connections reflected in this project.

The workshop provided an opportunity for those helping build the future centre to engage directly in the cultural significance of the project, helping ensure each engraved moccasin is installed with great care and respect. It meaningfully demonstrates how partnership, learning and relationship-building are shaping the centre and the experiences it will offer, long before its doors open.

Parks Canada looks forward to welcoming everyone to the new visitor, learning and community centre in 2027.