Indigenous gardens in Ontario

Indigenous Spirit Garden at Toronto City Hall

In 2024, the new Indigenous Spirit Garden created in front of City Hall in Toronto’s Nathan Philips Square was officially opened on the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

The public garden honours residential school survivors and commemorates the children and families who suffered the system of cultural genocide. The garden is also designed for gatherings, special events and celebrations of Indigenous cultural traditions.

The centrepiece is a turtle sculpture surrounded by a pool, representing Turtle Island in First Nations creation stories. The wall lists the names of residential schools that operated in Ontario. The garden design reflects elements of diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis cultures, such as a teaching lodge, a canoe, an inukshuk and artwork depicting the Three Sisters Story.

Read more about the Spirit Garden and the artists commissioned to create it. This garden is free to visit.

Location: Nathan Phillip Square, 100 Queen Street West in Toronto

Toronto is situated on land covered under Treaty 13 and the Williams Treaties. It is the traditional territory of many nations, including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat Peoples.

Indigenous Plant Medicine Trail at Royal Botanical Gardens

The Enji Naagdowing Anishinaabe Waadiziwin (Journey to Anishinaabe Knowledge Trail) is located within the Royal Botanical Gardens, an extensive horticultural attraction featuring gardens, trails and forests.

This unique self-guided trail celebrates Indigenous flora used by First Nations Peoples. Interpretive nodes and audio devices offer information about the plants and their connection to culture, language, ecology and history.

The trail starts in the Arboretum near the Nature Interpretive Centre and extends over one kilometre to Hickory Valley. A portion is also part of the Cootes Paradise trail network.

The Enji Naagdowing Anishinaabe Waadiziwin trail was created in collaboration with Elders of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and with consultation from Joseph Pitawanakwat, a plant educator from Wiikwemkoong Unceded Nation.

Find out more about seasonal admission and parking fees.

Location: Access the trail from the Arboretum at Royal Botanical Gardens, 16 Old Guelph Road, Dundas

The Royal Botanical Gardens and the city of Hamilton are within the traditional territories of the Huron-Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe, covered under the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Agreement and the Between the Lakes Treaty.

The Spirit Garden in Thunder Bay

As part of the Indigenous City Spaces initiative in Thunder Bay, the Celebration Circle and Spirit Garden is a stunning waterfront park attraction at Prince Arthur’s Landing.

Designed in collaboration with Indigenous communities, the Spirit Garden includes traditional plants, interpretive panels and a Celebration Circle for gathering and sharing and features art from a local Anishinaabe artist. In addition, the Honouring Circle is a public fireplace that looks toward the mighty Sleeping Giant landform.

The Spirit Garden is located in Prince Arthur’s Landing, a multi-use public outdoor space on the shores of Lake Superior along Sleeping Giant Parkway in Thunder Bay.

Location: Sleeping Giant Parkway, Thunder Bay

Thunder Bay is situated on the traditional territory of the Anishinaabe and is covered by the Robinson Superior Treaty.

Thorold Indigenous Unity Garden

The Thorold Indigenous Unity Garden is located in the Niagara Region in Mel Swart Lake Gibson Conservation Park, south of Thorold.

Thoughtfully designed in the shape of a turtle, it serves as a gathering place for teachings, storytelling, celebrations and Indigenous events and workshops.

The garden was created in partnership with One Thorold Truth and Reconciliation Committee and the city of Thorold and is free to visit.

Location: Beaverdams Road and Decew Road, Thorold

Thorold is situated on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe. The land is covered under the Dish with One Spoon Wampum Belt Agreement and the Upper Canada Treaties.

Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig Medicine Garden

Almost 200 years ago, Chief Shingwauk had a vision of a teaching lodge where the Indigenous People of Bawahting (Algoma) would learn the skills and knowledge of the new people to the area while remaining rooted in Indigenous ways of knowing and being, and could share that important knowledge with the new people.

Today, a part of that vision is found in an Indigenous Medicine Garden, shaped in a medicine wheel and brimming with sacred medicines along the banks of the St. Marys River. It is an integral part of Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig (SKG), an Indigenous post-secondary learning centre in Sault Ste. Marie. SKG is one of nine Indigenous Institutes in Ontario recognized under the Indigenous Institutes Act of 2017.

The Medicine Garden is a partnership with the Ministry of the Solicitor General. Indigenous people are largely over-represented in the criminal justice system, a result of colonization, and experience a disconnect with Indigenous identity. The Four Sacred Medicines—sage, tobacco, cedar and sweetgrass—are grown to help those in the criminal justice system (re)connect with their Indigenous identity and, thus, get back on a good path. SKG harvests, dries and packages the medicines to be distributed by the Ministry of the Solicitor General to Indigenous People on parole and probation. The partnership also includes Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig developing print and digital resources teaching why and how to use the medicines.

In addition to providing medicines for Indigenous People within the criminal justice system, the garden is a valuable teaching tool. The Medicine Garden is incorporated into classes in both three-year degree programs, Anishinaabemowin and Anishinaabe Studies. In addition, SKG offers a two to three-hour immersive educational experience for elementary and secondary school students to learn about local history, geography, the Seven Grandfather Teachings and the four sacred medicines.

Although the garden is currently not open to the public, you can contact the Shingwauk Kinoomaage Gamig Medicine Garden directly for more information and future opportunities to visit.

Location: 1491 Queen Street East, Sault Sainte Marie

Sault Ste. Marie is situated within the Robinson-Huron Treaty territory on the traditional land of the Anishinaabe.

Kim Corbiere-ba Memorial Medicine Garden at Kenjgewin Teg

In the heart of Kenjgewin Teg’s M’Chigeeng First Nation campus on Manitoulin Island, the Kim Corbiere-ba Memorial Medicine Garden is a serene retreat where students reconnect with nature and Indigenous traditions.

Dedicated to the memory of Kimberley Corbiere, a respected and beloved employee, this beautiful space is a lasting tribute to her. It is also a place of reflection, healing and cultural significance. The garden features the four sacred medicines—tobacco, cedar, sage and sweetgrass—as well as lush shrubs and annuals. 

Kenjgewin Teg is another Indigenous Institute in Ontario recognized under the Indigenous Institutes Act of 2017.

Location: 374 ON-551, M'Chigeeng

Traditionally, Manitoulin Island was under a confederacy of Anishinaabeg People, the Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi, known as the Three Fires Confederacy. The Manitoulin Island Treaty covers the island, also referred to as Treaty 45 or the Bond Head Treaty, signed by the Odawa and Ojibwe in 1836.

James Smedley provided the images and content for the SKG Medicine Garden and the four sacred medicines. 

This content was also produced with the guidance of SKG and Indigenous Tourism Ontario (ITO). ITO is dedicated to growing Indigenous tourism and supporting Indigenous People to tell their stories on their terms.