A handful of community members, historians, and Native Americans from the region have teamed up to create an interpretive panel to place near the Samuel De Champlain statue that has sat on the shore of the lake that bears his name, in the City of Plattsburgh, since 1912. The panel will point out what the group believes are inaccuracies with the monument, such as honoring Champlain for “discovering” the lake during his voyage in 1609, as well as the portrayal of the indigenous people who lived in the region for thousands of years before Champlain’s arrival.
The Lake Champlain Basin Program is helping the group design and build the panel, which will be put up near the monument sometime early next year.
Follow the Champlain Monument Working Group on the Saranac River Trail’s Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/SaranacRiverTrail
Coverage of the debate in Orillia, Ontario about their Champlain statue:
Orilla Matters
https://www.orilliamatters.com/local-news/breaking-news-champlain-monument-returning-but-not-first-nations-figures-1601561
Global News
https://globalnews.ca/…/samuel-de-champlain-monument-reinstalled-orillia-changes/