Brantford

Brantford is a lesser-known gem in southern Ontario. Just over an hour’s drive from Toronto, in scenic Grand River country, it is in the heart of Six Nations territory. Long before Europeans arrived in North America, six nations – the Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, Onondaga and Tuscarora – combined to form the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. Although the Six Nations are currently embroiled in land-rights issues with the federal government, Brantford and its surroundings offer some excellent museums and cultural centers that preserve and promote the culture and heritage of the First Nations, and the annual Champion of Champions Pow-Wow in ...

Brantford is a lesser-known gem in southern Ontario. Just over an hour’s drive from Toronto, in scenic Grand River country, it is in the heart of Six Nations territory. Long before Europeans arrived in North America, six nations – the Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Seneca, Onondaga and Tuscarora – combined to form the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy. Although the Six Nations are currently embroiled in land-rights issues with the federal government, Brantford and its surroundings offer some excellent museums and cultural centers that preserve and promote the culture and heritage of the First Nations, and the annual Champion of Champions Pow-Wow in August attracts participants and onlookers from across North America. Brantford was also home to hockey icon Wayne Gretzky and telephone inventor Alexander Graham Bell, who made the world’s first long-distance phone call from the family home, now the Bell Homestead National Historic Site.

About the Expert

Joanna Ebbutt is the author or editor of three Insight Guides to Toronto and Canada, and coauthor of Off the Beaten Track: Western Canada. She has been writing about travel for three decades, including chasing the aurora borealis in Northern Ontario.