The cascade of waterfalls at Niagara Falls smashes into the Niagara River below. The rocks seem to support the waterfalls, almost holding them in. When one views this photograph one has a sense that these waterfalls are strong and powerful, and if left unguided, could destroy everything in their path.
The moss on the rocks below add to the majestic scenery of Niagara Falls, and the greenery appears to elevate the natural beauty of the landmark. This mist rising off the cascading waters makes the falls and the river appear cool to the touch, which further mystifies them. The striking blue of the waters reminds the onlooker that vivid imagery often appears naturally on the planet Earth and is often not manmade.
Niagara Falls today consists of three waterfalls: the American Falls, located on the American side of Niagara Falls, and the Canadian Falls, known as Horseshoe Falls, is located on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. To the right of Niagara Falls is a smaller waterfall, the Bridal Veil Falls, which has been naturally separated from the previous two by rock formations.
Today, the Horseshoe Falls takes the brunt of Niagara’s water, with Horseshoe having an estimated 5.5 billion gallons of water flowing hourly. The Horseshoe Falls is the tallest of the three waterfalls, measuring at 170 feet high. But what of the ancient history of the Niagara Falls? What resulted in the creation of this popular tourist destination?
The birth of Niagara Falls began 12,000 years ago. This birth was spurred on by a pivotal time period in Earth’s history: the ice age. Created by the melting ice, the waterfalls now seen in Niagara Falls, New York were formed by the process of an ice age coming to an end.
12,000 years ago, the Wisconsin Glaciation covered much of North America. If not for the existence of the Wisconsin Glaciation, what we know today as Niagara Falls would not exist. The natural consequence of the melting of the ice created new rivers and lakes, which resulted in the creation of the Great Lakes. These naturally formed lakes eventually began to flow towards the east and joined the preformed Niagara River, making the river larger than its predecessor.
What we know today as the location of Niagara Falls was not its original birthplace. Niagara’s location has moved several times over the centuries before finally finding its present-day resting place. The original resting place of the Falls was in the current-day city of Lewiston, New York. The greenery surrounding Niagara Falls is a result of what is known as the “Paleo-Indian” period which began 12,000 years ago and ended roughly 9,000 years ago.
Before modern humans beheld Niagara Falls and dubbed it so, ancient and modern Native American peoples had been witnessing the falls for hundreds of years. When Niagara was formed, the ancient nomadic Clovis tribe were the first to witness the falls in the “Paleo-Indian” period 12,000 years ago. In light of their primitive times, they thought that Niagara Falls was a gift from or of their gods. Niagara represented for them ‘the Great Spirit,’ a godly being that provided for them and watched over the Native peoples. Although not much of their culture remains at the Falls, they did leave sculptures in the form of chipped stones.
The land the Clovis people had once occupied was made home by various other peoples and tribes. In the Archaic Period of Niagara Falls 9,000-9,500 years ago, the forest and falls were dominated by hunter-gatherer tribes. These tribes lived on the land and made full use of the abundant natural wildlife that thrived there. Their diet was a healthy one, and consisted of the animals that surrounded them: deer, moose, and various plant life. Their diets changed from season to season, as was a result of the extreme weather conditions from summer to winter.
Before colonists came to Niagara Falls, the last tribe that lived in abundance there was the Iroquois tribe. This particular Native culture thrived at Niagara, and prospered with an extreme abundance of food, hunting, and cultural flourishment. They were expert farmers, and partook in the creation of corn, beans, and squash. The villages they created were large in area and population, and religious practices were cemented by being an integral part of their daily lives. But with the arrival of colonists, infighting, and warfare between and amongst the various Native tribes, the Iroquois culture would be wounded, and barely recover from the introduction of new peoples into Canada and the United States, and ultimately into Niagara Falls.
Many may assume (semi-correctly) that the Iroquois’ most violent altercations were with the French and the various colonists that settled in and around Niagara, but this is only a half-truth – because for hundreds of years, the infighting and wars between the Native nations that settled in the Niagara area caused much bloodshed and hundreds of lives. This in turn shaped Niagara, as many different Native American cultures were in and out of the Niagara landscape. Niagara was an extremely popular area of the country for Native peoples, as the land was fertile and the resources plentiful. Also, this fertileness was abundant, as the falls continuously generated more and more natural substances and resources. The trees in and of themselves were a fantastic resource for canoes, houses, etc. The forest consisted of pines, spruces, hemlocks and birches, all of which were especially useful. In the forest, animals thrived as well. There was an abundance of deer, bears, woodland bison, beavers, otters, and wolves – all of which generated food and clothes for the Natives that lived in the Niagara region. The trees and animals in Niagara made everything and everyone that lived in this location flourish and thrive.
If we trees of Onguiaahra could speak, you would be astonished by our stories, and all the things that we have witnessed. It seemed like not long ago, there were no falls. All around us was ice, and giant animals roamed around and amongst us. Then one day, we noticed that the ice on our branches was melting. We were not sure what was happening, for the ice never melted. Then soon after, all ice seemed to be melting. While it was melting, it created water. An abundance of water. But our roots grew deep into the Earth, and we prevailed against the thundering waters that brought change. Some of our young did not survive, but we who were adults grew stronger from the water.
After the ice melted, many of our giant friends disappeared. We hardly saw the mammoths or the soaring birds anymore. The ice melted and in place of it a giant chasm of water grew. It fell in front of us, and with it came loud noises. Then, we saw strange creatures. Strange creatures indeed. They walked on two legs, were almost hairless, and swung their arms in a strange manner. They also talked a loud, booming language that was indiscernible to us trees. Soon, they began to create odd structures in and around us. Then, the worst came, for they did something our old animal friends had never done – they chopped us. They chopped and chopped and thinned us out to make us into things. I saw some of my fellow trees under a bright shining object that emitted heat. I saw them as part of the objects these creatures appeared to reside in, and I saw them take my friends out into the water. What they did in the waters, I do not know.
We saw many different versions of these creatures. For hundreds of years they came to our forest – they all spoke different languages and did different things. They continued to chop and thin. Then one day, we saw a different form of these creatures. They had different things on their bodies and spoke entirely different languages. They appeared to not enjoy the other strange humans I first beheld. Soon, fighting ensued. Lots and lots of fighting. After the fighting was over, I hardly saw those first strange creatures anymore. I heard whisperings through the forest that they had moved on; maybe settled in a new forest. I never saw those strange creatures again.
When the second group of strange creatures came, they were chopping and chopping all day long. There were many of these creatures. They used more of us than the first creatures.
Years and years went by and these second strange creatures stayed here for what seemed like a very long time. Things changed. These creatures chopped many of us down to make way for paths made of a dark material that was sticky when touched. Down these paths came loud animals with two bright things on their fronts carrying the strange creatures inside. Many many people came to the great waters. Very few creatures reside in our forest as before. Now the animals are smaller. The giants are gone. These strange creatures have taken over.
I’m sure the trees of Niagara would tell you, if they could talk, that then vs. today, the abundance of Niagara then was almost virtually unthinkable. Scholars and researchers have written that the abundance of Niagara was almost “inconceivable” compared to todays standards.
The first settlers the Iroquois and the Five Nations encountered were French settlers in the sixteenth and seventieth centuries. The original Native American name for the Falls was the Iroquois word “Onguiaahra.” This name, somewhat curiously, was first recorded not by Native Americans, but by a French Jesuit priest by the name of Jérôme Lalement, who was part of the “Huron Mission” in the year 1641. Even more curiously, he writes the name the Native’s gave to the now Niagara Falls, but in his journals, he does not further explain the meaning. Luckily, for those interested, more modern research tells us that the meaning of “Onguiaahra” fittingly translates to “thundering waters.” Perhaps seems like a better name for Niagara, does it not? Europeans, always on a mission to convert and dominate other cultures, quickly changed the name to “Niagara.” But, whether these majestic falls are named Niagara or Onguiaahra, they will always be constant and enduring, all the while being a reminder that the thundering falls of nature will forever abide and endure.
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