Verna Patronella Johnston

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Verna Patronella Johnston
Johnston working in the kitchen
Born(1909-02-15)February 15, 1909
Cape Croker, Ontario, Canada
Died1996 (aged 86–87)
Occupation(s)activist, storyteller, cook, foster parent

Verna Patronella Johnston (1909-1996) was an Ojibway and Potawatomi (Anishinaabe) author, mother, grandmother, mentor, and community activist, known for helping Indigenous youth who had travelled to the city of Toronto for secondary and post-secondary educational opportunities from the 1960s through to the 1980s. She became an important leader within the urban Indigenous community in the city.

Biography[edit]

Verna Patronella Johnston was born on Cape Croker reserve (Neyaashiinigmiing) in 1909. Her father Peter Nadjiwon was Ojibway and Potawatomi and her mother Charlotte Penn was English, Irish and Scotch.[1][2] She was the third eldest of 14 children.[3][4] She recalled spending much of her childhood with her great-grandmother, a Mary LaVallée.[3] After her marriage she spent time in Toronto with her husband, where she was able to find wage work in a bakery and the city's factories.[5] She spent many years at Cape Croker working as a foster parent where she was able to support herself following her separation from her husband.[6][2] She was also involved in her local Homemaker's Clubs and Women's Institute.[5][7] In 1965, two of her granddaughters wished to attend business courses at a local college in the city.[7] Aware that Indigenous youth often faced hostility and struggled with social acceptance at local boarding houses, she rented a third floor apartment on Broadview Avenue near the Riverdale Zoo where she lived there with her granddaughters[8] In time she hosted many more Indigenous boarders and in 1966 relocated to North York where she rented a large house on Blythwood Road from lithographer Roy Ramsay, running a boarding house for young women, but later accepted young men.[9] In 1972 she relocated to McGill Street before closing her operations in 1973.[9][10] During this time she also published a collection of stories passed down to her through the oral tradition, Tales of Nokomis.[11] Johnston's work offering safe, secure and culturally relevant housing to Indigenous youth was part of a larger social movement related to building community and counteracting discriminatory housing practices in the city.[8][12] In addition to taking in young women studying in the city, Johnston also took in youth fleeing abusive foster homes and seeking sanctuary.[4][13] Boarders with Johnston would go on to become educators, social workers, librarians, and community activists. In 1977 she collaborated with Rosamond Vanderburgh to publish a biography of her life, titled I am Nokomis too.[4] She was also a founding member of and volunteer with many Indigenous organizations that started in the city including the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, the Indian-Eskimo Association of Canada, The Council Fire, Anduhyaun House, Anishnawbe Health Toronto, and the Wigwamen housing agency.[8][7][14][12] She also led a program teaching crafts on reserves funded through Indian Affairs and later taught courses at Sheridan College, York University, and Seneca College.[6][15]

Johnston moved home to Cape Croker several times after being diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, but eventually returned to Toronto where she was hired as housekeeper at Anduhyaun House, a hostel for Indigenous women.[16][7][10][6] There she taught crafts, cooking, and household management to residents, as well as running public workshops for more general audiences.[17][18][19] She continued to be a vocal community activist, speaking out against discrimination within the Children's Aid Society, where white foster homes were paid double what she received as an Indigenous foster parent.[16]

Family[edit]

Verna learned traditional medicines and oral storytelling from her great-grandmother Mary Lavalée and her grandmother, whose family name was Jones.[3] At the age of sixteen, she married Henry Johnston on September 15, 1926 in Wiarton, Ontario.[4] She had five children.[13]

Awards[edit]

Publications[edit]

  • Johnston, Patronella. Tales of Nokomis. illustrations by Francis Kagige. Don Mills, Ont: Musson Book, 1975.

Other sources[edit]

  • I am Nokomis, too: the biography of Verna Patronella Johnston by Rosamond M. Vanderburgh. Don Mills: General Publishing Company, 1977.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Enright, Nancy (1982-04-28). "Indian foods mix with Ojibwa tales of old at festival". The Globe and Mail. pp. SB9.
  2. ^ a b Gordon-Corbiere, Mnawaate (2021). "Verna Johnston, Nokomis". In Bolduc, Denise; Gordon-Corbiere, Mnawaate; Tabobondung, Rebeka; Wright-McLeod, Brian (eds.). Indigenous Toronto : stories that carry this place. Toronto: Coach House Press. pp. 179–182.
  3. ^ a b c Keeshig, Jocelyn; Johnston, Verna Patronella (1982-08-09). "Verna Patronella Johnston interview". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. ^ a b c d Vanderburgh, Rosamond M. (1977). I am Nokomis, too : the biography of Verna Patronella Johnston. Don Mills: General Pub. Co. ISBN 0-7736-0061-2. OCLC 3862036.
  5. ^ a b Howard, Heather (2004). "Dreamcatchers in the City: An Ethnohistory of Social Action, Gender and Class in Native Community Production in Toronto" (Document). Toronto, Ont.: University of Toronto (Canada).
  6. ^ a b c Adamson Clarke, Joni (2003). Bataille, Gretchen M.; Laurie, Lisa (eds.). Native American Women: A Biographical Dictionary (2nd ed.). New York: Routledge. pp. 159–160. ISBN 0-203-80104-0. OCLC 54026385.
  7. ^ a b c d Vanderburgh, Rosamond Moate (1989). "Nishnawbekwe: A Century of Change" (Document). University of Pennsylvania.
  8. ^ a b c "Remembering 'Grandma': Verna Johnston smoothed the transition to Toronto for countless native kids". thestar.com. 2015-01-18. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  9. ^ a b "Verna Johnston Author Boarding House". Heritage Toronto. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  10. ^ a b Johnston, Verna (1982-04-05). "Interview with Mrs. Verna Patronella Johnston, April 5, 1982" (PDF) (Interview). Interviewed by Elizabeth Mason.
  11. ^ Johnston, Patronella (1975). Tales of Nokomis. Francis Kagige. Don Mills, Ont.: Musson Book Co. ISBN 0-7737-0016-1. OCLC 2964699.
  12. ^ a b Howard-Bobiwash, Heather (2003). "Women's Class Strategies as Activism in Native Community Building in Toronto, 1950-1975". American Indian Quarterly. 27 (3/4): 566–582. doi:10.1353/aiq.2004.0076. S2CID 156587469.
  13. ^ a b Katz, Sidney (1969-12-10). "Grandmother helps Indian youngsters adapt to city living". Toronto Daily Star. pp. 69, 73.
  14. ^ Jones, Frank (1978-10-15). "Why Indians return to the Great Spirit". The Toronto Star. pp. A14.
  15. ^ "Prices Up". The Barrie Examiner. 1969-03-18. p. 3. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  16. ^ a b FirstStoryTO (2013-11-17). "Verna Patronella Johnston". First Story Toronto. Retrieved 2022-10-10.
  17. ^ Dempsey, Lotta (1978-03-06). "Total Immersion in Canadiana at St. Victor school". The Toronto Star. pp. C1.
  18. ^ "Community Events". The Toronto Star. 1993-05-06. pp. NY10.
  19. ^ "YWCA Day Camp Counsellors Meet in Toronto". The Globe and Mail. 1966-06-29. pp. W2.
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