"Brant's Ford Ceremony Opens Riverfest Weekend"

The Grand River of today is like backed-up plumbing because of dams, said Chief Richard Maracle of the Mohawk Nation during the opening ceremonies of Riverfest Friday night.

"If the good Lord wanted rivers to have dams he'd have created rivers with built-in dams," he told about 200 people gathered for the opening of Riverfest 91 at Lorne Park.

He asked the crowd to join in a "declaration of peace in the war against the Earth."

Chief Maracle's unscheduled speech drew the largest applause during the ceremony which was centered largely around the native history with the river.

The official opening of Riverfest began with a re-enactment of Joseph Brant's fording of the river.

Brant was portrayed by William Miller of the Dufferin Players.

He walked along the shore of the Grand and then back up on shore to be greeted by musket-bearing settlers.

The festival organizers also planted a White Pine in Lorne Park to signify the tree of Great Peace which brought warring nations together in peace according to native legend.

A flag from the Six Nations was also raised.