dead culture

In "Toronto at Dreamer´s Rock" many ancient traditions are mentioned. The boy from the future is living these traditions while the boy from the present is torn between these traditions and modern technologies and temptations. The boy from the future still knows these traditions but in his period of time he is one of the few people still practicing them. People of his period of time, like his girlfriend, judge him for admiring traditions and history in general. They completely lost these traditions. Like Michael points out himself: " We have completely lost our culture. It´s all been explained away or forgotten or just walked away from (...) and dreamers rock is a tourist attration." (p. 38, line 17-19) Enlightment has lead to the loss of culture and factual knowledge became more important than skills you need your hands for. Children no longer learn from and in the nature but in school.
These lost traditons mentioned in "Toronto at Dreamer´s Rock" are:

- Dream quests

- Fasting alone in the bush for one week

- climbing dreamers rock

- names having a purpose or a meaning and therefore give the people power

- indian language

- storytelling

- chanting

- hunting

- fishing

- sweatlodges

- clans like Mohawk, Iroquois, Nodwheg,  Odawa, Ojibway

- praying to the Great Spirit

- picking and eating sweetgrass

- fighting with other clans and being a warrior 

I think the title of the book gives a hint on the change of importance. Nowadays the city Toronto is more familiar to people than dreamer´s rock. We would consider Toronto to be a more important place and therefore say: "Dreamer´s Rock at Toronto". Cities have a bigger influence on us than nauture but in the past this was different. The title indicates this by placing dreamer´s rock second and by doing so making it the landmark.