The Garden River is a river

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 in the Algoma District

Algoma District, Ontario

Algoma District is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1858 comprising territory as far west as Minnesota...

 of Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 which empties into the St. Marys River

St. Marys River (Michigan-Ontario)

The St. Marys River , sometimes written as the St. Mary's River, drains Lake Superior, starting at the end of Whitefish Bay and flowing 74.5 miles southeast into Lake Huron, with a fall of ....

 east of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario

Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...

.

The river gets its name from vegetable gardens kept by the Ojibwa

Ojibwa

The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...

 people in this area. The Garden River First Nation

Garden River First Nation

Garden River First Nation, also known as Ketegaunseebee , is an Ojibwa band located at Garden River 14 near Sault Ste. Marie....

 Reserve is located in this area. The reserve was created as part of the Robinson-Huron treaty signed in 1850. The leader at Garden River at the time, Chief Shingwauk

Shingwauk

Shingwaukonse , or Shingwauk was an Anishnaabe chief, who was instrumental in the establishment of the Garden River First Nation near Sault Ste...

once, also known as Shingwauk or "Little Pine", had an influence on the creation of this treaty. Shingwauk's vision of a "teaching wigwam" to provide education for native peoples was later distorted into the residential school program.