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IV. local crown-indigenous treaties LOCAL TREATIES & WAMPUM INTERPRETATIONS

"People don't acknowledge the relationships between Chippewa-Muncey-Oneida (CMO) Nations via wampum, which is why they are settled as neighbours; or that land loss and land theft are the reasons that Oneida purchased their settlement, and the reason why the Lenaape (Muncey) were landless and looking for safety. Also that this territory was defended by Tecumseh while Proctor tucked tail at the battle of the Thames defending what is now the Canadian/American border." - Summer Bressette, Chippewas of Kettle & Stony Point

local CROWN-INDIGENOUS treaties

London, Ontario is connected to Gdoo Naaginaa, or the Dish with One Spoon Wampum, and the Kaswenta, or Two Row Wampum. Those Treaty agreements are recognized by Indigenous Nations in this area as the the legal precedent for the Crown Treaties, which is why it is so important to learn about Treaties from Indigenous legal interpretations. The Crown Treaties in this territory are pre-Confederation, and are known as the "Upper Canada Land Surrenders," under the broader classification of "Historic Treaties." Though these Treaties have numbers assigned to them, they are not to be confused with the 11 Numbered Treaties in Northern Ontario, and continue westward, mapping the colonization of the Plains, also known as the Western Expansion. Do not let the words "historic" or "surrender" mislead you either - the Historic Treaties are living Treaties, honoured still today, and the Surrenders are Treaties, misinterpreted as giving up title to land.

"In London, our Treaties include the 1796 London Township Treaty and the 1822 Longwoods Treaty. The London Township Treaty is a regional treaty signed by diplomats representing all parties living on the land that today we know as southwestern Ontario. In 1796, when it was made, Upper Canada’s first Lieutenant Governor, John Graves Simcoe, envisioned the forks of Deshkan Ziibing (which he renamed the Thames River) as an ideal site for the new colony’s capital. Despite Simcoe’s wishes, few colonists settled on this land, and York (Toronto) became Upper Canada’s administrative centre. At these same negotiations in 1796, Anishinabek and British diplomats negotiated another Treaty along the Saint Clair River (Sombra). The purpose of this Treaty was to create a home for Indigenous allies living on the western side of the Detroit River. As tensions continued with the United States, it was important that Britain accommodate its Anishinabek allies, who now found themselves on the wrong side of the colonial border. The situation in 1822 was considerably different. By then, there were nearly 10,000 British settlers in Middlesex County. It took thirty years and international warfare for British settlers to arrive at the place Simcoe once thought suitable for the colony’s capital." (Brunette & Richmond 2017)

"Where the 1796 London Township Treaty reflected seventeenth and early eighteenth-century diplomatic practices, triggered by international geopolitics following the American Revolution, the 1822 Longwoods Treaty reflected Britain’s unarticulated desire for imminent and massive colonial resettlement. Juxtaposing these two Treaties demonstrates the importance of historical and cultural context. Even by the early 1820s, colonial settlement was relatively new. There is no reason to assume that Anishinabek had any forewarning that the Longwoods Treaty would be followed by massive waves of immigration. As they entered negotiations, Anishinabek were used to Treaties that were oral in negotiation and wampum in remembrance. The colonial archive, however, only recorded a handful of paragraphs documented by colonial negotiators. The significance of this discrepancy continues to form the basis for negotiation and litigation between First Nations and the Crown to this day. It is important to recognize, however, that even through British understanding of the law, all claims to property in Ontario are anchored in one or more of these treaty contexts." (Brunette & Richmond 2017)

Watch (45 min): wampum talk "we are all treaty people" with mohawk educator TEYOTSIHSTOKWÁTHE (dakota brant)

In this video Teyotsihstokwáthe Dakota Brant describes Treaty and Wampum relationships and interpretations, from a Haudenosaunee perspective, discussing the Two Row, Dish with One Spoon and the Haudenosaunee Confederacy agreements. Teyotsihstokwáthe also describes the relationships of Haudenosaunee and Neutral Nations to Southwestern Ontario, and New York/Quebec territories. Watch this 45 minute long video to gain a deeper understanding of Treaty rights and responsibilities in this territory.

"No matter your colour, or your creed, or where you come from in the world, human beings all have the same need. When we create Treaties it's impossible to separate human beings from each other because all our needs are the same." - Teyotsihstokwáthe

Teyotsihstokwáthe tells us that her Nation has been making Treaties far longer than the arrival of European settlers. She illustrates the three parties that each have equal rights within a Treaty agreement:

  1. Humans - we represent one party, whether two Nations or one hundred
  2. Creation - Land, the environment
  3. "The coming faces" - generations yet to come

Teyotsihstokwáthe points us towards Treaties as tools to govern and reconcile Indigenous-settler relationships with each other and the environment. With this in mind she outlines Rights and Responsibilities in Haudenosaunee interpretations of Treaties:

  • Affirmation and recognition that resources within the environment are finite
  • Humans have a right to use resources to survive, but have a responsibility to give back - to make space and time for Creation to allow it to replenish itself
  • Creation (the environment) has a right to thrive and survive
  • Affirmation that humans can only take what they need from the environment
  • The coming faces have a right to be born into Creation that is thriving and will take care of all their needs
  • When European settlers were invited into these Treaties, these rights and responsibilities are understood as part of Crown-Indigenous Treaties.

How does Teyotsihstokwáthe's explanation of Treaty rights and Responsibilities impact your own understanding of your role in Treaties? How will/could you write your understanding into your land acknowledgement?

local crown-indigenous treaty texts

The Upper Canada Surrenders connected to London and surrounding counties are: Longwoods Treaty #21 (1819-1822); The London Township Purchase #6 (1796); The Sombra Township Purchase #7 (1796) and the McKee Purchase #2. Below you will find excerpts from the Treaty texts, but please note they are not listed in chronological order.

#2: mckee purchase (1790)

"Treaty 2, or the McKee Purchase, was signed on May 19, 1790 by representatives of the Crown and various First Nations. It is the southernmost Upper Canada treaty. The territory described in the written treaty includes Point Pelee – Canada’s southernmost point. There were over 50 signatories to this Treaty, including settlers and Indigenous leaders. The treaty payments included cloth and linen, tools for hunting and cooking, looking glasses, combs, ribbons and laced hats. Current communities in the area also include Windsor, Chatam-Kent and part of London." (Ontario.ca)

Image: Map of the McKee Purchase

LONGWOODS TREATY (1822)

"Chippewas of the Thames First Nation is the single signatory to the Longwoods Treaty of 1822. In addition, Chippewas of the Thames is signatory along with other First Nations to the following treaties: London Township, 1796; Sombra, 1796; Treaty #29, 1827; and McKee 1790." (COTTFN)

"Treaty 21, also known as the Long Woods Purchase, was signed on March 9, 1819 by representatives of the Crown and certain Anishinaabe peoples. The territory described in the written treaty covers approximately 220,000 hectares." (Ontario.ca)

This Treaty was negotiated between 1818-1822, and is the key Treaty in the Big Bear Creek Settlement with Chippewas of the Thames First Nation in 2013.

Video: A discussion about First Nations land claims and settlements from the perspectives of former Chief of Chippewa of the Thames, Leslee White-Eye and the Chair of the Big Bear Creek Trust, Ramona Sault.

"The Big Bear Creek Settlement settled a land claim in 2013, a dispute over 200 years old connected with the Longwoods Treaty of 1819, between the federal government and Chippewa of the Thames First Nation (COTTFN). Over 20 years, members and leaders of COTTFN members built their case in a collaborative process, drawing on intergenerational and traditional knowledges, oral history and legal expertise. Ultimately, the Canadian legal framework used in these cases does not recognize the value of land in the same way Indigenous communities might value the land. As well, as more Indigenous Nations pursue land claims, it is important to learn from other Nations' experiences."

  • How do modern Treaty settlements impact First Nations?
  • What are some of the barriers First Nations face when seeking land claim agreements?

Image: Pg 1 of Longwoods Treaty of 1822 (Treaty 21)

#6: the london township purchase (1796)

"Treaty 6, or the London Township Purchase, was signed on September 7, 1796, by representatives of the Crown and certain Anishinaabe peoples. The territory described in the written treaty is approximately 30 km². Some of the treaty payments included calico and serge cloths, cooking implements, rifles and flint, and vermillion." (Ontario.ca)

#7: the sombra township purchase (1796)

"Treaty 7, also called the Sombra Township Purchase, was signed on September 7, 1796 by representatives of the Crown and certain Anishinaabe peoples. Three Ottawa Chiefs are listed as witnesses to the Treaty. Their names were Shemmeendock, Negug, and Mitchewas. Some of the treaty payments included kettles of brass, tin, and copper, silk handkerchiefs, 1400 pounds of shot, and combs made of ivory and horn. Current communities in the area include St. Clair and Sombra." (Ontario.ca)

Summer Bressette teaches that each of these Treaties were signed by Chiefs of surrounding Nations, who would have fought alongside Tecumseh in the War of 1812 and the 1813 Battle of the Thames. She stresses that understanding who Tecumseh was, and who the signatories were on each of these Treaties is just as important as knowing who Alexander McKee is, and is what is missing from Treaty history and dialogues.

In each Treaty, you might notice the dodems, or clans, represented by pictographs. Clans are relational ontologies that are part of Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee governance structures. Summer explains in the Mbwaachidiwag Podcast that when we introduce our clans, we are telling you who we are related, and accountable to. Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee clan systems are a form of kinship, but also a complex legal framework. From what I understand as Anishinaabekwe, and from what Summer has explained to me in various conversations, putting the symbol of those clans on these documents was not just signatures, but ensuring future generations, those descendants from those clans are represented. However, in the English translation of the London Township Treaty, it states:

"thence down the said River Thames following the several winding and courses with the stream to the place of beginning. To have and to hold the said parcel or tract of land together with all the woods and waters thereon situate lying, and being unto the said Alexander McKee, Esquire, for and on behalf of His said Britannic Majesty King George the Third His heirs and successors for ever free and clean of and from all claims, rights, privileges, or emoluments which we the said Chiefs, Warriors and People of the said Chippawa Nation might have before the execution of these presents, and free and clear of any pretended claim which our children or descendants may hereafter make the same, hereby renouncing and forever absolving ourselves, our children, descendents and posterity of all title to the said parcel or tract of land, the soil, wood, and waters thereof, in favour of the said Alexander McKee, Esquire, for and on behalf of His said Britannic Majesty, His heirs and successors for ever." (Source: Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, Treaty Texts – Upper Canada Land Surrenders, London Township Treaty No. 6)

Reflection Questions:

  • How are Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee interpretations of Treaties and Wampums reflected in written Crown-Indigenous Treaties?
  • What is my role in Treaties?
  • How can I build or strengthen relationships with local Indigenous communities?
Created By
Sara Mai Chitty
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Credits:

Sara Mai Chitty; By CJLippert - Own work, Public Domain, (https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5094676); Christi Belcourt "Wisdom of the Universe" (https://ago.ca/agoinsider/artists-statement-christi-belcourt-wisdom-universe); Dish With One Spoon (Indian Time: https://www.indiantime.net/story/2010/08/05/cultural-corner/the-dish-with-one-spoon/7510.html); Wampum by Jes Mason (https://theeyeopener.com/2021/03/opinion-before-you-state-a-land-acknowledgement-mean-it/); Ontario Government Map of Ontario First Nations ((https://www.ontario.ca/page/ontario-first-nations-maps); Sombra Treaty ref# 4138480, Library and Archives Canada (http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=4138480&lang=eng)