honour the treaties
Now that you've reflected on your positionality and relationships to local Indigenous people and communities, it's important to do a deep dive into unlearning the foundation for Indigenous-Settler relations in what is now known as Canada. For a really long time, Treaties have been taught from settler perspectives in Canada. Learning Indigenous Perspectives on Wampums and Treaties will foster deeper understanding for you on the significance of these relational ontologies and what it means to be a Treaty person. This will inform the portion of your Land Acknowledgement that addresses Treaty responsibilities, but also is just good information to know, when you list off all the Treaties. Jump to Local Indigenous-Crown Treaties.
“There's this long history of Canada and Canadians mythologizing the emergence of the country. I think there's this narrative that settlers came here and they met Indigenous people and there was a fur trade, and treaties were made and everyone got along well.
And out of those Treaties, Indigenous people agreed to give all the land to Canadians. And next thing you know, there's this country and all these provinces and that's that. But that's not the story that Indigenous people know.
The story that Indigenous people know is settlers coming and tricking Indigenous people, negotiating treaties and then writing down versions that weren't agreed to. And this has created a sort of architecture of theft whereby Canadians … authorize themselves to take up all this land. ”
Hayden King, Unreserved Interview Jan 29, 2021
When land acknowledgments invoke and reference Treaties and wampums, this practice becomes helpful in decolonizing how we relate to one another. Treaties with First Nations and Inuit are the basis of Indigenous-settler relations in what is now known as Canada.
Treaties are nation-to-nation agreements between the British Crown and First Nations, informed by the Royal Proclamation of 1763 to govern non-Indigenous access, and use of, Indigenous lands (Krasowski 3). A treaty is a formal relationship between peoples and nations. On the land that has now become Canada, the meaning of treaty has depended on the time period, peoples involved, and geopolitics. Diplomatic relationships following Indigenous legal systems have existed from time immemorial.
In the Great Lakes region, diplomatic practices were adhered to through ceremonies, such as the Haudenosaunee Edge of the Woods Ceremony, which helps determine the purpose for which visitors have come to a community, and through ceremonial processions remembered through the exchange of wampum. As a symbol of their relationship, parties to treaty often gather to renew their understandings of the agreement. When colonists arrived with the intention to settle, at least six new diplomatic systems and protocols emerged. No one can fully understand treaties in Canada today without understanding each of these contexts.
The Royal Procamation of 1763 was enshrined in the Canadian Chart of Rights and Freedoms as part of the 1982 Constitution Act. This means that Canada’s sovereignty and legitimacy as a state is inherently tied to the sovereignty of First Nations, Métis and Inuit. The TRC Calls to Action repeatedly reference Treaties and insist we return to the original intent and understandings that govern our shared responsibilities to each other and the land.
Wampum belts are long-standing traditions among many Indigenous Nations across Turtle Island. They are created to codify relationships, mark Treaty agreements, and honour spirits. Many agreements between early settlers and Indigenous Nations were formed with wampum first, and only documented on paper later.
As part of wampum practices, purple and white shells from the quahog, a large clam that lives along the Atlantic coast, are harvested and made into beads which are woven into belts with patterns and shapes that tell stories about Treaty, relationships and beyond.
In Southwestern Ontario, where Western University is located, Gdoo Naaginaa, or the Dish with One Spoon wampum (right) is a covenant often used by, and between the Anishinaabeg and the Haudenosaunee to share these territories. Southwestern Ontario and part midwestern US was known as "Beaver hunting grounds," and was shared broadly between many Nations. European colonization created a high demand for beaver pelts, used widely as trade currency in colonies. The impact of the overharvesting of beaver on Southwestern Ontario Indigenous Nations and the land was devastating to not only the Nations, but this wampum. This agreement predates European settlement and was famously invoked at the Great Peace of Montreal in 1701.
Watch the following videos to learn more about the Dish with One Spoon Wampum covenant.
Dish with One Spoon Wampum with Isaac Murdoch (Anishinaabek Nation) (2min46)
Ask An Elder: A Dish with One Spoon (Museum of Toronto) (1min56)
Lunch and Learn: Dish with One Spoon with Rick Hill Sr (Indigenous Education Network) (1h10min)
Within academic institutions, knowledge tends to be written down, documented in books and publications. But among the Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee, wampum belts carry and pass on knowledge in different ways. The belts act as mnemonic devices in oral societies that help people remember and retell teachings and relationships.
Watch: Alan Corbiere explain the meaning of Wampum from an Anishinaabe perspective (Voices from the Gathering Place) (6min21)
You can view all the Crown-Indigenous Treaties and their original written texts via the government website. You will not find Indigenous accounts of what the Treaty negotiations looked like, or were, on the government website.
Royal Proclamation and Covenant of Reconciliation Call to action #45
While the Truth and Reconciliation Commission came from the need for Truths about Indian Residential Schools to be exposed and documented, the Calls to Action address many other aspects to dismantling settler-colonialism in what is now known as Canada. The following section seeks to build understanding around Treaties and the various tools used by the settler-state to justify the ongoing occupation of Indigenous Territories in Canada. Call to Action #45 specifically addresses Reconciliation work around Treaties:
"We call upon the Government of Canada, on behalf of all Canadians, to jointly develop with Aboriginal peoples a Royal Proclamation of Reconciliation to be issued by the Crown. The proclamation would build on the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Treaty of Niagara of 1764, and reaffirm the nation-to-nation relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Crown. The proclamation would include, but not be limited to, the following commitments:"
- "Repudiate concepts used to justify European sovereignty over Indigenous lands and peoples such as the Doctrine of Discovery and terra nullius.
- Adopt and implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples as the framework for reconciliation.
- Renew or establish Treaty relationships based on principles of mutual recognition, mutual respect and shared responsibility for maintaining those relationships into the future.
- Reconcile Aboriginal and Crown constitutional and legal orders to ensure that Aboriginal peoples are full partners in Confederation, including the recognition and integration of Indigenous laws and legal traditions in negotiation and implementation processes involving Treaties, land claims, and other constructive agreements."
Canada is authorized to take up land in Canada by the Royal Proclamation, grounded in Terra Nullius and the Doctrine of Discovery, learn more about these tools in the videos embedded below:
Terra Nullius & The Doctrine of Discovery (Unama'ki College) (1min24)
Doctrine of Discovery from a Haudenosaunee perspective (TreeTV / N2K Need to Know) (5min59)
Image: Christoper Columbus arrives in America by L. Prang & Co., Boston, 1893
What is the royal proclamation?
The Royal Proclamation, issued by King George III on October 7, 1763 is a significant legal document that is enshrined in section 25 of the Constitution Act of 1982. Watch Bob Joseph explain the significance of the Royal Proclamation below:
The Royal Proclamation is important because it affirms:
- Indigenous Nations as sovereign
- That land is 'owned' by Indigenous Nations
- That Indigenous Nations have rights to hunt and fish
Not only did the Proclamation impact Indigenous Peoples, but French-British and British-American relations.
"And whereas it is just and reasonable, and essential to our Interest and the Security of our Colonies, that the several Nations or Tribes of Indians, with whom We are connected, and who live under our Protection, should not be molested or disturbed in the Possession of such Parts of Our Dominions and Territories as, not having been ceded to, or purchased by Us, are reserved to them, or any of them, as their Hunting Grounds.”
This is an American settler perspective from the History Channel that adds a bit more context to the Royal Proclamation's impact.
The Treaty of Niagara of 1764 is also a very important historical event that influences Indigenous-Settler relations today and was instrumental in the creation of Canada. Check back soon for more information.
"we are all Treaty People"
"Treaties include all people who live in a particular treaty territory or area. If you live on land governed by a Treaty, you are a Treaty person, whether or not you are new to the area or your ancestors immigrated here many years ago. In Ontario, chances are very good you live within territory covered by Treaty. Since the earliest contact between European settlers and First Nations, treaties were negotiated to support terms of peace, friendship and trade. One of the most famous examples is the 1613 agreement between the Haudenosaunee and the Dutch, known as Gudwetah of the Two-Row Wampum. In the colonial era, treaties took on a new meaning, that of land surrender by First Nations to British control. During this time, First Nations ‘ceded’ their land through treaty. There are a few examples in Ontario of ‘unceded land’; these refer to communities who did not engage in treaty processes or whose treaty did not “cede” Indigenous land." (Brunette & Richmond 2017).
"Many people think of treaty rights as “special” indigenous rights however, all people living in Canada are Treaty people with their own set of rights and responsibilities. Treaties are a foundational part of Canadian society. Every road, house, building or business that exists today in a treaty area was made possible because of a treaty. The existence of treaties is proof that the first settlers of what is now Canada respected First Nations as sovereign people and negotiated Nation to Nation. By understanding the colonial history of Canada we can renew our relationships with each other and move towards meaningful reconciliation." (OISE, University of Toronto)
What you can do:
- "In light of the fact that most of Ontario is covered by Treaty, it is important for all Ontarians – and not just First Nations people – to know about and be aware of the origins of the land upon which they live. Who lived on this land before you did? Who used the river before you did? What activities historically took place on the lands upon which Western University now sits?" (Brunette & Richmond 2017)
- "As Canadians, we must recognize and appreciate the fact that we are all Treaty people. This land has a history that predates colonial expansion. The people, cultures and languages of the Indigenous peoples who have lived in this region for many generations deserve to have their title, sovereignty, treaty rights and rights to land acknowledged and celebrated." (Brunette & Richmond 2017)
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)