Respecting and Honouring Treaty Relationships


In 2016, the province of Ontario handed laws to declare the primary full week of November as Treaties Recognition Week. This yr, Treaties Recognition Week is November 5-11, 2023. So, what’s a Treaty, and why is it essential to acknowledge and acknowledge them? 

Treaties are legally binding agreements that set out the rights, duties, and relationships of First Nations and the Federal and Provincial Governments. Treaties with Indigenous individuals embody:

  • historic treaties with First Nations (70 historic treaties in Canada have been signed between 1701 and 1923), and
  • trendy treaties (additionally referred to as land declare agreements)

Indigenous Nations have lengthy used treaty relationships to guard their conventional lands, sources, and methods of life whereas sustaining peace and friendship with different Nations. These treaties are thought of sacred, non secular pacts.

As an educator, how are you going to assist learners perceive treaty relationships? How can all of us display our dedication to the spirit and intent of the treaties? Let’s find out about treaties throughout Turtle Island from Elders and Information Keepers. As you do, mirror in your studying and contemplate what you are able to do to display your dedication to respecting and honouring treaty rights, duties, and relationships.

Learn on to contemplate your position and a number of the sources accessible to assist you in your journey.

Whose Land?

“Treaty is perpetually. It can’t come strictly from a financial factor, it’s acquired to come back from what you’re as a individuals, the land was given to us, so I imagine it’s a present from the Creator, you have got a accountability to take care of it. The wants are totally different than what they have been again then, the wants are totally different, so due to this fact it’s a must to transfer together with the time to have the ability to take care of the wants that you’ve.”

– Bentley Cheechoo, initially a member of Moose Cree First Nation and in addition a former Chief of Constance Lake First Nation and Grand Chief (Indigenous Voices on Treaties).

One of many fundamental results of the historic treaties signed between 1701 and 1923 was the creation of reserves. After signing treaties, many Indigenous Nations discovered themselves restricted to small elements of their conventional and rightful territories and huge sections of their lands got to European settlers.

The colonial and Canadian governments used treaties to safe land so they might have entry to worthwhile pure sources and the flexibility to construct trade throughout the nation. Many Nations signed treaties with the understanding that their land can be accessed and utilized by settlers in change for items and annual monetary compensation, not that they have been signing away the title. To Indigenous individuals, land shouldn’t be a commodity to be owned, and due to this fact, it couldn’t be signed away.

Everybody in Canada lives on Indigenous lands. Whose land do you reside on? Go to the Whose Land digital map as a category. Activate the Treaties & Agreements filter to find out about totally different treaty territories throughout Canada. Have learners work in teams to analysis native treaties in numerous elements of Canada utilizing the location and encourage discussions about ceded and unceded land and historic and trendy treaties.

Treaties and Fact and Reconciliation

Treaties Recognition Week was established in response to the Fact and Reconciliation Fee’s Calls to Motion. Respecting and honouring treaty relationships is a vital a part of fact and reconciliation. In his interview for Indigenous Voices on Treaties, former Ontario Human Rights Commissioner and citizen of the Mississaugas of Alderville First Nation Maurice Switzer, Bnesi, shares his beliefs about how reconciliation can occur in Canada:

“For me, once we discuss fact and reconciliation, we’re actually speaking in regards to the authentic spirit and intent of treaties. And to me, we are going to know when reconciliation is beginning to occur in Canada when individuals of all totally different backgrounds and creeds and languages and hues reside in mutual respect as a result of that was the connection that was envisaged a few hundred years in the past when the treaty course of began.”

Treaties haven’t any expiration date. So long as the solar shines, the grass grows, and the river flows, treaties are supposed to endure. Whereas some individuals discuss treaties as being “historic” or irrelevant to their lives right now, the reality is these paperwork are legally binding.

The Function Treaties Play in Our Lives 

Many individuals might consider treaty rights as “particular” Indigenous rights; nevertheless, all individuals residing in Canada are treaty individuals with their very own set of rights and duties.

“Some individuals make an assumption that solely Indigenous individuals are treaty holders, when if truth be told, it’s all the neighborhood is a treaty holder, Indigenous, non-Indigenous neighborhood members are all a part of the treaty, and so the significance of studying in regards to the treaty is as a result of it governs a part of our relationship collectively.”

– Cora-Lee McGuire-Cyrette, Chief Govt Officer of the Ontario Native Ladies’s Affiliation (Indigenous Voices on Treaties)

In treaty negotiations, one of many fundamental ideas is discovering steadiness between what Indigenous peoples need for his or her governments and what individuals who aren’t from First Nations would love. We’re all treaty individuals. Let’s work collectively in direction of a sustainable future for all of us.

How Can I Take part throughout Treaties Recognition Week and Past?

These are only a few significant methods to interact with accessible sources, in-person and nearly. 

1. Attend Native Occasions and Workshops

Here’s a listing of Treaties Recognition Week occasions in Ontario. Discover a workshop close to you, or strive a digital occasion!

2. Dive into Academic Sources

Learn books, watch documentaries, and browse on-line sources in regards to the historical past and significance of treaties in Canada. Listed below are a number of options to start out: 

📚Whose Land Is It Anyway? A Guide for Decolonization is a free eBook by Peter McFarlane and Nicole Schabus. 

🎙️Dr. Pamela Palmater, a Mi’kmaq lawyer, professor, activist, and politician from Mi’kma’ki, New Brunswick, hosts the Reconciliation Guide Membership on YouTube. Chances are you’ll want to use the episode “Reconciliation Guide Membership – Whose Land Is It Anyway?” as a companion on your studying.

📽️Trick or Treaty? by Alanis Obomsawin. Watch the total documentary on the Nationwide Movie Board of Canada web site.

💻Treaties and Worldview, a highschool useful resource package that helps learners perceive how the differing worldviews of settler Canadians and Indigenous Peoples in the course of the negotiations of the Numbered Treaties might have impacted every celebration’s understanding of the ultimate settlement.

3. Advocate for Significant Change

Advocate for insurance policies and initiatives that promote fact, reconciliation, and the rights of Indigenous peoples. Go to Idle No Extra and LANDBACK to learn the way these actions resist unfair treaty phrases and honour Indigenous sovereignty. 

What are you planning for Treaties Recognition Week in your classroom? We’d love to listen to your concepts!


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