[Speaking in Ojibway] Greetings.
My name is First One Standing.
I am Sturgeon Clan from Garden River First Nation.
[Speaking in English] My English name
is Darrell Boissoneau.
I'm from the Garden River First Nation.
My spirit name is: Nih-ti-meh-ga-bow.
That means First One Standing,
and I am from the Sturgeon Clan: Namay Dodaim.
I am from the Robinson-Huron treaty of 1850,
and the treaty was signed here
on September the 9th in 1850.
So where we are sitting here today
is very historic in nature
and you can really feel the energy of our ancestors
who came here and met here
and who at the beginning of all discussions
really started off with our own traditions
and customs and protocols,
meaning that the fire was lit,
the pipes were lit and the songs were sung
before we entered into any type of treaty discussions,
so this is where the Robinson-Huron treaty starts
and its important that people understand
what the history of this country is.
The Robinson-Huron treaty of 1850
is a pre-confederation treaty
so it was signed before Canada even existed,
and I don't think many people know
about pre-confederation treaties
so I think this is a good opportunity for all of us
to learn about pre-confederation treaties.
But more importantly for our people
is that they are living documents.
Because they were signed in sacred ceremony
and because it was our ancestors,
our grandmothers our grandfathers
who sat around those council fires
to talk about what it is that we are going to talk about,
it lives in our blood memory as well.
It's very spiritual for our people in nature.
It's always been a core value of our people
that the great spirit be with us at all times
and so having those symbols of governance,
that being the pipe, the fire and the drums
and the songs that are associated with them
are important to us
so we begin all of our meetings in such a manner.
I think probably the most amazing thing for me is,
particularly in northern Ontario
where we are doing a huge land use study
on Treaty #9,
as well as right here
within my own community in Garden River
is that, is listening to the elders
and the stories that they had to share,
and their understanding and their world view
of what the treaty meant,
it's quite different than what mainstream means,
and so that connection in terms of our oral history
I think connects the true understanding
of what the treaties mean.
So that wisdom and knowledge
that comes from the elders
I think is key to the advancements
of reconciling the differences that we have
here in Ontario.
We are here on the site of where
the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850 was signed.
The English name for this place is Sault Ste. Marie,
but for the original people,
the Ojibway, Anishinabe,
this place is called Bawating
and we're proud that we're able
to have visitors with us today
and that this is a beautiful day
where we'll welcome it as a learning
between two nations.
The Robinson-Huron treaty of 1850 was signed here
by the principle headmen
and Chiefs of the First Nations
along the north shore of Lake Huron.
Chief Shingwauk from Garden River
is the one who instigated the treaty.
There was some mining development
that was happening in Mica Bay
which is north of here on Lake Superior,
and the miners at the time
didn't get the consent of the people,
the original owners, the Anishinabe people here,
and so Chief Shingwauk first petitioned
for the government and the Crown at the time
to enter into treaty, which didn't happen quick enough.
So what he did is that he loaded up
a cannon from the Hudson's Bay house,
and he took some warriors
and some other allies with him
and he canoed up to Mica Bay
where this mining activity was occurring.
When he got there
he shot off a few rounds from the cannon
just to get the attention of the mining companies.
So that really pushed the government to move forward
and start having the discussions
with First Nations to talk about treaty.
So I think for students and educators
it would be important for them to understand that,
that as we are all becoming to be known
as treaty people,
they need to know
what their role, responsibility and duty is
in terms of what it means to them
to be a treaty person as well.
Earlier you heard some of the animals in the background,
the squirrels and the birds,
and in our belief system
we believe that they are intended to be here
because they carry the spirit of our ancestors
and so they are acknowledging our presence here today
so I think it's a very important part
that they are here as well
to hear the story that we are sharing.