At sunset, a child and adult walk past a tipi village set up at pêhonânihk (Fort Carlton). Photo by Brittany Boschman
The route to “Fort Carlton” is a literal descent into colonial history.
The winding road drops below the flat, golden prairie Saskatchewan is known for — pulling travellers down into a lush, green landscape carved into the plain: the North Saskatchewan River Valley.
Leaving asphalt behind, the valley levels out and gravel pinches out from beneath vehicles’ tires — bringing into sight more than 20 tipis scattered across the valley bottom.
An aging grey wood fence leads to the tall, wooden stockade that is historic “Fort Carlton,” a fortified compound established in 1795 by the Hudson’s Bay Company, before moving to its current location 15 years later.
In Cree, however, this site is known as pêhonânihk — a waiting place.
Dozens of Treaty 6 flags flap in the wind, reminding visitors that this place was where the colonial agreement was negotiated and first signed exactly 150 years earlier.
Photo by Brittany Boschman
Edwin Ananas is chief of nîpisîhkopâwiyinînâhk (Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree) Nation, which hosted the four-day event.
He hoped it would help participants “remember our past leaders who fought for us, who set the path for us, the path we need to continue to fight.”
From Aug. 20 to 23, according to the band’s tourism agency, more than 5,000 people journeyed to Fort Carlton Provincial Historic Park for a historic commemoration that blended traditional ceremony, current affairs, and collective resolve about the future.
But while the 150th-anniversary event was billed as a chance to “to reflect on our shared history,” for many attending its focus was on the next generation: oskâyak (young people).
Serenity Gamble (centre), a member of the Treaty 6 Youth planning committee and citizen of Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation. Photo by Brittany Boschman
During a series of speeches, Youth asserted they are not waiting for their turn to be decision-makers.
“We’re today’s generation,” said Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation member Serenity Gamble, with the Treaty 6 Youth planning committee, in a speech.
“Oftentimes people are saying we’re the future generation of leaders — but we’re actually the today leaders.”
Past, present and future
Chiefs, councillors and representatives of the “Crown” signed Treaty 6 on Aug. 23, 1876 in “Fort Carlton,” with additional leaders signing on at “Beardy’s Campsite” and “Fort Pitt” in the weeks after.
The agreement spanned more than 300,000 square kilometres across central Saskatchewan and “Alberta.”
A map of historic treaties signed before and after Confederation in 1867. Treaty 6 spans 300,000 square kilometres between central ‘Saskatchewan’ and ‘Alberta.’ Map courtesy Indigenous Services Canada
This month’s commemoration turned the historic site into a vibrant village of nations.
Organizers offered daily programming for attendees, from traditional Plains Cree hand games, medicine-picking walks, and children’s activities including a petting zoo, face painting and an inflatable castle.
It also provided a forum for wide-ranging discussions of contemporary issues, including Indigenous economic sovereignty, Matriarchs’ roles in treaty-making, kêhtê-ayak (Elders) sharing of their treaty knowledge and lived experience.
Dancers at the grand entry for the Treaty 6 commemorations in Fort Carleton this August. Photo by Brittany Boschman
The event opened with a Grand Entry, in which a young girl wearing a ribbon skirt danced impromptu from the sidelines for the chiefs and other dignitaries.
Her graceful movements kept pace with the pounding beat of the Mina Pêyak drum group from Beardy’s and Okemasis’ Cree Nation.
A young girl dances as a procession passes by during the Grand Entry for the Treaty 6 anniversary gathering in August. Photo by Brittany Boschman
Contrasted with the historic landmark’s towering log walls and fortifications, her ribbon skirt and flowing hair brought movement and energy to the opening ceremonies.
Her prominent opening performance also offered a reminder of the key role Youth hoped to play — not only for the event, but also to revitalize the 1876 treaty for the future.
A Grand Entry opens 150th-anniversary events to mark the 1876 signing of Treaty 6 at “Fort Carlton.” Photo by Brittany Boschman
For four sunny days, the air was heavy with the weight of history and the visions of a new generation.
During the Grand Entry and as chiefs and dignitaries spoke, a restless wind whipped through the tipi flaps, as if Mother Earth was participating in the conversation. Dozens of Treaty 6 Flags waved along the colonial fort’s towering wood-stake fence.
“To realize that you’re a part of history … to take it in and realize the spirituality of it — and realizing we’re on the grounds that our ancestors were on — it’s emotional,” said Chief Tanya Stone of the Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation.
A manuscript in the shadows
At the centre of the “Fort Carlton” compound sits one of many historically reconstructed log buildings.
Inside one of them — displayed for protection behind glass under dim amber lighting — sat a piece of fragile parchment: the original Treaty 6 manuscript.
Each day of the treaty commemoration, a procession of Elders, families, Youth and community members snaked out the door — waiting to see for themselves the artifact from a moment in history that forever changed their people’s landscape.
“Our ancestors had so much love and care for us in the future that they did what they thought was best,” Maskwacis First Nation member Kyra Northwest told IndigiNews after viewing the parchment.
“And that was to negotiate those treaties.”
The original parchment of Treaty 6, signed in 1876. Photo courtesy Library and Archives of Canada
But as speaker after speaker noted throughout the four day gathering, that piece of paper on display was only a shadow of the true treaty their ancestors had signed.
The real agreement, they explained, was not stored within the document’s ink, fabric and wax seal — but for Cree people, in the pipe and the sacred covenant made with the Creator.
“The pipe made those decisions sacred,” said Chief Christine Longjohn, of namîwi-sâkahikanihk (Sturgeon Lake First Nation).
“Treaty was never meant to be something we simply remember. It’s a living relationship in our ceremonies and our languages, in our laws, and our connection to the land.”
READ MORE: Mi’kmaq people mark 300 years of treaty — and broken promises
She said that when Treaty 6 was signed, her ancestors were always thinking about future generations. And that, she argued, means children and Youth are essential to the treaty’s future.
“Treaty is about our children,” she said. “Our ancestors were looking down the road when they made treaty; they were thinking about us.
“Now it’s our turn to look down that road and think about the generations coming behind us.”
George Houle, a member of Goodfish Lake First Nation #128, speaks on a Youth panel during Treaty 6 anniversary events in August. Photo by Brittany Boschman
Youth call treaty promises a ‘broken transaction’
While the main stage hosted dignitaries’ political and historical addresses, Youth on the venue’s ground level hoped to shift the narrative, speaking behind tables adorned with buffalo hides about the treaty’s relevance to them.
Their forum, on the event’s third day, included university students, activists, and Youth leaders involved in the Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations (FSIN).
“I’m going to take a business approach to this,” said George Houle, member of Goodfish Lake First Nation #128 who is studying for a post-secondary degree in finance.
“It’s all legal and transactional — this was promised to us; it’s legal in writing, and it’s not being fully complied with. So that’s a broken transaction.”
Tejana Buffalo-McGown, a Youth leader from Wapaha Ska Dakota Oyate (Whitecap Dakota Nation), spoke of a “mandate” placed upon her generation and those to follow it — who she said is not waiting for anyone’s permission to lead.
“We are sovereign people. We don’t follow the Canadian law — we’re not supposed to,” she said.
“We’re supposed to be our own nations, governing our own ways.”
READ MORE: What does sovereignty actually mean in Canada?
She described Youth as “future ancestors,” reminding her audience of the need to always consider seven generations ahead.
“That is a mandate for us Youth,” she said.
“Treaty is a living relationship … It’s our spiritual and legal obligation.”
Cameron Halkett, from mistahi-sâkahikan (Lac La Ronge Indian Band), echoed that call for action.
“Youth need to be involved in more activism,” she said. “Because without the Youth’s energy — and without our voices at the table — we won’t get anywhere.”
Halkett added that the drug and alcohol crisis is disproportionately affecting Indigenous Youth across the land.
“It is really scary as a young person because it’s in our face every single day,” she said. “But I believe that eventually it’ll get better — and I have hope that it’ll get better.”
Governor General Louise Arbour (left) and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak examine original 1876 parchments of Treaty 6 in ‘Fort Carlton, Sask.’ in August. Photo courtesy Governor General of Canada
Respecting oral histories
The commemoration also offered a space to talk about the government’s failures of the past 150 years.
Despite Treaty 6’s promises — of “peace and good will,” “bounty and benevolence,” and signatories’ “right to pursue their avocations of hunting and fishing throughout the tract” — Governor General Louise Arbour admitted the country’s history “tells a very different story.”
“Your ancestors were too often denied the justice, dignity, and respect to which they were entitled,” she told attendees in a speech.
“Colonization gave rise to some of the darkest chapters in Canadian history, including the failure to uphold treaty commitments, and the profound harm caused by the residential school system.”
Governor General Louise Arbour (second from right) is wrapped in a star blanket by First Nations leaders and Treaty 6 anniversary event attendees. Photo by Brittany Boschman
Elwin Bear of maskotêw (Muskoday First Nation) is a descendant of Chief Mis-ti-koo-na-pac (John Smith), one of Treaty 6’s original signatories.
He pointed to the discrepancy between what was promised and what was practiced. For instance, his ancestors were guaranteed economic wealth.
Yet they were soon barred from selling their own grain, livestock, and eggs under the Peasant Farm Policy which would dismantle the economic independence of First Nations farmers.
And they were banned from hunting and trapping in large tracts of their lands set aside for parks.
Participants in Treaty 6 anniversary events tour ‘Fort Carlton,’ known in Cree as pêhonânihk (waiting place). The Hudson’s Bay Company built the original fortified compound in 1795, before moving it to its current location. Photo by Brittany Boschman
But Bear also questioned the government’s version of the treaty text — in particular that the Plain and Wood Cree signatories “cede, release, surrender and yield up to the Government of the Dominion of Canada … forever, all their rights, titles and privileges, whatsoever, to the lands”
That’s not how Bear’s ancestors remember what they negotiated and agreed to.
“Things were written after we left the treaty tent,” Bear said.
The signatures page of the 1876 Treaty 6 parchment is displayed in ‘Fort Carlton, Sask.’ Photo by Brittany Boschman
Other attendees agreed, with Chief Kelsey Jacko of Łuwechok Túwe (Cold Lake First Nations) asserting Treaty 6 signatories “did not cede or surrender anything. We agreed to share.”
Sid Fiddler, an Elder from Sîkîp Sâkahikan (Waterhen Lake First Nation), rejected the entire notion that his ancestors could have surrendered their homelands, since that concept would have been unthinkable and alien in their culture.
“How could we relinquish anything that [is] part of who we are?” he asked.
“That’s part of our nation. That’s part of our identity.”
Kyra Northwest (second from left) and her grandmother Flora (in red) examine the original Treaty 6 parchments from 1876. Photo by Brittany Boschman
For Kyra Northwest, of Maskwacis First Nation, the signing chiefs’ intentions and understandings of the 1876 agreement matter “a lot more than what’s written on the paper,” she told IndigiNews.
What matters more, she continued, is “the obligations we have to our ancestors, the obligations we have to the land, the obligations we have to our non-human relatives.”
Elders and Knowledge Keepers
The kêhtê-ayak — the event’s Elders forum — provided a bridge between the experiences of the past and the resilience of the present.
Eric Tootoosis, from kîskihkomânihk (Poundmaker Cree Nation), told attendees the ancestors who negotiated the treaty “weren’t thinking of themselves.”
“They were thinking about the one that’s not born yet, that’s still in the mother’s womb,” he explained.
“That’s who we are thinking about [today].”
Elaine Sutherland, director of treaty education for the Office of the Treaty Commissioner, speaks during 150th-anniverary events marking the signing of Treaty 6 in 1876. Photo by Brittany Boschman
Gladys Wapass-Greyeyes, an Elder from kâ-pitikônâhk (Thunderchild First Nation), reminded visitors that the work is far from over.
“Our ancestors — our grandparents, great-grandparents — that signed the treaties for us … signed the treaties believing that things would work out the way they had hoped it would work out,” she said.
Jenny Spyglass, from Mosquito Grizzly Bear’s Head Lean Man First Nation, reflected on the loss of language and culture in the decades since Treaty 6 was signed.
“I grew up not knowing my treaty rights,” she said. “I grew up not knowing my language, and it hurts.”
She encouraged schools and others in the education system to prioritize teaching Cree Youth their culture, and to ensure that good intentions actually translate into actions.
A child and adult walk through a tipi village in ‘Fort Carlton, Sask.’ during Treaty 6 anniversary events in August. Photo by Brittany Boschman
“Our language is very important,” Spyglass said. “When you make a plan, you make a plan, look at it, talk about it — not forever, it’s action after that.”
Bear, of Muskoday First Nation, agreed that preserving the Cree language is of vital importance as a tool for reclaiming dignity.
He is the First Nation’s K-12/Post-Secondary Co-ordinator, and explained the Cree word for child — awâsis — is related to the word for “little star being.” (Knowledge Keepers also say it’s related to words meaning “a sacred gift on loan from Creation,” and “a small spirit on a human journey”).
Bear argued teaching children their true identity according to their culture is a radical act of treaty implementation.
“Imagine how powerful that is if a child knows that now, and learns it throughout their life,” Bear said.
“That’s what was taken away from us.”
Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak (centre foreground), National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, walks in a group through ‘Fort Carlton, Sask.’ Photo by Brittany Boschman
‘Deeds more than words’
As the Treaty 6 commemoration drew to a close, the mood became one of resolve. On the final day, an early-morning dew and light shower cleansed the ground.
Assembly of First Nations National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak echoed the sentiment of the Youth who spoke throughout the event, telling the crowd that the era of empty promises must end.
“King Charles had said we have to start working on deeds more than words,” Woodhouse Nepinak said, paraphrasing the monarch’s April speech that “words carry weight and meaning” but that actions “matter even more.”
For the thousands who travelled to the colonial fort at pêhonânihk, the actions are already underway.
Leroy Little Bear (right), co-founder of the Buffalo Treaty, watches as an Elder signs on to support the 2014 document vowing ‘co-operation, renewal and restoration.’ Photo by Brittany Boschman
One of those was a signing of the first cross-border treaty between Indigenous nations in more than a century — the Buffalo Treaty.
The agreement, launched in 2014, sets out a vision and plan of ecological and cultural restoration.
Its signatories commit “to honour, recognize, and revitalize the time immemorial relationship” with bison, and “to welcome buffalo to once again live among us as Creator intended.”
A video explains the history and purpose of the 2014 Buffalo Treaty, billed as a ‘treaty of co-operation, renewal and restoration.’ Video courtesy Buffalo Treaty/Vimeo
“They’ve never left us, that spirit has always been on the land,” explained Amethyst First Rider, the document’s co-founder from Kainai Nation in the Blackfoot Confederacy.
“Everywhere I look, and every place I go, I see that spirit of the buffalo.”
She said the Buffalo Treaty — which has been signed by representatives of more than 50 First Nations spanning cultures and colonial borders — is similar to the “many, many treaties that we all signed amongst our nations” prior to colonization.
“It’s a testament for us as nations-to-nations,” she added, “to sign and be together.”
Participants shake hands during events at “Fort Carlton” to mark 150 years since the signing of Treaty 6 there in 1876. Photo by Brittany Boschman
‘Know your treaties’
For the young people showing leadership in their First Nations — whether organizing medicine walks or asserting their rights in national political forums — the principles their ancestors embedded into Treaty 6 are being reclaimed by the people.
“We shouldn’t be still talking about whether treaty obligations matter,” said Chief Tammy Cook-Searson of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band. “We should be talking about how we fulfill them.
“One-hundred-fifty years does not lessen a promise; it makes the responsibility to keep it even greater.”
Youth taking part in Treaty 6 commemorations walk between the historically reconstructed white-washed buildings of ‘Fort Carlton, Sask.’ Photo by Brittany Boschman
Within the stockade walls of pêhonânihk, several speakers invoked the solemn pledge made there 150 years ago by Alexander Morris — the Crown’s treaty commissioner who negotiated Treaty 6.
He said, “What I will promise, and what I believe and hope you will take, is to last as long as that sun shines and yonder river flows.”
Many chiefs and dignitaries spoke about how today, the sun still shines, the grass still grows, and the rivers still flow.
During a panel discussion at the Treaty 6 anniversary gathering, an audience member wears a shirt referencing promises that the treaty would last in perpetuity. Photo by Brittany Boschman
“Today, when you look at the destruction of what they did … they have damaged the water, the trees, the plants, the animals, the birds, the insects,” said Flora Northwest, from Maskwacis First Nation, told IndigiNews after viewing the original Treaty 6 parchment displayed within the colonial fort.
“My advice to everyone is, please, please get to know your treaties.”
The post ‘A living covenant’: Cree Youth honour 150 years of Treaty 6, vowing to carry it forward appeared first on Indiginews.
From Indiginews via This RSS Feed.