NEW on the NMAI blog: An interview with Duke Peltier, Ogimaa (chief) of Wiikwemkoong Anishinabek. Excerpt: The most significant historical event to our people was the 1764 Peace Treaty at Niagara. It truly ended the Seven Years’ War in North America, established peace, and ratified the 1763 Royal Proclamation. Of particular significance, it established our relationship as allies with the British Crown, and today with Canada as the official representatives of the Crown. At the signing of the 1764 peace treaty, the Odawa and other Anishinabe formalized a nation-to-nation relationship with the Covenant Chain Wampum Belt and a two-row wampum belt. The wampum belts created a binding respect for each other’s governments and our authority over lands. At the meeting, the Crown made a number of promises, one of which was to protect our interests forever. As Ocaita, an Anishinabe speaker, recalled at a meeting in 1818, “If you should ever require my assistance, send this belt, and my hand will be immediately stretched forth to assist you.” Our people here in Wikwemikong are the direct descendants of those Odawa and Anishinabe chiefs who authorized the agreement, and those promises have since been imbedded in our history. Photo: Ogimaa Duke Peltier (right) and Prime Minister Stephen Harper of Canada, at a ceremony recognizing the contributions of Native peoples in defending Canada during the War of 1812. Rideau Hall, Ottawa, Ontario, October 2012. Chief Peltier accepted a medal on behalf of the Wikwemikong who fought in the war. Photo courtesy of the Wikwemikong Unceded Nation.
Posted on: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 20:25:45 +0000
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