‘All are welcome’: U of T Mississauga to host inaugural All-Nations Powwow

siddiq22 — Wed, 22 Mar 2023 14:55:07 +0000

siddiq22 Wed, 03/22/2023 - 10:55

Cutline

(photo by Nick Iwanyshyn)

Kate Martin

Topic

City & Culture

First Nations

Indigenous

Powwow

Truth and Reconciliation

�ؿ�ζSM Mississauga

The �ؿ�ζSM Mississauga will hold its first All-Nations Powwow on March 25. The event is co-hosted by U of T Mississauga's Indigenous Centre and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation (MCFN).

“This powwow is such an exciting opportunity to celebrate the beauty, joy, and vitality of Indigenous cultures,” said Alexandra Gillespie, vice-president and principal of U of T Mississauga. “It also marks another step in realizing �ؿ�ζSM Mississauga's central commitment to reciprocity, as we work to build true friendships with Indigenous nations and answer the Calls to Action for Truth and Reconciliation.

“Sincere thanks to the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation for the privilege of co-hosting this event with them."

“We want to say chi miigwech for taking time out of your life to attend the event, learning about Mississaugas of the Credit/Mississauga Nation history, language and culture – and for �ؿ�ζSM Mississauga making space for us to be here on our territory to celebrate through a powwow,” said Veronica King-Jamieson, a MCFN councillor. “This provides an opportunity to build on relationships within our communities across Ontario.”

Doors will open at 11 a.m. and events will run from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Recreation, Athletic & Wellness Centre.

The schedule features a full day of traditional singing and dancing, including a grand entry ceremony at noon as well as intertribal, spot and exhibition dances.

At 2 p.m., dancers will compete in the Tia Lyn Copenace Jingle Dress Dance Special. Jingle dresses – also known as prayer dresses – are believed to bring healing through the shape and sound of their jingles.

When U of T Mississauga's Office of Indigenous Initiatives (OII-UTM) first opened last year, director Tee Duke cited hosting a powwow – an idea that Duke and her team had considered since 2020 but had to put on hold during pandemic restrictions – to be a priority.

“A powwow is a huge social gathering, so it was important to wait to ensure we could all be together again – in person and safely,” Duke said.

In addition to performances, the powwow will include tables featuring Indigenous-owned businesses, with products ranging from apparel and artwork to jewelry and food. There will also be booths on site sharing information about Indigenous community groups and U of T services.

The powwow is part of the campus’s ongoing commitment to meet the recommendations in Answering the Call: Wecheehetowin, the final report of U of T’s Truth and Reconciliation Steering Committee.

Pre-registration is highly recommended, but not required. For more information, visit the All-Nations Powwow site, which features details on powwow protocols and etiquette.

Attendees wishing to join in during the intertribal dance are invited to learn basic steps from Deanne Hupfield, the powwow’s head adult dancer.

Although the powwow is a celebration of Indigenous community, history, ceremony and culture, the event is open to the wider community, Duke noted.

“All are welcome to attend,” she said. “Powwows are for everyone to take in opportunities to build friendship with one another."

Let Indigenous treaties – not the duty to consult – lead us to reconciliation: U of T expert

noreen.rasbach — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 15:46:31 +0000

Let Indigenous treaties – not the duty to consult – lead us to reconciliation: U of T expert

noreen.rasbach Tue, 10/30/2018 - 11:46

Cutline

Chief Archie Waquan responds to the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision on whether the government has a duty to consult Indigenous people on legislation (photo by Amber Bracken/The Canadian Press)

Alexandra Flynn

Clara MacCallum Fraser

Topic

Should governments have a duty to consult First Nations when they craft laws affecting Indigenous and treaty rights? The Mikisew Cree First Nation recently argued yes, that the duty to consult should apply to not-yet-passed legislation that affects their rights to hunt, trap and fish on the land.

In October, the Supreme Court of Canada denied the Mikisew’s claim in a complex judgment. All of the justices agreed that the court could not review the actions of elected ministers before a law was passed. Even so, five justices said the “honour of the Crown” was involved at the law-making stage. What does it all mean?

In a trilogy of cases involving Haida Nation, Taku River and Mikisew Cree, the Supreme Court of Canada established the principle of the “honour of the Crown.” It means the federal and provincial governments have a legal duty to consult and, if necessary, accommodate where their actions negatively impact Indigenous rights.

The purpose of this duty is to work towards reconciliation.

Treaties and nation-to-nation relationships

These cases – and the many that have expanded the duty since them – have led to some changes for First Nations.

However, the courts have not seriously engaged with treaties as part of a nation-to-nation relationship, nor with Indigenous systems of law. The emphasis on colonial constitutional traditions comes at the expense of looking at treaties as foundational constitutional texts in Canadian law.

As geography scholar Nicole Latulippe points out about treaties: “Rooted in the land itself, these living agreements embody Indigenous law and diplomatic protocol signifying respect for autonomy and the stewardship of shared lands.”

Treaties were agreed to in some parts of Turtle Island, also known as North America. They were first made among Indigenous nations and other living and non-living beings, and then later between Indigenous and European nations. Their language signals the long-term nature of relationships, with phrases like “as long as the grass grows, and the water runs.” Treaties require that relationships be nurtured and cared for through diplomatic protocols, like feasting and ceremony.

Aimee Craft, an Anishnaabe-Métis scholar and lawyer, notes: “Indigenous and non-Indigenous legal communities in Canada will benefit from an enhanced understanding of Indigenous laws.” This includes understanding treaties as nation-to-nation agreements.

The Treaty of Niagara

One legal lesson that few Canadians know about is the 1764 Treaty of Niagara, when more than 2,000 representatives from Indigenous nations gathered over a month to deliberate how they could share the land with European settlers.

Wampum belts were exchanged during the treaty deliberations, including the two-row wampum (also known as guswenta) that shows two vessels travelling downstream, parallel but not interfering with one another.

A visitor views wampum belts, fans and other diplomatic tools of the Indigenous treaty process at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian in September 2016 in Washington, D.C. (photo by Paul Morigi/AP)

The Treaty of Niagara was critical to shaping Canada as a nation. The Royal Proclamation issued by King George in 1763 may not have been accepted by Indigenous nations without the negotiated assurances, conditions and promises that came out of the 1764 Treaty of Niagara.

Treaties are also part of the law. Section 35 of the 1982 Constitution Act affirms the recognition of this and other Aboriginal and treaty rights.

Internationally, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, or UNDRIP, which Canada has adopted, acknowledges the rights of Indigenous nations to have treaties and other agreements recognized by settler governments.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission advocates for the federal government to renew or establish treaty relationships based on the principles of mutual recognition, mutual respect and shared responsibility for maintaining nation-to-nation relationships into the future.

Canadians need Indigenous law and treaty education

All Canadians should be taught these and other locally relevant treaties. So should governments.

The Crown’s duty to consult and accommodate has not resulted in the practice of meaningful relationship-building as the foundational treaties called for.

In 2017, the province of Ontario introduced legislation that significantly changed the land-use planning appeals process. As in Mikisew, Ontario did not perceive itself as having a duty to consult Indigenous nations in the province as the legislation was crafted and passed into law.

The province did not engage with the enduring systems of land-use governance practised by Indigenous communities. As Anishinaabe legal scholar John Borrows argues, “First Nations must comply with provincial laws which they have no real role in crafting or administering.”

This oversight is particularly concerning given the relevance of land and planning to Indigenous communities.

If the Treaty of Niagara process had been used as a guide, Indigenous governments would be fully informed of proposed changes in law, with time set aside for representatives to come together in order to discuss, deliberate, debate and decide on the merits of these proposed changes.

Indigenous legal orders would be recognized as a foundational source of land-use law.

‘Inadequate’

The recent Mikisew case reflects the limits of the duty to consult. It is an inadequate tool in urging Canadian governments to build and honour a nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous communities.

There is hope. A majority of the justices leave open that other protections may well be recognized in future cases. Two acknowledge that “the duty to consult is about encouraging governments to consider their effects on Indigenous communities and consult proactively.”

We know it can happen. In New Zealand, Maori customary law already plays a role in common law. In a recent case this year, the court did not accept that pre-legislative actions are immune from judicial review, unlike the Mikisew decision.

Governments should proactively engage with the Treaty of Niagara or other locally relevant treaties, agreements, laws and relationships at all stages of law-making. Instead of the duty to consult and accommodate determining relationships, it should be the relationships that determine the duty.

Alexandra Flynn is an assistant professor of human geography & city studies at the �ؿ�ζSM Scarborough. Clara MacCallum Fraser is executive director of the Shared Path Consultation Initiative and a doctoral student in the Faculty of Environmental Studies at York University.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.