What's On at the Library

This year, Treaties Recognition Week is November 3-9. In 2016, the Province of Ontario passed legislation to recognize and educate Ontario residents about treaties during the first full week of November every year. The legislation was passed in response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's 94 Calls to Action.

What are treaties?

Treaties are agreements signed between leaders of First Nations communities and the British Crown. Most of Canada exists under treaty agreements for shared use of land between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. An example of an early treaty is Treaty of Fort Niagara in 1764, which worked to strengthen relationships between First Nations and non-Indigenous Nations.

There are also modern day treaty agreements between Indigenous community leaders and provincial and federal governments. The first modern treaty was the James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, which was signed in 1975. An additional 25 treaties have been signed since 1975.

Treaties uphold Indigenous rights to land, water, education, health care and more. Not all of the treaty rights have been honoured by governments, but Indigenous peoples continue to uphold their side of the agreements.

Anyone who lives and works in Canada is a treaty partner, making us all treaty people. As treaty people, Indigenous issues, including access to clean drinking water, missing and murdered Indigenous people, the legacies of Indian residential schools and food sovereignty are Canadian issues.

The original plan of the Toronto Purchase from the Indigenous Peoples, 1787-1805. This map shows the 250,808 acres Toronto occupied as of 1911. Credit: Digital Archive.

Toronto is a part of Treaty 13, which had two periods of negotiation. The first agreement, which was done in 1787, was known as the Johnson-Butler Purchase or "gunshot treaty." It was one of the first treaties between Indigenous peoples and the Crown in Upper Canada (now known as Ontario). Some of the land that was a part of the Johnson-Butler Purchase became part of the Williams Treaties in the 1920s.

In 1791, it was discovered that the deed for the purchase was blank and did not include a description of the lands purchased.  Discussions between government representatives and the Mississaugas took years to negotiate. In 1805, the negotiations were completed and the Toronto Purchase was made. Despite this, boundaries and responsibilities of the Crown were still not clearly defined. In 1986, the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation took the Crown to court. In 2010, they were awarded $145 million in compensation.

At Toronto Public Library, we recognize the lands we serve on through our land acknowledgment statements. We share these statements at the start of programs, meetings and other events. We have three statements for branches across Toronto, as well as a child-friendly land acknowledgement statement. Land Acknowledgement Statements are just the first step of many in learning and living treaty rights and responsibilities. Below, we've gathered resources to help you start your learning journey.

Programs

• Shall We Talk Treaties? (NOTE: This event has been cancelled)
  Thursday, October 24 at 6:30 pm | Albert Campbell 
  Learn about the many treaties that cover the Province of Ontario, including Dish With One Spoon and Peace and Friendship with Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, Lakehead University's Indigenous Chair for Truth and Reconciliation
• National Film Board Screening: Trick or Treaty?
  Monday, November 4 at 1:00 pm  and 3:00 pm | Toronto Reference Library 
  Screen Alanis Obomsawin's powerful 2014 documentary, which powerfully portrays one community's attempts to enforce their treaty rights and protect their lands, while revealing the complexities of contemporary treaty agreements.
• "Purchasing" Toronto - A Talking Treaties Workshop
  Tuesday, November 5 at 6:30 pm | Lillian H. Smith
  Explore the complex intercultural roots of Treaty 13 during a 30-minute documentary screening followed by activations with Ange Loft, interdisciplinary performing artist 

Exhibits

• View the James Bay Treaty, as well as a copy of the MacMartin Diaries at the Toronto Reference Library on November 4, 2024 (10 am-3 pm). There will be a welcoming ceremony and a public viewing opportunity. ASL Interpretation will be provided for the ceremony and viewing.
• See a selection of photographs from the exhibit People of the Watershed: Photographs by John Macfie at Toronto Reference Library from November 4-6.  A settler trapline manager, Macfie recorded life in Anishinaabe, Cree and Anisininew communities with his camera in the 1950s and 1960s. Presented by Archives of Ontario and the McMichael Art Gallery
• Visit the exhibit People of the Watershed: Photographs by John Macfie until November 17 at the McMichael Art Gallery. Curated by Paul Seesequasis, it focuses on the lives and resiliency of the Indigenous peoples represented in the photographs (paid admission)
• Explore the Archives of Ontario's online exhibit on the James Bay Treaty (Treaty 9)

Collections

• Browse our curated booklists, which include materials for different age groups: Treaties Recognition Week, Reading for Reconciliation and Read Indigenous
• Discover books in Indigenous languages and documentaries in our collection discussing Indigenous perspectives
• View a map and other historical items related to the Toronto Purchase from TPL's Special Collections in the Baillie Centre on the fifth floor of the Toronto Reference Library.

Videos

• Naagan ge bezhig emkwaan / A Dish with One Spoon Reconsidered
  58 minutes | Toronto Public Library 
  Look at the Dish With One Spoon Treaty from an Anishinaabe perspective 
• Heritage Minutes : Naskumituwin (Treaty)
  1 minute | Historica Canada
  The making of Treaty 9 from the perspective of historical witness George Spence, an 18-year old Cree hunter from Albany, James Bay.
• Treaty No. 9
  22 minutes | Great Lakes Research Alliance for the Study of Aboriginal Arts and Cultures
  Understand the history and significance of Treaty 9 (James Bay Treaty)
• Trick or Treaty?
  84 minutes | National Film Board 
  Explore the complexities of enforcing, protecting and honouring treaty agreements
• Various videos
  Government of Ontario
  Hear Indigenous voices discuss treaties, treaty relationships and treaty rights
• Treaties with Indigenous Peoples in Canada
  6 minutes | CBC Kids News
  Check out this introduction about treaties designed especially for younger viewers

Websites resources

• Native-Land.ca
  See treaty boundaries, traditional territories and languages spoken
• Talking Treaties 
  Learn about the treaties that apply on the lands they work, live and play on as Torontonians 
• Map of Ontario treaties and reserves
  Discover the treaties that cover where you live and find reserves in Ontario using this interactive map from the Government of Ontario

Free course

• Indigenous Canada
  Register for a free online course created and delivered by the University of Alberta's Faculty of Native Studies

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Updates

October 23, 2024: Updated to add Trick or Treaty? film screenings and the opportunity to see a copy of treaty nine at the Toronto Reference Library on November 4. Added more information about the People of the Watershed exhibit at the McMichael Art Gallery.

October 24, 2024: Updated to indicate that the program Shall We Talk Treaties? has been cancelled.

October 29, 2024: Updated to add the ability to see a copy of the MacMartin diary at the Toronto Reference Library on November 4.

October 31, 2024: Updated to add a clip from Historica Canada.

November 1, 2024: Added that ASL Interpretation will be available at the public ceremony and viewing of the James Bay Treaty on November 4, 2024. Added viewing opportunity of map and other historical documents connected to the Toronto Purchase that are in Toronto Public Library's Special Collections.