In this dialogue, you will be watching a short video about Pimachiowin Aki (The Land that Gives Life).
There were many promises made by the Crown negotiators during treaty negotiations that were not included in treaty documents. Why do you think this occurred? Indigenous Peoples in all of the Numbered Treaties bitterly complained after treaty agreements, that what was talked about and agreed to during treaty negotiations, was not what was written in treaty documents.
Today this is often called “Outside Promises” which describes the promises made to Indigenous Peoples during treaty negotiations which were not written into treaty documents. Treaty documents regularly included items that were never talked about during treaty negotiations. For example, in Treaty One the treaty document stated that the Anishinaabe and Cree “hereby cede, release, surrender and yield up to Her Majesty the Queen and successors forever all the lands”. Multiple witnesses (newspaper reporters) and Anishinaabe and Cree oral histories all came said the same thing – these phrases were never used during Treaty One negotiations.
[5th paragraph of the Treaty One written Treaty agreement (August 3rd, 1871]
https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100028664/1581294165927
How can this be remedied? How can there be reconciliation between the Crown and First Nations?
An example of reconciliation can be found east of Lake Winnipeg in what is know as Pimachiowin Aki (the Land that Gives Life).
Poplar River, Pauingassi, Little Grand Rapids, and Pikangikum First Nations joined together “in the spirit of cooperation and mutual respect,” and worked together to develop a shared vision of protecting the natural resources in their ancestral lands.
in 2006, the Manitoba and Ontario provincial governments joined the four First Nations and formed the Pimachiowin Aki Corporation. Together, the partners work to have Pimachiowin Aki designated as a World Heritage Sites – and in 2018 Pimachiowin Aki became a UNESCO World Heritage site.
=> In this extra credit assignment, watch the videos and check out the link to UNESCO – and then answer the following question. How could Pimachiowin Aki serve as an example of what reconciliation could look like in First Nation and Crown Treaty relationships? Your response should be a minimum of 3 paragraphs (4-5 sentences per paragraph)
