Walking in Unity
1) Saskatchewan Parliament Building
2) Statue of Queen Elizabeth II
3) Saskatchewan War Memorial
Treaty Walk Creation at the Saskatchewan Parliament Building, Statue of Queen Elizabeth, and the Saskatchewan War Memorial
Stopping Point One: Seeing Sovereignty
Theme: Sovereign Relationships – Mindful Reflection
This Treaty Walk is designed to help each of us consider our personal relationship with the Treaties that were signed 150 years ago on behalf of the Queen of England (The Crown) by both Indigenous representatives and European settlers. We are all individuals with unique identities and experiences. Our families each have different Treaty stories that describe how it is that we came to call this place home. This sacred space, on Treaty 4 Territory, represents the territories of the nêhiyawak, Anihšināpēk, Dakota, Lakota, and Nakoda peoples and is also the homeland of the Métis/Michif Nation and can be identified in several ways: as Wascana Park, or Regina, Saskatchewan or Canada. Part of being a Treaty person is acknowledging the people who sacrificed their home and way of life in order to share this beautiful place.
Our first two stops along our Treaty walk are clear representations of sovereignty; the Parliament building, and the statue of Queen Elizabeth II. Does anyone know what sovereignty means? (ie: supreme power or authority, dominion, who is at the top)
Before we break into groups, let us look around and identify other symbols or things that might represent sovereignty. What can you see?
“The Union Jack is a symbolic reminder of the Treaties because they were signed under the British flag. The Union Jack is also symbolic of the Crown or the Queen. Treaties were signed under the honour of the Crown, and therefore broken Treaty is a dishonour to the Crown.” (Saskatchewan, 2011)
We must acknowledge, kihci-asotamâtowin, the living treaties that were [and are] sacred undertakings, as sacred promises to one another. Why is it important to call it a living treaty? Why would we refer to them as sacred? Sacred to whom?
Activity: Next, we will break into 2 groups.
Half of the class will go take a closer look at the Queen’s statue, the other half will go look at the building. There might be plaques or information you can read that will help you. When your group returns we are hoping to learn from you 3 things – how old is it, what is it for and why does it matter? You have 7 minutes to go and get back. We’ll blow the whistle when there is one minute left, and that’s when you should start heading back.
Discussion: The group who explored the Queen’s statue on her horse – what did you learn? How old is it? What is it for? Why does it matter?
We acknowledge our Colonial past does not define our present, as we move toward reconciliation. Elder Alma Kytwayhat, said, “It was the [Queen] who offered to be our mother and us to be her children and to love us in the way we want to live.” (Cardinal and Hildebrandt, p. 34)
“The First Nations say the Treaties are living, sacred agreements that provide a blueprint for First Nations and non-First Nations to live together.” (Saskatchewan, 2011) In the Cree language, they use the word miyo-wîcêhtowin to reflect making good relationships.
Group 2, let’s hear about your discoveries. How old is the building? What is it for? Why does it matter? If students don’t say, tell them we need to acknowledge that The Legislative building is on land that some call Turtle Island. The building that is a symbol of both Colonialism, Canadian Pride and Democracy is on land that had a different name because it was owned by someone else – Aboriginal Peoples.
“That agreement made the Treaty Indian but also made the Treaty white man, both with equal responsibilities and benefits.” (Saskatchewan, 2011)
Stopping Point Two: Saskatchewan War Memorial
Theme: tipeyimisowin – Freedom and Liberty
We have all come to this place from different families, and with different relationships to those who signed the Treaties. Our goal is to start considering who we are in relation to the Treaties, and how we choose to demonstrate our responsibility in working towards Truth and Reconciliation.
Let us walk over and on the way we can discuss how the Treaties relate to the wars that were fought by Canada, and this monument of the Saskatchewan people who died fighting for our freedom?
How does the practice of conscription (drafting people to go to war) relate to Treaties?
We understand that there is still some discrepancy regarding what promises were made through Treaty agreement regarding conscription, however the understanding was that because Indigenous people were not considered Canadian citizens the Indigenous people would not have to go to war on behalf of Canada or the Crown. We also know that there were a lot of Saskatchewan people who died in the wars, including Indigenous people who volunteered to go to war because they felt it was their Treaty responsibility. These monuments list the names of 11173 people who sacrificed their lives in order to defend Canadian values and freedoms.
Activity: Let’s go explore the names on these lists and think about these people who gave their lives for us. Can you find anyone with your last name? Are there last names you recognize? Can you see any Indigenous names, or any which might be Metis? What other nationalities do you see represented?
Reflection: Some of us found names we recognized, and some of us did not. Let us remember that just because a family name does not appear on the list does not mean they did not participate in the war, it only means they did not die at war.
What sort of thoughts were you having as you read through these lists?
How does being here make you feel?
Do you feel your connection to the Treaties?
Further consideration: The term ‘responsibility’ means ‘one’s ability to respond.’ For example, these people whose names we see here were either forced or chose to fight on behalf of Canada. The Indigenous people participated because they recognized it as their Treaty responsibility. They understood the promises that were made and their role, whereas many of the other people were forced to enact their responsibility through the practice of conscription.
Having considered who you are in relation to the Treaties, what are some ways that you are able to respond? (ideas include honouring the land by not littering, being thankful for the healthy food we can grow here, being kind to others).
The war monument stands as a constant reminder of our responsibilities as people living on this beautiful land we call Canada. As we walk in this sacred place and in our daily lives, let us remember the sacrifices of the people honoured here at this memorial site
War Dates: WW1 July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918, WW2 September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945, Korean War June 25, 1950 – July 27, 1953
Now that we have pondered the sacrifices of the people whose names appear on the memorial, we must ask ourselves how we relate to this space and what it represents. We are going to consider 3 things: growing good relationships, revealing facts learned when we hear the whole story, and why things need to be constantly changing to move forward in our Treaty relationship.
- The Cree word miskâsowin means understanding who we are in relation to Treaty. What does that mean for us in our daily lives, and looking forward to the future of truth and reconciliation? …. This is how we grow good relationships. The Cree word for making good relationships is… miyo-wîcêhtowin.
“The real question is as Treaty people what are we going to do to bring this relationship forward? What are we going to do to form Canada into a family? How are we going to achieve this goal? Where are we going to start?” (Saskatchewan, 2011) - It is a revelation to some that Indigenous Peoples were not enscripted to fight in any wars (not enlisted or drafted) because they were not considered Canadian citizens. In many cases they volunteered to fight because they strongly believed they were fulfilling their treaty promise. What other facts did you learn or were revealed, or what feelings were revealed to you during this experience? In the Cree language the word wîtaskêwin means living together on this land, being one with this land. As we live together, and share this land, we can be called to join together to defend our land.
- Things in society need to be constantly changing for the better. In the Cree language, the word tâpwêwin, telling difficult and necessary truths with precision & accuracy. Does this sound like it implies a one time thing or something that should happen all the time? In your opinion, what needs to change? Who is responsible for creating these changes? How will these changes occur? The best way to grow our treaty relationships is to keep an open dialogue through our mutually agreed upon responsibility, like a symbol of the handshake.
“Dialogue requires terminology we can use to name one another, so we can recognize how certain events impacted/impact us differently, as well as what we have in common as diverse peoples.” (Vowel, 2016)
Curricular Connections and Reflective Art Expression of Treaty
[Grade 6 students explore the concept of identity, and today we want to explore how actions impact identity.] Art focus on Identity: create a visual art/music/dramatic/dance demonstration to express your personal relation to the Treaty promises or how you choose to enact your responsibility as a Treaty person.
TR6.1 – Analyse the concepts, structures and processes which have been developed for the purpose of Treaty implementation.
> explore the concept of sovereignty as related to First Nations peoples
> explore the concept of sovereignty as related to Métis peoples
CP6.10 – Create visual art works that express ideas about identity and how it is influenced (e.g., factors such as pop culture, cultural heritage, peer groups, personal and family interests, gender).
> generate additional relevant questions for deeper exploration.
> use the Internet and other sources (e.g., print, digital, community) to gather ideas for visual art
> explore the central questions and ideas visually
> expand on ideas in reflective records
Credits
Katherine Deak created our original digital display and handled the frustrating formatting work to create our Storymap, which we ended up moving over to Edusites. Katherine wrote several portions of the original script, and she helped us to find our way around the assignment layout to find all of the pieces. It was Katherine who focused on finding ways to include the Cree terms to meet the rubric requirements. Together, as a team, we worked to finalize the script. Katherine spent a significant amount of time and energy on this project.
Leanne Matthes was the person who created the first google doc to get the effort going, and researched to validate ways to tie sovereignty, Treaties and the War Memorial together. She met with two Indigenous students from her pre-internship experience and explored the War monument with them in preparation for the assignment, they collected the photos. Leanne wrote the script to encourage a person to consider their relationship to Treaty, and then she reviewed the rubric several times to ensure we were meeting the criteria of the assignment. Leanne also wrote the references and credits sections.
We both agree that our collaboration has been enjoyable.
References
Cardinal, H., & Hildebrandt, W. (2000). Treaty Elders of Saskatchewan: Our Dream Is That Our Peoples Will One Day Be Clearly Recognized as Nations. University of Calgary Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv6gqwq3
Saskatchewan. Ministry of Education, Saskatchewan Arts Board, Sask Culture, & Prairie Valley School Division. (2011). Kitoskấyiminawak pîkiskwewak : our young people speak : the treaty edition : stories (Treaty edition.). [First Nations & Métis Leadership Project Team].
Vowel, C. (2016). Indigenous Writes : A Guide to First Nations, Métis, & Inuit Issues in Canada. HighWater Press.