Indigenous Voices on Treaties - Ange Loft
Summary
TLDRAnge Loft discusses the 'Talking Trees' project, which explores the complex relationship between Indigenous and European nations through treaties and trade. The project highlights the significance of numbers and figures in understanding land deals and settlements. Loft emphasizes the importance of relationship building and maintenance, as seen in the Treaty of Niagara, where gifts and meetings were crucial for maintaining peace and fostering kinship between the English and Mohawk people.
Takeaways
- đł Ange Loft is the Associate Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre and has been involved in community art projects in Ontario and Kahnawake.
- đŁïž The Talking Trees project took two to three years of research and involved conversations with academics, historians, and artists about their relationship to treaties in Toronto.
- đą Loft highlights the importance of understanding the relationship between historical land deals and contemporary figures to grasp the significance of treaties.
- đ The Treaty of Niagara is emphasized as a significant moment where the English sought to build friendships and trade relationships with Indigenous peoples by exchanging goods and maintaining ongoing relationships.
- đŸ The treaty stipulated specific amounts of goods for trade, such as beavers for collars or knives, reflecting the value placed on these items by Indigenous nations.
- đ Gift-giving was a crucial aspect of building and maintaining relationships, ensuring peace and fostering kinship between the English and Indigenous peoples.
- đ€ The Mohawk people, Loft's community, played a significant role as dealmakers in these early relationships, with deep connections including marriages and familial ties.
- đ After 1812, the British shifted their approach, and the commitment to maintaining friendships and ongoing relationships with Indigenous peoples declined as they were no longer seen as necessary.
- âïž Loft suggests that the principles of relationship building and commitment to ongoing negotiation, as seen in the Treaty of Niagara, should be revisited in modern treaty discussions.
- đ The script underscores the importance of understanding historical treaties and their implications for contemporary society, emphasizing the need for continued dialogue and respect.
Q & A
Who is Ange Loft and what is her role at Jumblies Theatre?
-Ange Loft is from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory and has been living in Toronto for about nine years. She is the Associate Artistic Director of Jumblies Theatre.
What is the Talking Trees project that Ange Loft mentioned?
-The Talking Trees project is an initiative that took around two to three years to research and was a collaboration between Jumblies Theatre and First Story Toronto. It involved speaking to various individuals about their personal relationship to treaty in Toronto.
What was Ange Loft's interest in the relationship between numbers and land treaties?
-Ange Loft was interested in how presenting the size of Indigenous territories and the monetary settlements in relatable terms, such as comparing the size of territories to familiar landmarks or the number of houses that could be bought with the settlement amount, can provide a new perspective and make these historical agreements more understandable and impactful to people.
What is the significance of the Treaty of Niagara as discussed by Ange Loft?
-The Treaty of Niagara is significant because it represents a moment where the English understood the importance of building and maintaining relationships with Indigenous peoples. It emphasized the need for regular meetings, gift-giving, and ongoing commitment to these relationships.
How did the Treaty of Niagara establish trade relations between European traders and Indigenous nations?
-The Treaty of Niagara established trade relations by specifying that European traders could only trade with nations present at the treaty and for certain amounts. It detailed the exchange rates for goods such as beavers for items like collars, nightgowns, wristbands, and knives.
What was the role of the Mohawk people in the Treaty of Niagara according to Ange Loft?
-The Mohawk people, Ange Loft's own people, played a significant role in the Treaty of Niagara. They were viewed as equals by the English and were considered dealmakers. The Mohawk people were highly included in the treaty negotiations and kinship-making processes, which led to marriages and the birth of children from these relationships.
Why were gifts important in the context of the Treaty of Niagara?
-Gifts were important in the Treaty of Niagara as they served as a means to ensure peace and prevent attacks. They symbolized the intention to maintain friendly relations and were a part of the process of building and maintaining trust between the Indigenous nations and the European traders.
How did the Treaty of Niagara reflect the idea of 'polishing the chain'?
-The Treaty of Niagara reflected the idea of 'polishing the chain' through the ongoing commitment to maintaining and strengthening relationships. This involved regular meetings, gift-giving, and the continuous reading and revisiting of agreements to ensure they remained bright, strong, and robust.
Why did the British stop maintaining the relationship-building practices after 1812 as mentioned by Ange Loft?
-According to Ange Loft, the British stopped maintaining the relationship-building practices after 1812 because Indigenous peoples were no longer needed by the British at that time. This shift marked a departure from the earlier emphasis on maintaining friendships and ongoing negotiations.
What does Ange Loft suggest is necessary for moving forward in negotiations with Indigenous peoples?
-Ange Loft suggests that to move forward in negotiations with Indigenous peoples, there is a need to return to the idea of maintaining friendships and the practices of relationship-building that were emphasized during the Treaty of Niagara, such as regular meetings, gift-giving, and ongoing commitment to agreements.
Outlines
đł Community Art and Treaty Understanding
Ange Loft, a resident of Toronto and the Associate Artistic Director of Jumblies theatre, discusses her involvement in community art projects, particularly the 'Talking Trees' project. This project, a collaboration with First Story Toronto, aimed to explore the personal relationships of various individuals, including academics and artists, with the concept of treaties in Toronto. Loft highlights the significance of understanding the size of territories and the financial settlements associated with them in contemporary terms, such as comparing the size of the Mississaugas of New Credit's territory to High Parks or the value of a land settlement in terms of houses in Toronto. She emphasizes the importance of these tangible comparisons in making historical treaties and land deals more relatable and impactful to the public.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄKahnawake Mohawk Territory
đĄJumblies Theatre
đĄTalking Trees Project
đĄTreaty
đĄMississaugas of New Credit
đĄTreaty of Niagara
đĄEuropean traders
đĄStatus signals
đĄMohawks as equals
đĄKinship making
đĄPolishing a chain
Highlights
Ange Loft is the Associate Artistic Director of Jumblies theatre and works extensively in community art.
The Talking Trees project took two to three years of research and involved collaboration with First Story Toronto.
The project explored personal relationships to treaties, particularly in Toronto.
Ange is interested in how numbers and figures can change perspectives on historical land deals.
The Treaty of Niagara is highlighted as a moment where the English understood the importance of building relationships with Indigenous peoples.
European traders were only allowed to trade with Nations present at the treaty, under specific conditions.
Trade amounts were detailed and included items like beavers for collars and wristbands, indicating the value placed on European goods.
The trade items were not just useful but also served as status symbols within Indigenous communities.
The Mohawk people played a significant role as dealmakers during the Treaty of Niagara.
The English viewed the Mohawk as equals, leading to deep relationships and intermarriage.
Gift-giving was a crucial part of maintaining peace and ensuring ongoing relationships.
The Treaty of Niagara emphasized the importance of ongoing relationship building and commitment to agreements.
After 1812, the British stopped maintaining the relationship with Indigenous peoples as they were no longer seen as necessary.
The concept of wanting to maintain friendship is key to ongoing negotiations and steps forward.
The importance of understanding and relating historical figures to contemporary life is emphasized for public engagement.
The Treaty of Niagara serves as an example of how to build and maintain relationships through gift-giving and regular meetings.
Transcripts
My name is Ange Loft,
I'm from Kahnawake Mohawk Territory
and I have been living in Toronto for around,
maybe nine years now.
I am the Associate Artistic Director of Jumblies theatre
and I travel around a lot
doing community art in and around Ontario
and more recently back home in Kahnawake.
Well one of my projects is the talking trees project
and that project had taken around two
to almost three years to research,
so that project was initiated between Jumbiles theatre
and First Story Toronto,
where we managed to speak to
a lot of academics, historians, artists,
around their personal relationship to treaty
in Toronto.
I think one of the things that I was really interested in
was this relationship to numbers, figures, amounts,
when you show somebody the size
of the Mississaugas of New Credit's territory
and you say it's the equivalent of two High Parks,
people can kind of get a new way of looking at it.
When you talk about 145 million dollars settlement
with regards to the Mississaugas of New Credit,
that's not too many houses in Toronto.
So this kind of relationship
between contemporary figures and what the payout
for really complicated land deals could be,
I think those things are really exciting
and interesting to people
because those numbers and trying to relate them
to their own lives actually kind of
hits home a little bit.
The Treaty of Niagara was very interesting
because it really talks about this moment in time
where I'd say the English really got it.
Where the English understood
that to become friends with native people
you need to win their, win their favour,
you need to buy and regularly show up to meetings
and you need to bring proper amounts of goods
and you need to maintain ongoing relationships.
European traders can only trade with the Nations
who are present, at this treaty.
And you could only trade for these certain amounts
and the amounts are really fun,
they're like two middling beavers for a collar,
for like a calico nightgown.
Two large beavers for a silver wristband.
Two beavers for a good knife.
Two middling beavers for a bit of cloth.
All these kind of funny things
that people really needed every single day
as part of their lives,
but then also you realize the relationship
of the Indigenous nations
who are receiving these things
to the European nations
in that this stuff was cool,
this stuff was stuff that people really wanted.
They wanted the new beautiful flower patterns
because they were cool and hip
and that's what everyone was bringing
into North America at the time, so...
on top of them being decent items,
I guess they were also really status signals.
The Mohawk people, my people,
were highly included
and really really kind of one of
the, I guess the dealmakers.
The exciting thing I guess is that at that time
the English viewed
particularly the Mohawks as equals
so our relationships and kinship making
were really deep,
we were literally married to each other....
children coming from these relationships,
generals and future translators
coming out of these relationships on top of it
and then what you need to do
to maintain these relationships along the way
is arrive to dinners, arrive to meetings,
arrive with gifts, arrive with the assurance
that you are not going to kill each other,
because gift giving is almost always about making sure
that they're not going to attack.
You can't start a relationship
let alone a trade relationship with people
that you're not familiar with,
so the first step to familiarity
is getting to know people,
doing their processes, doing their ceremonies,
giving them gifts,
which was what was really involved
with the Treaty of Niagara.
It becomes very clear that the relationship building
and the commitment to ongoing,
ongoing reading of these agreements,
ongoing returning to these,
polishing a chain is what they call it right
with the Treaty of Niagara,
you have to polish a chain
to make sure it's bright and strong and tough,
that kind of relationship building and maintenance
didn't happen on the side of the British,
very soon after I'd say after 1812
because we weren't needed,
native people weren't needed after that time.
This whole idea about,
about wanting to maintain friendship
is what we need to return to
with regards to ongoing negotiation...
any steps forward.
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