Speakers
Dr. Douglas Sanderson
Member of the Opaskwayak Cree Nation. Associate Professor Faculty of Law, University of TorontoStart
October 24, 2019 - 1:30 pm
End
Address
Burlington Art Gallery View mapOur sense of history frequently fails to align with the facts of history, and nowhere is this more prevalent than in the shared history of Indigenous-Settler relations. In this talk I will draw out the formal structure of treaty relations, known as the covenant chain, and conducted entirely according to Indigenous International law protocols. This relationship of mutual respect and relative equality was neither short term nor a campaign of deceit. This relationship of mutual respect lasted almost to the date of confederation in 1867. In other words, the facts of history demonstrate an Indigenous-Settler relationship of mutual respect that lasted for more than three hundred years, and stands in sharp contrast to the racist and oppressive relationship post-Confederation. I draw lessons from the historical relationship in order to provide teachings about the current relationship.