Exploring the role of women in treaties

Title relinquishment issues were recently raised during a treaty forum discussion in Thunder Bay over women not being represented during treaty negotiations.
Mishkeegogamang’s Erin Bottle said the treaty negotiations followed the pattern from Europe, which placed men in the position of leadership.
“However, in terms of our traditional governance negotiations with respect to these minerals, our (women’s) voice was not represented in that we were not asked on whether or not we would relinquish title to these minerals because they didn’t recognize us as title holders,” Bottle said. “As women, we’re guardians because we protect water and life.”
Bottle said the traditional governance system is still intact.
“However, we have yet to work on the process of raising those original title holders and where we are going to find these people,” Bottle said. “We know who they are — our ancestors left us their crests and their mark on those treaty documents. Those lines, those lineages, we need to seek them out.”
Bottle said the Why Should Treaties Matter forum, led by University of Western Ontario’s Michael Coyle at the Trinity United Church in Thunder Bay, was a good starting point for treaty discussions.
“The fact that it was held in Trinity United Church gives testament to the attempt that the churches are giving with respect to reconciliation,” Bottle said. “I think it’s a good thing that Canadians are willing to reconcile and try to understand each other. The dialogue needs to begin with Canadians, not with the parliament or politicians. It needs to start with ordinary people.”
Trinity United held the forum on May 29 as part of its Sharing the Future Speaker Series, which includes The Deep Aboriginal History of Northwestern Ontario by Lakehead University’s Scott Hamilton. Hamilton’s forum is available online at the Trinity United Church website: http://trinityunitedchurch.businesscatalyst.com.
Fort William’s Marlene Pierre was impressed with Bottle’s presentation, noting she was courageous to speak about First Nation women’s traditional responsibilities during the forum.
“She put it in the right context and she said it, asking everybody, all Canadians, to be more cognizant, to get more understanding of the treaties and to understand that partnership,” Pierre said. “It really reinforced my own thoughts about the history of our treaties and how they should be taught as regular curriculum in the history classes. I’m a strong supporter of that and I wish we would do that, starting right in the public school and high school instead of waiting until university to find out what our relationship is.”
Pierre said water issues, including purity and conservation, will be one of mankind’s greatest challenges in the future.
“We have to as women get that knowledge and sort out what kind of role we are going to play in informing ourselves and Canadians about the valuable (water) resource we have in Canada,” Pierre said. “We have a lot of water in northwestern Ontario. If you go on a plane, you’ll see all the water and lakes all over — it’s a wonder.”
Although there is plenty of water across northwestern Ontario, Pierre is worried about Lake Superior’s water levels, noting the lake, the largest freshwater lake in the world, is currently about 22 inches below normal levels.
“Obviously, someone is over-utilizing that water and global warming ... is really having an impact,” Pierre said.