The Canada by Treaty: Negotiating Histories exhibit tells the story of how Canada was shaped not by conquest, but by negotiation.
The exhibit invites viewers to explore treaties — the legal agreements with Indigenous peoples — that allowed non-Indigenous people to live on, and own land in what is now Canada.
The pop-up exhibit is currently on display at the offices of the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario at Queen’s Park in Toronto until July 10, including Canada Day when as many as 6,000 people are expected to pass through Queen’s Park while it is open to the public.
Produced as a direct response to one of the “calls to action” outlined in Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) final report, the exhibit seeks to educate Canadians on the key role of treaties in Canadian history.
“Our exhibit responds to call to action number 94, which changes part of the Oath of Citizenship to ‘I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada including Treaties with Indigenous Peoples,’” said co-curator Heidi Bohaker of the Department of History in the Faculty of Arts & Science. “We asked ourselves how this could be possible unless Canadians new and old learned more about what treaties are, and why and how they made Canada.”
The truth is that Canada is a negotiated place. By acknowledging ourselves as treaty people — and then by acting on that acknowledgment — we become rooted in this place and begin to understand our responsibility towards the land, each other and our ongoing treaty relationships.”
David Cameron, dean of the Faculty of Arts & Science, added: “Indigenous peoples have remained effectively invisible for far too long. Genuine reconciliation is a long-game that will require great persistence and commitment, but I think we are all hopeful that we are at a real turning point.”
Using a blend of maps, paintings, accessible text and archival photographs, the 24-panel display tells the long history of treaty-making, and how and why these agreements were essential to the foundation of modern Canada.
Co-curated by history professor Laurie Bertram and James Bird, a mature undergraduate Indigenous student, the exhibit draws on content created by students in Bohaker’s joint fourth-year undergraduate /graduate research seminar course, Canada by Treaty: Alliances, Title Transfers and Land Claims.
In addition to learning about the broad history of treaties in Canada, each student selected one treaty to research from the many that have been settled since Samuel de Champlain first arrived in the early 1600s.
Following its run at Queen’s Park, it will travel to Sidney Smith Hall over the summer months and then to other locations across all three University of Toronto campuses. See the full exhibit schedule on the Department of History website.
Sponsors of Canada By Treaty include the Jackman Humanities Institute, Canada 150, Ontario 150 as well as University College, Hart House, the Centre for Indigenous Studies, University of Toronto Libraries and the Jesuits of English speaking Canada.