Local residents are being encouraged to learn more about Chatham-Kent’s Indigenous roots.
This is Treaties Recognition Week, honouring the importance of Treaty rights and relationships, and fostering a greater understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people and communities.
This Tuesday, the Chatham-Kent Public Library is welcoming guest speaker Dean M. Jacobs, who brings over five decades of public service dedicated to protecting the natural and cultural heritage of Walpole Island First Nation.
Jacobs will be discussing the pre-Confederation Treaties between the British Imperial Crown and the ancestors of Walpole Island, while addressing the path toward Truth & Reconciliation through mutual trust and respect.
The presentation is set to begin at 6:30 Tuesday evening at the Chatham library branch.
There are more than 40 treaties and land agreements across Ontario, forged with the intention of ensuring mutual respect, understanding, and coexistence, are foundational to the relationships between Indigenous nations and settler societies.
The majority of Chatham-Kent is covered by Treaty 2, or the McKee Purchase, signed on May 19, 1790. There were over 50 signatories to this Treaty, including settlers and Indigenous leaders. The treaty payments included cloth and linen, tools for hunting and cooking, looking glasses, combs, ribbons, and laced hats.
CLICK HERE for more information on Treaties Recognition Week and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.
