Wampum Belt Called Dish With One Spoon

Dish With One Spoon Wampum Belt

Treaty 13 Territory

Toronto is in the “Dish With One Spoon Territory.” The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and peoples, Europeans and all newcomers, have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect.

The “Dish” or sometimes it is called the “Bowl” represents what is now southern Ontario (from the Great Lakes to Quebec and from Lake Simcoe into the U.S.). * We all eat out of the Dish – all of us that share this territory – with only one spoon. That means we have to share the responsibility of ensuring the dish is never empty; which includes, taking care of the land and the creatures we share it with. Importantly, there are no knives at the table, representing that we must keep the peace.

Turtle Island

Turtle Island

Land Acknowledgement for Toronto

We acknowledge the land we are meeting on is the traditional territory of many nations including the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Wendat peoples and is now home to many diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. We also acknowledge that Toronto is covered by Treaty 13 with the Mississaugas of the Credit.

Pronunciation

  • Anishnabeg: (ah-nish-naw-bek)
  • Haudenosaunee: (hoodt-en-oh-show-nee)
  • Métis: (may-tee)

Treaties

What is the purpose of this site?

The goal is to understand the First Nations tribes that lived here and still live here. To connect the past ancestors that inhabited the land that is now Canada and see the living reserves and first nations people that occupy this land today. And learn fun things about them along the way!

Land Acknowledgement Toronto

A collection of links to go through! I started trying to identify all the bands in my search to uncover the living relatives of the ancestors that negotiated the treaties. Better understanding of who Toronto is acknowledging.

“‘Mississauga’ is a colonial word,” she says. “Ojibway, Chippewa – it’s what the Dutch, the British, or the French called us. We’re Anishnabe.” That word translates as “human beings.”

Tkaronto = Mohawk word meaning “where there are trees standing in the water”

Haudenosaunee Map

“people of the longhouse” commonly referred to as Iroquois or Six Nations

Originally a confederacy of five nations inhabiting the northern part of New York state, the Haudenosaunee consisted of the Seneca, Cayuga, Oneida, Onondaga and Mohawk. When the Tuscarora joined the confederacy early in the 18th century, it became known as the Six Nations

This is just going to be about related information I find along the way

Mary Two-Axe Earley

Mary Two-Axe Earley was a Mohawk and Oneida women's rights activist from the reserve of Kahnawake in Quebec, Canada. After losing her legal Indian status due to marrying a non-status man, Two-Axe Earley advocated for changes to the Indian Act, which had promoted gender discrimination and stripped First Nations women of the right to participate in the political and cultural life of their home reserves.