The Algonquin, Yesterday and Today

This is my first post since September. I was unable to post articles. However, I am again available and will be posting on a regular basis.  
 
One of the foci of this blog is on the contributions indigenous peoples make to healing our planet. We look at their history, their wisdom, and their current actions. This past week I attended a virtual presentation “Our Land, Our People, the Algonquins”. The presenter was Merv Sarazin, a councilor of the Algonquin Pikwakanagan First Nation. The presentation was hosted by The Historical Society of Ottawa   .
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While this was a historical presentation about Cananda (specifically Ontario and Quebec) it also was the story of the American Northeast and Upper Midwest. The Algonquins were mainly located in what is now Canada and their rivals, the Iroquois Confederacy was mainly located in what is now the United States. However, like all nations the boundaries were dynamic and changed with the results of war and migration. Additionally, other First Nations along with the military and trading contingencies of the British Empire, France, later the French Empire, the American Colonials, and later the United States, all impacted the borders, cultures, and resources of both the Algonquins and the Iroquois.  
 
The Historical Society of Ottawa has provided multiple presentations about local history to their members and an interested public. Merv Sarazin often assisted in these presentations. However, because of his personal history and his extensive collaboration with historians and First Nations leaders he was asked to give this presentation. Mr. Sarazin has extensive experience in the functioning to First Nations. He has 30 years experience serving as a tribal business administrator and working in human resources. Beyond his education and training he is also a traditional member of his community. This means he also hunts, fishes, and gathers foods and medicinal plants. Finally, Mr. Sarazin is the descendant of tribal chiefs and serves as a tribal councilor.  
 
The speaker's presentation was guided by the Seven Grandfather Teachings. These Algonquin values include: Love, Wisdom, Respect, Truth, Humility, Honesty, and Courage.  
 
He reminded us that the Algonquin consisted of ten First Nations. Nine of the nations were in Quebec. Today that includes Kitigan Zibi, Barriere Lake, Kitcisakik, Lac Simon, Abitibiwinni, Long Point, Timiskaming, Kebaowek, and Wolf Lake. One nation, Pikwakanagan is located in Ontario. Prior to the arrival of the Europeans the Ottawa Valley had a population of 10,500 Algonquin. This was a sophisticated culture with a religion, language, and traditions. The people participated in cross-border trade. There was a clan and kinship system. The nations used Wampum Belts that recorded stories and recorded laws. This included a sacred traditional constitution.  
 
This all began to change with the Doctrine of Discovery. The speaker described this as “the white man’s illegal taking of land.” Prior to contact with the invaders (Europeans) the indigenous population of Turtle Island (North America) was in the millions. Even before military clashes first contact meant first contact with disease the indigenousness peoples had no immunity to. Populations quickly plummeted.  
 
Chief Tessouat was one of the last Algonquin chiefs that were more than administrators. He was a Grand Chief of Chiefs. He met with Samuel de Champlain in 1603. From the late 1500s to the mid 1600s the Algonquin resisted the disintegration of their borders and influence. They blamed the disintegration on the influences of Christianity, war and disease. Champlain was impressed by Chief Tessouat. However, Champlain's mission was to plant French culture in the new world and believed French culture was superior to native cultures in all ways.    
 
The lands of the Algonquin and the Iroquois Confederacy were important. They were rich in resources including furs. They had abundant waterways including rivers and lakes. Portage was important and made transportation and trade possible. Further, the rivalries of the First Nations made is easier for European powers to play peoples against one another. This was the land of the Algonquin-Iroquois Beaver Wars. These were proxy wars for France and England. The wars increased the wealth of the colonizers and introduced technologies and new weapons of war to the area.  
 
In 1701 the Great Peace of Montreal was signed. This was a peace treaty that halted decades of hostilities between the Iroquois Confederacy (allies of the English) and the Algonquin (allies of the French). The treaty signing included 40 First Nations and 1300 delegates. While the treaty of important the period of peace was did not last and was followed by new proxy wars. The French and Indian Wars from 1754-1763 pitied old rivalries against one another.   
 
The wars were disruptive and finally lead to the Treaty of Niagra in 1764. This included the Royal Proclamation that protected the integrity of native lands. The Proclamation and 39 additional petitions were never respected, and native lands continued to be stolen.   
 
This was followed the War of 1812 that pitted new enemies against one another, the English and the new Americans but included their first nation allies. Chief Kichi Ogima Constant Pinesi protected Canada. While England and the Americans fought of territory in the Midwest the accomplishments of Chief Constant Pinesi contributed to the preservation of Canada.  
 
The speaker briefly spoke about the Indian Act of 1876. This was hardly the act of a grateful nation. Instead, the act, which was in force from 1876 until 1955 made the loss of ancestral identities legal. Pierre Trudeau, Prime Minster of Canada , stated that there could be no demand to tribal identity if one did not practice their culture or speak their language. In other words, policies that separated families, made traditional languages illegal, and worked to make native children “white” were then used as excuses for denying tribal identity. 
 
Today there is a movement to reclaim tribal land. The work is often through the courts. In the area of Ottawa burial grounds, portage trails, and sacred areas are being identified. A park is being planned. This would be used not only by Algonquin but all Canadians. Elk were reintroduced 20 years ago and now number in the thousands. Tribes are developing rules for hunting. The goal is to restore the land when possible. To restore identity and identity of place. There is no illusion that this will be the land of the 1500s but there is an appreciation that indigenous wisdom is needed to help heal a hurting land. 
 
This was not the talk of an expertly trained academic. It was the talk of a life lived and a life lived with a People. It was also not a talk that was simply accepted. There was at least one member of the audience who spoke up for Iroquois land claims and others were clearly experiencing historical pain and wishing for a justice they saw as unattainable.  
 
I appreciate the Ontario Historical Society hosting this event. I appreciate all the work Merv Sarazin put into this presentation.