Wampum Belt Ceremony held between Garden River First Nation and Sault Ste. Marie

By Rick Garrick

GARDEN RIVER FIRST NATION — Garden River First Nation recently hosted a Wampum Belt Ceremony featuring an exchange of a wampum belt and gifts between Garden River Chief Karen Bell and Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker on Sept. 30. The ceremony was held at the Garden River First Nation Community Centre after the successful conclusion of Garden River’s Cultural Competency project, funded through the Department of Canadian Heritage’s Community Support, Multiculturalism and Anti-Racism Initiative, which has fostered deeper relationships and enhanced understanding between Garden River First Nation and Sault Ste. Marie.

“The idea of the wampum belt was to bind the two communities with respect to finding this path of prosperity and friendship,” says Darrell Boissoneau, cultural services manager at Garden River First Nation, noting that the idea was developed by Garden River First Nations’s previous chief and council and Sault Ste. Marie’s previous mayor and council. “There were a number of features to the ceremony, that occurred a couple of weeks back, and it’s presenting our world view. Wampum belts give the story and records our history of certain significant events that have happened with us, so whether it was a time of war or a time of peace, these wampum belts were sent out to unite the people. So the Wampum Belt ceremony … was done to create this framework of diplomacy between Garden River and the City of Sault Ste. Marie.”

Boissoneau says the design of the wampum belt featured two houses on each side representing the City Hall in Sault Ste. Marie and the Lodge in Garden River First Nation.

“There’s a line that runs across these two places that signifies the path of peace and friendship and alliance, and that’s what the two communities have committed to do, to walk together in peace, to walk together in friendship and to really build a strong alliance with one another,” Boissoneau says. “It’s a road of peace and a door to prosperity as well because the two communities agreed that what benefits the City of Sault Ste. Marie economically or socially will also benefit Garden River as well, so it creates this equal partnership. And this is historic because I don’t believe this has been done anywhere else with respect to any kind of municipality.”

Boissoneau says the two communities have committed to feasting the wampum belt on an annual basis.

“That is intended to create this ongoing relationship forever,” Boissoneau says. “They passed that responsibility on to future chief and councils and future mayor and councils that this belt will be honoured every year.”

Boissoneau says Garden River First Nation also presented a beaver pelt to the City of Sault Ste. Marie.

“Metaphorically speaking, we offered that beaver pelt to the city so that whenever they came to Garden River, they would always find comfort next to the warmth of the fire and that they would find safety in our community as well,” Boissoneau says.

Boissoneau says the curriculum for the Cultural Competency project was designed for participants to learn and receive teachings from a number of areas, including the Creation story of the Anishinabek people.

“Having that ability to share with the city was really important,” Boissoneau says. “The idea there was building the relationship between two diverse communities that have perhaps two different world views on how they see the world and kind of bringing them together so the two communities can find a common ground to advance the aspirations of both communities.”

Garden River had previously partnered with Sault Ste. Marie on a First Nation-Municipal Community Economic Development Initiative, which was implemented by the Council for the Advancement of Native Development Officers and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

“Our partnership began in early 2023 and will continue into 2025,” says Cheyenne Nolan, manager of community development at Garden River. “With this partnership, we wanted to develop a friendship accord, working together to develop mission statements, vision values.”

A video about the Cultural Competency project is posted online at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=2FPmpl6hSqw.