Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850 gathering marks 175th anniversary of the signing of the treaty

By Rick Garrick

SAULT STE MARIE — The Robinson Huron Treaty of 1850 Gathering 2025 was held on Sept. 7-9 at Roberta Bondar Park in Sault Ste. Marie (Baawaating) to mark the 175th anniversary of the signing of the treaty.

“The gathering was certainly a time for us to commemorate 175 years of being in treaty,” says Earl Commanda, executive director at Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin and former Grand Council Chief. “We say the treaty did not grant us rights that we already had, the treaty sort of protected certain rights, the right to hunt, fish, trap, and gather as we’ve always been in the habit of doing, which to me, has a lot of other additional meanings and understandings when we talk about treaty.”

Commanda says they also agreed to share the land with the settlers.

“And in return, they would agree to pay us an annual annuity of $4 per year,” Commanda says. “And we’re in the process of saying, ‘Well, you owe us a lot more than $4 after 175 years.’”

Commanda says they were successful three years ago in negotiating a settlement for $12 billion, which was distributed to the communities two years ago.

“Now that we’ve had that distribution, we are looking at this 175th to sort of take a look at, ‘OK, federal government, provincial government, what should the new $4 per year (annuity) look like?’ so now there’s ongoing new negotiations that are happening,” Commanda says. “In terms of the understanding of the treaty, our people have different understandings of treaty and that we never gave up our inherent right. So what we’re saying is we still have jurisdiction over treaty lands, and certainly from that perspective, we have been able to take the opportunity to remember what our ancestors negotiated in that original treaty, as well as honour those ancestors such as Shingwaukonse and Nebenaigoching, the two principal negotiators of the treaty in 1850, by saying they thought about us seven generations ahead so now we must also think about our next seven generations as we move forward in terms of treaty.”

Commanda says the treaty gathering included commemorative coins for the beneficiaries and medallions for the leadership.

“We brought the historical copy of the treaty home from Library and Archives Canada,” Commanda says. “We also brought other sacred items that are sitting in the Royal Ontario Museum home as well that belong to Shingwauk and other pipes that belong to Manitoulin Island to the treaty gathering.”

Commanda says they have also changed the way they gather for the treaty gatherings.

“While we take the opportunity to bring treaty experts to educate our band members, we also take the notion of Council Fire and give life to that idea of Council Fire, which is our form of treaty governance,” Commanda says. “So every year now for the last four years, we’ve been building a teaching lodge … that traditional people can come and exercise their Council Fire approach to governance.”

Commanda says they have previously held the treaty gatherings at different locations, including Shawanaga, Wiikwemkoong, Atikameksheng Anishnawbek, and Nipissing.

“It’s been an amazing way for us to bring our treaty beneficiaries together to celebrate, and so this year, no different, we recognized that the treaty was signed in Sault Ste. Marie and Baawaating, so that was why it was important to bring that treaty home to where it was originally signed 175 years ago,” Commanda says. “It was significant to have the sacred items there, Shingwauk’s pipe, and then we’ve now incorporated Shingwauk’s pipe into our treaty celebration logo. In terms of now how we celebrated, we’re really saying our ancestors had an arrangement with the settlers and it’s the settlers who really have not lived up to that original arrangement under treaty and so, we’re here to remind settlers as well that we’re still here [and] there is an expectation of those promises that were made during treaty, an expectation that the settlers would honour those promises that were made in the beginning.”

Mike Restoule, chair at the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund (RHTLF), says in a message for the gathering from the RHTLF that the RHTLF legal team, litigation management committee members, and communications manager met with leadership and band members over the summer to provide information on the annuity augmentation process along with other key priorities.

“With this, we also remember and pay honour and respect to our ancestors who started this path for us 175 years ago,” Restoule says in the message. “Our people have walked this path — together — and will continue to do so. Along the way, we will continue to clear and strengthen this path for our future Anishinaabek so they can walk on solid ground, and further clear and strengthen it for generations to come.”