Toronto has always been a key economic hub and was a major portaging route connecting the Great Lakes. Formerly known as the Carrying Place, the British quickly understood the importance of this city for economic and military strength.
Dish With One Spoon1
An agreement grounded in Indigenous legal traditions, the Dish with One Spoon is one of several Wampum that commemorate the relationship between the Anishinaabek and Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Today it is held up by Indigenous Peoples in Toronto as peace agreement between the Anishinaabek and Haudensaunee. It is also widely cited (and admired) for the reciprocal responsibilities with all of creation that it foregrounds, a reading that draws on the land as a dish to be shared and cared for to ensure ongoing sustenance and life – a metaphor that is part of many Indigenous knowledge systems.
Toronto Purchase4
In the early 1780s, the British begin to negotiate land cessions — at least that is how the British understand them — with the Mississaugas of the Credit, recognizing them as the landholders in what is now southern Ontario. Sir John Johnson is the son of Sir William Johnson and heir to his role of administering Indigenous affairs in the colony. He understands the importance of Wampum diplomacy, and his family lineage gives him legitimacy in the eyes of the Mississauga and inspires trust. He is tasked with acquiring land along the north shore of Lake Ontario to link the British forts of Kingston and Niagara and with acquiring lands for the settlement of incoming Loyalists – British settlers who remain loyal to the Crown during and after the American Revolution.
This is the moment when “Canada” truly becomes a settler colony: the Toronto area and all of what will become Upper Canada is now prime real estate in British eyes. Over the next several decades, the British will unilaterally reinvent the treaty process to ensure they gain full possession of this territory.
To read about other Treaties in the GTA please click on this link A Treaty Guide for Torontonians.
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1Canada, “Modern Treaties” online: https://www.rcaanccirnac.gc.ca/eng/1677073191939/1677073214344#chp1
2 Canada, “The Williams Treaties First Nations Settlement Agreement” online: https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1542370282768/1542370308434
3 Angela Loft et al., “A Treaty Guide for Torontonians: Talking Treaties Collective” online: https://talkingtreaties.ca/treaties-for-torontonians/dish-with-one-spoon/
4Ibid
