Mzinigan Bboon (Winter) 2022

The Chippewas of Rama First Nation

Our Heritage Place Mzinigan (newspaper)

(winter)

Bboon 2022

Phoebe Snache, 1930s-40s Picture from “Ojibwa Summer” book, by James Houston

Aaniin Boozhoo Miigwech for reading Our Heritage Place Mzinigan. The Mzinigan is a new initiative by Our Heritage Place.

What is the “Our Heritage Place Mzinigan? It’s a little booklet about the heritage of Rama. While not a “newspaper” exactly, it is perhaps the closest translation we can find. We will have articles on history and language; fascinating stories that may be new to you or perhaps forgotten; photographs; department updates; art features; community member interviews, and guest articles.

What do you want to read about? Let us know.

We write this not for ourselves but for the community (and beyond).

Our Heritage Place Mzinigan will be printed in limited numbers, and it will be published online for reading from your electronic devices. If you’d like a physical copy, please let us know.

We created this mzinigan to share what we have and know. Our archives hold many stories and photographs that need to be read and seen.

We’ve accumulated thousands of documents, photographs, and videos over the years. While preservation is important, it is just as important that these files are shared. They belong to the community.

This is why this booklet was created. As a way to share our archives with you. Another way we’ve begun to share our archives is by putting them online. Many of our historical photographs are now available online at http://ramafirstnation.pastperfectonline.com/ .

Once again, gchi miigwech for reading. We hope you enjoy what we have to share. The next issue comes out in May 2022.

Our Heritage Place Updates Rising COVID-19 cases has once again caused a shift in the way that Our Heritage Place delivers services to the community. We have a new slate of online programming - see the flyers on the following pages for more information.

continues to offer a wide variety of Anishinaabe cultural programming. There are so many opportunities to learn more about our culture through the programs organized by Stephanie. See the flyers in the Mzinigan for more information.

Our Heritage Place staff are often working remotely with fairly limited office time. We hope that spring 2022 brings with it some normalcy, and we can once again offer in-person events and programming.

Researcher/Archivist Ben Cousineau is learning from researcher Laurie LeClair. Laurie has a long relationship with Rama First Nation and has been contracted several times over the years for historical research services. Laurie has been mentoring Ben in ways to be a more knowledgeable and resourceful researcher and community historian.

Cultural Liaison Vicki Snache has several Anishinaabemowin language initiatives on the go.

Weekly classes have begun, to full capacity, with more planned. Watch the Mzinigan as well as Rama First Nation social media for updates. In addition community and employee engagement sessions are being held to find out what is needed for the future of Anishinaabemowin revitalization in Rama.

Mino Bmaadziwin Worker Stephanie McInnis

As a department, Our Heritage Place is continually developing programming and initiatives to serve the community. Towards the end of February and especially in the beginning of March we will begin our Maple Syrup production programming. Contact Our Heritage Place if you’d like to help - we will need help throughout the lengthy process. Gchi Miigwech.

pictures

From the Archives: Mzinaazwinan

The Rama Council Hall. Rama Chief and Council appealed to what was then known as Indian Affairs for a proper place to hold council meetings. The government and Indian Agent worked with Rama Chief and Council to develop plans for the building, which featured a council room on the second floor and school room on the first floor.

The left of the photo shows the bandstand. The Rama Silver Nightingale Band often played in the bandstand.

Above: Downtown Rama aerial photo. The Rama Veteran’s Baseball diamond is visible, as is the Rama Community Hall, Rama United Church, and day school. To the right of the hall, there is an outdoor rink which many remember playing hockey and lacrosse on.

Charlotte and Wellington Simcoe The Rama Silver Nightingales Band

International Treaties: Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee

By Alan Corbiere

(republished here with permission from author. Originally appeared in Ojibwe Cultural Foundation Dbaajmo-mzin’igaans, Volume 6 Issue 8 Sept-Oct 2011)

The Anishinaabeg believe the Creator placed us on this earth, placed animals and plants for our sustenance and guidance, gave us lands to roam, and rivers to traverse. And traverse them we did. According to Anishinaabe oral tradition, we migrated to our current Great Lakes home from the eastern seaboard, long ago. The GreatLakes have been our home for all the millennia since... which is not to say that it was an existence of uninterrupted peace, or that we never entered into conflicts with other nations.

In the west, our historic enemies are the Sioux, who the Anishinaabeg pushed into the praries as we advanced into the Great Lakes. In the southeast, the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) — who we call the Naadwe — are also the Anishinaabeg’s historic enemy. On occasion, the Anishinaabe made peace with both the Sioux and the Haudenosaunee nations. These agreements of peace between the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee were encoded on wampum belts. There are, in fact, many different wampum belts and many different agreements between the Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee.

The Reverend Peter Jones,who was a Mississauga Anishinaabe from the Credit River (now Toronto), recorded the following proceedings of a council between the Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee, held Tuesday, 21st January, 1840, in order to renew “the treaty of friendship with the Six Nations of Indians on the Grand River.” The conference was held at the Credit Mission. Jones, who was also a Methodist missionary, wrote:

I shall now give an account of one of the general Councils convened for the purpose of renewing this ancient treaty, which was held at

the Credit Mission, U.C., January, 1840[...] The chiefs of the Six Nations of Indians, numbering fifteen, residing on the Grand River, having arrived in the village, were invited to meet their Ojebway brethren in council. Having come, and being seated by themselves, the chairman, Joseph Sawyer [The host Mississauga Chief], addressed them in behalf of the council to this effect:— That the Great Spirit has brought us together in health and peace.

That as they, the Mohawk chiefs, had expressed a wish to meet their Chippeway brethren, he had sent for them in order to smoke the pipe of peace together, and thus renew the treaty of friendship which had been made by our forefathers. That the time was when the hearts of our forefathers were black towards each other, and much blood was shed.

The Good Spirit inclined the hearts of our forefathers to kindle the great council fires, when the pipe of peace was smoked, the tomahawk buried, and they took each other by the arms, and called each other BROTHERS. Thus their hearts, formerly black, became white towards each other. He had sent for them that the council fire, kindled by our forefathers, might be rekindled by gathering the brand together, as the fire was almost extinguished. He hoped, when it was lighted, the smoke would ever ascend in a straight line to the Great Spirit, so that when the eyes of all our people looked upon it they might remember the treaty of our forefathers. The council fire was then struck with flint and steel, and the pipe of peace having been filled, it was lighted with the new fire, and the Mezhinuway (Aide-de camp) presented it to each of the chiefs of the Six Nations, then to the Ojebway chiefs, and afterwards to the warriors present.

John S. Johnson, one of the Mohawk chiefs, informed the council

that the Onondaga chief, who kept the council fire or “ talk “ of the Six Nations, would then speak in their behalf [...] The Onondaga chief, John Buck, made a speech and exhibited the wampum belts, the memorials of the old treaties, and explained the talks contained in them. There were four belts or strings of wampum.

The first contained the first treaty made between the Six Nations and the Ojebways. This treaty was made many years ago, when the great council was held at the east end of Lake Ontario. The belt was in the form of a dish or bowl in the centre, which the chief said represented that the Ojebways and the Six Nations were all to eat out of the same dish; that is, to have all their game in common. In the centre of the bowl were a few white wampums, which represented a beaver’s tail, the favourite dish of the Ojebways. At this council the treaty of friendship was formed, and agreement was made for ever after to call each other BROTHERS. This treaty of friendship was made so strong that if a tree fell across their arms it could not separate them or cause them to unloose their hold.

The second wampum was given, as the chief stated, where Buffalo is now situated, at which place the original treaty was renewed.

The third wampum was given at a great council held at the Maumee River, at which the late Captain Joseph Brant was present. There were a great number of different tribes present, who met the chiefs of the Six Nations for the purpose of forming alliances with each other; but the strangers acted very treacherously, and would have murdered the ambassadors of the Six Nations, had not a noted Ottawa chief, by the name of Agwezheway, honourably protected them, so that they were enabled to effect a

International Treaties: Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee treaty of friendship with the Shawneys and other tribes.

Agwezheway had formed a confederacy with twenty-one different tribes, whom he could at any time call to his assistance.

The fourth and last wampum was given by the Ojebways and Ottawas in confirmation of the treaties of our fathers. This council took place at Wellington Square about twenty-five years ago. After this chief had rehearsed the talks contained in the wampums in his possession, one of the Mohawk chiefs, John Johnson, addressed the council to this effect:—That it was their intention to renew treaties of peace and friendship with all the Indian tribes in the dominions of Her Majesty the Queen: that the interests of all the Indians were one (Peter Jones, 1861. History of the Ojebway Indians: with especial reference to their conversion to Christianity, p. 114 - 120).

The above speech reveals a number of interesting points.

The first is that as late as 1840, the Mississauga Anishinaabeg and the Six Nations were still renewing the treaties between themselves. Secondly, that even though some of the chiefs of the Mississaugas had converted to Methodism, they still retained their traditional modes of international diplomacy by smoking pipes and using wampum. Thirdly, that the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee had at least four treaties, or treaty renewals, amongst themselves. Jones goes into some detail about these four treaties, and the wampum belts that went with them, and further information can be inferred from other sources.

The first treaty was the dish with one spoon wampum belt, negotiated at the “east end of Lake Ontario.” In 1701, the French invited all the nations in the area to Montreal for a grand council, to try to achieve peace throughout theGreat Lakes. Documentation of this grand council (which produced the Great Peace of Montreal) contains one of the first written references to the dish with one spoon. But that doesn’t preclude the possibility that the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee already had this treaty between themselves — they may well have, in which case it was a renewal which occured in Montreal in 1701. This particular treaty meant that the nations should view all of the land as a dish (or bowl) from which all could eat together (that is, they could hunt for sustenance on shared land). We know through various examples what this belt looks like (see images 1 and 2). Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the belts seemed to utilize geometric patterns instead of numerals, alphabetic, or even zoomorphic (animal) and anthropomorphic (human) images.

The second belt was given “where Buffalo is now situated.” The Reverend Peter Jones had recorded that previ-

ously, the “Ojebway country extended eastward only to the northern shores of Lake Huron, and the Nahdoways owned all the region east and south of it” (Jones p. 112).

Jones also wrote that “the last battle that was fought was at the outlet of Burlington Bay, which was at the south end of the beach, where the Government House formerly stood. Near to this place a mound of human bones is to be seen to this day” (Jones p. 113). At the battle at Burlington Bay, the Anishinaabeg pushed the Haudenosaunee south of the Great Lakes and claimed the territory north of the lakes. The fact that this treaty (wampum) was given at Buffalo, along the Niagara River (a natural boundary between the postwar Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territories), is significant. According to the Haudenosaunee Chief, the dish belt (mentioned above) was originally given at the east end of Lake Ontario, and then renewed at the west end of the same lake — where Buffalo is situated.

This act of renewing the treaty at both ends of Lake Ontario indicated that the treaty, or the ‛dish,’ spanned that whole territory.

The third belt has no accompanying description nor any hints to the images on it. Despite this lack of information in Jones text, there is a book called Wampum Belts of the [Iroquois] which depicts a wampum belt with a white square at either end, and a thick line of white wampum connecting them. This belt is called the Ojibwe Friendship Belt. Perhaps this was the belt delivered at the Maumee meeting (see image 3). The two squares perhaps represent two nations...or, more likely, two ‘countries’ or geographical territories. Many times in political discourse chiefs have referred to their country as a ‘mat,’ a description which would match the imagery on the belt. But this is conjecture.

The fourth belt was given to the Haudenosaunee by the Ojibwe/ Odaawaa, and again, no description of the imagery is provided.

These four belts were not the only treaties concluded between the Anishinaabeg and the Haudenosaunee. The day following the above noted council, Peter Jones recorded another treaty renewal between the Six Nations and the Anishinaabeg:

International Treaties: Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee Wednesday, 22nd January.—The council being constituted, proceeded to business. Chief Yellowhead made a speech, exhibiting the great wampum belt of the Six Nations, and explaining the talk contained in it. John Sunday next addressed the chiefs of the Six Nations, and replied to the several particulars related yesterday by the Onondaga chief, and concluded by stating that they (the Ojebways) a few years ago were very poor and miserable, but the Great Spirit had been pleased to smile upon them, and now they had begun to have their eyes opened to see what was for their good, and hoped that their brothers, the Six Nations, would now look upon them as having risen from their former wretchedness and degradation. The Ojebway chiefs having closed their talk concerning the renewal of the treaties, the wampum belts were returned to the Onondaga chief, with the salutations of all the Ojebway chiefs, their warriors, women, and children (Jones p. 120 - 121).

The Reverend Peter Jones recorded this interesting bit.

It would seem that not much was said, or rather Jones did not record what was said in reply. However, the interchange shows the manner in which the two nations conducted business. The Haudenosaunee brought wampum belts and read them, then the next day, the Ojibwe took up the belts and also “explained the talk contained in it.” This shows how business was conducted in an oral tradition that utilized mnemonic devices (wampum belts). The first group “read” or “recited” or “explained” the talk on thebelt, and then the second group had a chance to “read” or “explain” the talk contained thereon. These days we say, “Now, everyone is on the same page” or perhaps they would say, “We are on the same belt.” Another analogy would be that the committee reads the minutes from the last meeting. After the Ojibwe chiefs John Sunday - Shawundais, and Yellowhead - Muskwakie, read the belts a mutual understanding was established and they could proceed. The Haudenosaunee then took the opportunity to explain the belt that Yellowhead had brought.

John S. Johnson then explainedthe emblems contained in the wampum belt brought by Yellowhead, which, he said, they acknowledged to be the acts of their fathers.

Firstly, the council fire at the Sault St. Marie has no emblem, because there the council was held. Secondly, the council fire as Manitoulin has the emblem of a beautiful white fish; this signifies purity, or a clean white heart— that all our hearts ought to be white towards each other. Thirdly, the emblem of a beaver, placed at an island on Penetanguishew [sic] Bay, denotes wisdom—that all the acts of our fathers were done in wisdom. Fourthly, the emblem of a white deer placed at Lake Simcoe, signified superiority; the dish and ladles at the same place

indicated abundance of game and food. Fifthly, the eagle perched on a tall pine tree at the Credit denotes watching, and swiftness in conveying messages. The eagle was to watch all the council fires between the Six Nations and the Ojebways; and being farsighted, he might, in the event of anything happening, communicate the tidings to the distant tribes. Sixthly, the sun was hung up in the centre of the belt, to show that their acts were done in the face of the sun, by whom they swore that they would forever after observe the treaties made between the two parties.

Mr. Johnson also informed the Ojebways that they would, at some future day, desire to hold another council with all the Ojebways and Ottawas, and that they would let the eagle know that he may take the message to the white deer, who would decide when the council should be held. Yellowhead presented the Six Nations with two strings of white wampum, as a memorial or pledge of this council, and of what had been transacted between the two parties. The chiefs of the Six Nations then returned the wampum belt to Yellowhead, and so parted, shaking each other by the arm; which method was adopted by our forefathers when the treaty of friendship was first formed. Thus ended the renewal of the treaty, with which all present were much pleased.

(Peter Jones, 1861. History of the Ojebway Indians: with especial referenceto their conversion to Christianity, p:121 -122).

The Six Nations had given these belts to the Anishinaabeg and they are the first to recite the meaning of the belt in order to demonstrate that they still abide by the treaty. This belt was given at the conclusion of the war between the Anishinaabe and the Haudenosaunee and each emblem on the belt refers to specific place: Sault Ste Marie, Manitoulin, Penetanguishene, Lake Simcoe and lastly the Credit River. Also mentioned are specific animals, fish or birds, namely the “white fish,” “beaver,” “white deer” and the “eagle”. Associated with each of these are virtues: purity, clean heartedness, wisdom, superiority, watching, and swiftness. Lastly, the sun was mentioned and serves as the reminder that the Great Spirit had witnessed the deeds and agreements of their grandfathers.

So ended Peter Jones’ account of that treaty in his book.

Fortunately he recorded a version of the treaty as recited

by Ojibwe Chief Yellowhead of the Narrows.

Chief Yellowhead rose up and made a speech and exhibited the great Wampum belt of the Six Nations, and explained the talk contained in it.

International Treaties: Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee This Wampum was about 3 feet long and 4 inches wide.

It had a row of White Wampum in the centre, running from one end to the other, and the representations of wigwams every now and then, and a large round wampum tied nearly the middle of the belt, with a representation of the sun in the centre. Yellowhead stated that this Belt was given by the Nahdooways to the Ojebways many years ago - about the time the French first came to this country. That the great Council took place at Lake Superior - That the Nahdooways made the road or path and pointed out the different council fires which were to be kept lighted.

The first marks on the Wampumrepresented that a council fire should be kept burning at the Sault Ste Marie.

The 2nd mark represented the Council fire at Manitoulin Island, where a beautiful White Fish was placed, who should watch the fire as long as the world stood.

The 3rd Mark represents the Council fire placed on an island opposite Penetanguishene Bay, on which was placed a Beaver to watch the fire.

The 4th Mark represents the Council fire lighted up at the Narrows of Lake Simcoe at which place was put a White Rein Deer. To him the Rein Deer was committed the keeping of this Wampum talk. At this place our fathers hung up the Sun, and said that the Sun should be a witness to all what had been done and that when any of their descendants saw the Sun they might remember the acts of their forefathers. At the Narrows our fathers placed a dish with ladles around it, and a ladle for the Six Nations, who said to the Ojebways that the dish or bowl should never be emptied, but he (Yellowhead) was sorry to say that it had already been emptied, not by the Six Nations on the Grand River, but by the Caucanawaugas residing near Montreal.

The 5th Mark represents the Council fire which was placed at this River Credit where a beautiful White headed Eagle was placed upon a very tall pine tree, in order to watch the Council fires and see if any ill winds blew upon the smoke of the Council fires.

A dish was also placed at the Credit. That the right of hunting on the north side of the Lake was secured to the Ojebways, and the Six Nations were not to hunt here only when they come to smoke the pipe of peace with their Ojebway brethren. The path on the Wampum went from the Credit over to the other side of the Lake the country of the Six Nations. Thus ended the talk of Yellowhead and his Wampum (LAC RG 10, Vol. 1011, Quoted from Darlene Johnston, “Connecting people to place:

Great Lakes Aboriginal History in Cultural Context, paper prepared for the Ipperwash Inquiry, July 2004).

The two versions are largely the same regarding the meaning of each of the marks on the belt and the locations. Chief Yellowhead does not note any virtues but does mention the dish and ladle. It is significant that Chief Yellowhead is the keeper of this belt because it was entrusted to the “Rein Deer” Tribe or the Caribou clan, Adik odoodemiwaan. This was Yellowhead’s clan (see figure 4). The main difference is an added detail, this version has that the “white rein deer” was placed at the Narrows instead of just a white deer. According to Professor of Law, Darlene Johnston (Anishinaabe-kwe from Neyaashiingamiing Cape Croker), this belt is a representation of Anishinaabe land title and ownership tied explicitly to clans.

Professor Johnston used documentary evidence such as treaties and petitions to trace the line of chieftainship and noted that in most instances the clan of the chief for each locality mentioned was the same as animal mentioned in the reading of the belt (for more info refer to Professor Johnston’s presentation located on the Ipperwash Inquiry website). So the chiefs of the Credit River have been eagle clan for many years (see image 5), the chief for the Narrows area have been caribou for many years, and the chiefs of the Georgian Bay area have been beaver for many years (see image 6). The “white fish” of Manitoulin however, requires more explanation.

There is a whitefish (Adikmeg) clan but the fish clan of Manitoulin may in fact be a pike, sturgeon or bullhead.

The Mohawk Chief Johnson said that the beautiful white fish “signifies purity, or a clean white heart” so the adjective white is used to convey purity rather than fish species. This was also the case when Chief Johnson mentioned the “White Deer” at the Narrows which Yellowhead called “White Rein Deer”. So the “white fish” could be a “white pike,” a “white sturgeon,” or a “white bullhead (a type of catfish)”.

International Treaties: Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee The Ojibwe Chief Shauwanausoway signed the 1836 Manitowaning treaty with a fish (see image 7) and beside his signature is written “Pike.” This information is contested by Chief Franklin Paibomsai, who asserts that the clan is sturgeon. Looking at the marks made by Shauwanausoway’s sons Paibomsai and Nowagahbow (see images 8, 9) we see a fish with one dorsal fin near the tail. Checking the fin pattern with sturgeon, pike and muskie, we see the same pattern. So this could be the main clan that was represented on the wampum belt. We also see that chief Mookomaanish who moved back to Manitoulin in the 1840’s has the Awaasizii doodem “Brown Bullhead” (see image 10).

Mookomaanish, his son, and his grandsons all served as head chief of the Wikwemikong band for many years, and they were all of the Awaasizii doodem.

Looking at the 1701 Great Peace of Montreal, which is the earliest known treaty that has totem marks of assent, has the clan mark of the Kiskakon Odawa Chief Kileouiskingié, which appears to be some kind of fish (see image 11). This could be the brown bullhead or a sucker Namebin. The other Odawa who signed this 1701 treaty signed with a bear or a forked stick. Some of the Odaawaa nation were reported to be living at Manitoulin in the 17th century This belt also represents the Haudenosaunee`s defeat and represents their acknowledgement of Anishinaabe ownership, based on clan, of those specific areas.

The belt can also be tied to the places where the Haudenosaunee met defeat at the hands of the Anishinaabe.

Between 1644 and 1696, the Anishinaabeg and the Haudenosaunee were at war and the following dates list some significant battles and where they occurred.

• 1644 Near mouth of Richilieu River QC Huron & Algk attack Iroquois • 1649 near Lake Simcoe – Iroquois disperse Huron • 1655 Sault Ste Marie Ojibwa attack Iroquois

• 1662 Point Iroquois - Ojibwa, Ottawa, Nipissing defeat Iroquois • 1687 between Seneca Lake & Genessee R., Western Indians & French destroy four Seneca villages • 1696 Mouth of Saugeen, Blue mountains, and Rice Lake; Mississauga, Ottawa, Ojibwa defeat Iroquois Add to this chronology, the report of Peter Jones, who recorded that his elders told him that the last battle was at the “outlet of Burlington Bay.” One can then see that the belt is also a representation of the places where the Anishinaabe had defeated the Haudenosaunee as well as an acknowledgement of which clans had been the principals to those victories. It is significant that both Johnson and Yellowhead stated that this treaty was negotiated at Sault Ste Marie, but Yellowhead added that the council took place at “Lake Superior” which is the farthest the Naadoweg ventured into Anishinaabe-akiing (Anishinaabe land/ territory). According to various chiefs around Baawiting (Sault Ste Marie), after the defeat of the Haudenosaune at Point Iroqouis (which is on the south shore of Lake Superior, opposite and west of Sault Ste Marie) the Naadowe never came back up that far into Anishinaabe-akiing. Yellowhead stated that the wampum belt started at Baawiting and “the path on the Wampum went from the Credit over to the other side of the Lake the country of the Six Nations.”

The path or road, depicted by “a row of White Wampum in the centre,” is a motif that is used on many wampum belts. It is usually a straight white line. The thickness of the white line is indicative of the ease of walking that path, so a wider path, the easier to walk, and therefore the greater the establishment of peace. So one line of wampum may indicate a tenuous peace or that one can easily stray off the path. A wider path or road, one is less likely to lose the trail or get lost. The Haudenosaunee elders I have had the privilege of listening to, including the late Jake Thomas and Ernie Benedict, talked about the Haudenosaunee guiding principles of “peace, righteousness, and the good mind”. Abiding by these three principles while walking the path makes it easier to follow. So, many times the ‘road’ on a belt will be made of three white lines, to remind the reader of the belt and the listener of these three principles.

International Treaties: Anishinaabeg and Haudenosaunee Yellowhead and Johnson both mention symbols or emblems associated with place. Since there is no sketch to accompany the belt, we have to guess what these “emblems” would look like. The Yellowhead speech refers to “representations of wigwams every now and then” whereas Johnson stated that “the council fire as [sic] Manitoulin has the emblem of a beautiful white fish,” compared to Yellowhead’s version, that “the 2nd mark represented the Council fire at Manitoulin Island, where a beautiful White Fish was placed.”

So we could take the speech literally that the belt had a fish woven into the belt at the second place on the “path” and that a beaver was at the third and a rein deer at the fourth and an eagle at the fifth. However, the earlier belts rarely if ever use zoomorphic images, so I think the “emblems” and “marks” are not actual realistic representations of a fish, beaver, and the others. Nor do I think that the “representations of wigwams” are realistic domed shapes woven into the belt. This belt was given, according to Yellowhead, “in the time of the French” and the battles referred to occurred in the 17th century.

The early time attributed to this belt suggests that the “emblems” on the belt were geometric representations instead of animals or wigwams. Other early belts have squares (see image 12), some use triangles, some use diamonds, and some use hexagons to indicate council fires, territories and nations. I have been to many museums but have never found this belt so I had to imagine how it looked.

The path or straight line was simple enough but I was undecided on how to represent the “emblems” of each of the places mentioned. I was tending towards the hexagon, similar to the belt housed at the Canadian Museum of Civilization (see image 13, 14). This belt has no road through it but to re-imagine one, we could just put the straight line through it. The next model was the belt at the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford England with three triangles and a straight line through it (seeimage 15). I still favoured hexagons linked with a straight line, much like the image on the 1764 covenant chain wampum belt (see image 16).

So I was undecided on how to re-create this belt and needed some help. I saw an advertisement for “Wampum bead making workshop with Ken Maracle.” So I got in touch with Ken and asked him to come up to Manitoulin

Island to conduct a wampum belt making workshop. I told him that I wanted him to teach people how to make wampum belts but that I also wanted him to make this one that I have been trying to re-create. I told him the versions of the talk and he said with great certainty that “We use the diamond to indicate nations.” So I gave him my vague ideas and we came up with the design but Ken made the belt. So we used the diamonds for the 5 emblems and I told him to use three rows of white through the centre to indicate the “peace, righteousness and the good mind,” but we went with just one straight line in the end.

I wanted to have the symbol of the four directions in the centre of each “council fire” to indicate the Anishinaabe principles of the four directions. To achieve this, he used seven purple wampum beads, a nice touch, that represented the seven grandfathers. We still did not know how many rows the belt should include but out of coincidence and design, it ended up being 11 rows - seven grandfathers and four directions. The length of the belt was also up for debate. I wanted 13 beads between each “emblem/council fire” to represent a year (13 moons) but the belt would have been too small. So I suggested 28 beads between each council fire to represent the passing of a moon, but it was still too small so we went with 48 between each to represent two moons passing. The total length of the belt can represent the passing of 10 moons.

The last issue that I did not get to address was the “large moon of wampum at the centre to represent the sun”.

Ken gave me a piece of quahog shell and this can serve as the “moon of wampum” (see image 17).

In the end, a Mohawk and Ojibwe collaborated to re-create a bit of mutual history. Others, perhaps will come up with other designs and this design is by no means definitive nor based upon a picture, other than the descriptions provided by the Reverend Peter Jones.

Gchi miigwech to Alan Corbiere for permission to publish this article in Our Heritage Place Mzinigan.

From the Archives: Gdaankoobjiganaanig

Rama Census as provided by Chiefs, 1842

Community History: The Move to “Rama Reserve” In the late 1830’s, our community began its move from the surrendered reserve at Atherley (part of the “Coldwater Narrows Reserve) to what was then known as Rama Township.

because it was poor soil or because it needed to be cleared (and they didn’t want to undertake the work). Regardless, the land was (once again) “ours”, and our community had its home.

Over the course of about 10 years, our landbase gradually increased as the Chiefs purchased more and more land which eventually became Rama Reserve. The land, which only a short time before had been our territory to begin with, was purchased from early settlers and farmers, as well as veterans who’d been gifted the land for their War of 1812 and Boer War services. Note, many of our ancestors served in the War of 1812, but they didn’t receive any land for their sacrifices (similar pattern emerged following WWI and WWII).

Our Chiefs purchased our reserve with their own funds. The funds came from their annuities and their pensions for their service in the War of 1812.

The Chiefs purchased several tracts of land scattered down what became Rama Road. This is the reason for the “checkerboard” reserve as opposed to one continous reserve. Our Chiefs purchased all the available land they could find...and afford. The land was not desirable. Although some lands were on the shores of Lake Couchiching, much of the purchased land was poor, sandy soil. It was land that the former owners were happy to be rid of, either

We are working on a report with researcher Laurie LeClair which will tell the full history of Rama First Nation’s early land base developments - spanning from the 1830’s-1840’s. Stay tuned for that and it’ll be shared in the Mzinigan once it is released.

This document on the previous page is a list of names submitted by the Chiefs in 1842 to the government. It details who moved from Atherley to Rama by 1842. In other words - this was our first community census and these are the original “Rama Reserve” inhabitants. There are some names which have disappeared from our band lists and memories, and some which we know very well. Do you recognize any of your ancestors names?

From the Archives: Mzinaazwinan pictures

Above: The Rama United Church Below: Jane Fawn and Susie Anderson

Above: Jack St Germaine Below: Mike St Germaine Both photos from the book “Ojibwa Summer”, by James Houston

Above: Unknown member of Silver Nightingale Band Left: Roland Snache, Rama Police

From the Archives: Mzinaazwinan pictures

Right: Ron Edgar, Jesse Martell, and Louie Martell in undated photograph.

Above right: The old Rama sign Below: The Rama Day School, built 1873

(church)

From the Archives: Namewgamig The Rama Methodist church was one of the first buildings constructed in our community. This was the case in indigenous communities across Canada, as the church attempted to spread religion and convert indigenous people to Christianity. Settlers and religious officials were quite proud of the stone church, and it seems the community was too. This is a brief history of stone church.

Rama’s first church was the limestone church on the shores of Lake Couchiching. It was a beautiful building that could be seen shining in the sun across the lake in Orillia. However, it did not start as a stone church.

In 1855, Chiefs James Bigwin, Thomas Nanigishkung, William Yellowhead, and George Young requested £100 pounds of annuity money so they could build a church for the community as the building they were using was in bad shape. The request was approved and a wood frame church was built, located off what we today call “Ojibway Drive”.

The church had a wharf which welcomed steamer ships from Orillia and Barrie. As one of the first churches in the area, many early Orillia settlers attended service there, and some were even baptized in the church. In addition, it served as the place where we started off towards Chief Island to bury those who had passed away. The current cemetery wasn’t in widespread use until the early 1900’s.

This means there were nearly 100 years of burying those who passed at Chief Island, or on family properties.

In the 1860s, the original church was badly damaged in a tornado. It sat damaged, decaying, for a few years.

church was described as “one of the most elegant churches in the neighborhood” and had been done “in the most artistic designs”.

The church reopened in 1896, and it’s reopening made the local newspaper. On July 16, 1896, The Northern Advance newspaper announced that a celebration would be held for the reopening:

“the Rev. M. L. Peasson of this town is to officiate. The Steamer Islay will convey all who wish to enjoy the occasion from Barrie to Rama and return for 30 cents. Leaving Barrie at 9:30 A. M. and returning will leave Rama at 5 P.M. Refreshments will be served on the grounds and the Rama Indian Brass band will furnish music. A good time is expected.”

The next week’s paper reported on the grand reopening event, which indeed was confirmed to be a good time. The Northern Advance reported that,

all enjoyed the services in the church conducted by Rev. M. L. Pearson of Barrie, and continued for an hour and a half. The choir, composed partly of Indians, sang several selections very well indeed. By request the principal Indian singer sang in Ojibway “What a Friend we have in Jesus”.

In 1877, Chief Nanigishkung, John Wesley, Abraham Ingersoll, John Young, Peter Jacobs, William Beatty, Jonas George, and Elisha Sandy requested $300 from annuities to rebuild the church.

The organist remarked that she could not play n “Indian” but the accompaniment was quite correct, and no one knew but that it was played in “English”. Short addresses were delivered by Rev. Mr. Barker, introduced as “Big Chief Barker”, Rev. Dr. Harper, Chief Benson, of the Rama Indians, and Rev. Thos Williams, who related experiences in his work for many years among the Indians.

The church was re-built using stone from local quarries and fields. It is said women from Rama carried fieldstone to the church site. Construction took some time, but once it was finished, the

Rev. R. Black, an Indian missionary to splendid ability, it is said gave a short address in Indian, which the chairman humorously remarked was the most complete in argument and most removed from criticism he had ever heard.

(church)

From the Archives: Namewgamig The church is a tasty stone structure, with spire and large bell. Within has been placed new furniture, four beautiful lamps, a beautiful organ, a clock and other important things, all paid for.

Missionary Lawrence was the busiest man in the crowd; he was everywhere present working like a Trojan for the enjoyment of all.

He gave an interesting account of the church and the many donations he had received, it being evident that the Rama Indians have many true friends and sympathizers in Orillia and Barrie.

The Indian band played several selections very admirably. The boat reached her moorings about 8 o’clock, all on board being well satisfied with the day’s outing.

The church was used regularly by the community until the early 1900’s. In 1909, a new church was built next to the community hall.Parts of the old church, such as the bell and seats, were moved to the newer church. In 1952, the old stone church was demolished.

Looking at the church from the wharf on Lake Couchiching. Note the pasture and cattle to the right, as well as two of our ancestors leaning against the fence. Source: Orillia Public Library

The Rama stone church painting by Ada Torrance Donated to Our Heritage Place

by The Bidwell Family, in Memory of Norma Smith

History: The Secrets of the Mnjikaning Fish Weirs This article originally appeared in Anishinabek News in 2017. It is shared here with the permission of its author, Laurie LeClair.

Mii dash geget Nenabozhoo maajitaad ozhi’aad biinjiboonaaganan, gichi-mitigoon odayaawaajinigaanaan, waasa gaye odoondaawanaan, wii-zoongitood obiinjiboonaaganan. Mii dash gaa-giizhi’aad wiindamawaad ookomisan, mii dash e-naad, “Mii nookomis, gii-giizhi’ag biinjiboonaagan, mii dash giigoonh ji-amwad,” odinaan ookomisan.“Eye,” ikido mindimooye.

And then truly did Nenabozhoo begin making his fishtraps, huge logs he carried on his shoulders, and from afar he carried them on his back, (for) he wanted to make his traps strong. And then after he had finished them he notified his grandmother, and this he said to her: “There, my grandmother, have I finished the fish-traps, and now some fish will you eat,” he (thus) said to his grandmother. “Ay,” said the old woman. From Nenabozhoo and the Fish Trap (William Jones, 1917, Ojibwa Texts, E.J. Brill, Ltd, Publishers and Printers Leyden, NY, p. 436 – 445, this story and all Anishinaabemowin words courtesy of Alan Corbiere, M’Chigeeng First Nation) One fall day, two thousand years ago a young family left their home at Cahiagué near modern day Orillia to go to their ancestral fishing camp. This was a special place for them because they would meet up with their extended family and friends, many of whom they had not seen since the springtime. Once reunited, the men would travel the short distance to Mitche-kun-ing, the ancient fishing weir at the narrows where lakes Oentaron and Couchiching meet. The fishery was special too. It had always been there. The fish were called there, and if treated with respect, would offer themselves up to the nets. The women and the children would stay behind. Beginning with the first catch, the little ones amused themselves making toys and throwing bits of clay into the cool water as their mothers chatted and worked at cleaning and smoking the fish, or repairing the nets and generally preparing for the long winter ahead. Throughout all their activities they were careful not to throw any fish bones onto the fire as such an action was disrespectful and could jeopardize their next catch.

Moving 1600 years forward to another fall day, Samuel de Champlain visited Cahiagué, now the biggest of all the villages in the area, containing two hundred large lodges and surrounded by a wooden palisade. It is here, on September 1, 1615 that he and his entourage travelled to Mitche-kuning. Champlain recorded the fishing place in his diary and this disappointingly brief entry remains the earliest written account of the ancient weirs: When the most part of our people were assembled, we set out from the village

on the first day of September and passed along the shore of a small lake [Couchiching] distant from the said village three leagues, where they make great catches of fish which they preserve for the winter. There is another lake immediately adjoining [Lake Simcoe] which is twenty-six leagues in circumference, draining into the small one by a strait [the Narrows] where the great catch of fish takes place by means of a number of weirs which almost close the strait, leaving only small openings where they set their nets into the Freshwater Sea [Lake Huron].

Although it escaped Champlain’s description, the French explorer would have noticed that bits of brush, twigs and wattle were woven between the stakes to create an impregnable fence. At the time of contact with Europeans, weirs and fish traps were the commonest forms of communal fisheries and when Champlain witnessed the one at Mitche-kun-ing, weirs had become the most efficient technique in indigenous fisheries. Here the fish were so plentiful that Champlain, with the help of the community was able to gather enough shigan [bass], kewis [herring] and maazhginoozhe [musky] within a little over a week to sustain an estimated 2,200 warriors for a planned raid into the interior against the Iroquois.

When the people of Cahiagué welcomed a wounded Champlain back in December 1615 no one would have anticipated that within a generation their thriving village would be disrupted by the trade wars with the Iroquois that swept across the lower Great Lakes area. Following the Great Peace of 1701 held between the Anishinaabeg and the Haudenosaunee these ancient and rich fishing grounds were reinhabited by the former, who reestablished communities along ancient Lake Shining, called by the French Lac La Clie, (lake of the Hurdles or lake of the Fences)-and later by the English name Lake Simcoe.

In 1917, Rama Elders recounting what they had been told about Mitche-kun-ing, or place of the fish fence, believed the site was ancient and it was their responsibility to maintain it. In fact, according to a recent oral history, Anishinaabe had learned about the weirs prior to the Beaver Wars. One Elder told Mark Douglas, a citizen of Chippewas of Rama First Nation: As our people journeyed outward from the Great Falls, we discovered the Huron Nation fishing at the narrows. We spent considerable time with the Hurons learning all the techniques. We stayed long enough to gain the Huron’s trust and we were given gifts symbolizing our new relations…. [After several winters] the Anishinabek decided that we should continue to move westward seeking the place where the food grew on top of the water [wild rice].

History: The Secrets of the Mnjikaning Fish Weirs In order to initiate the improvements necessary for the Trent Severn Waterway, a second channel running north of the original channel at the Narrows was dredged out in 1857.

The best preserved of the ancient weirs can be found in the original channel which only has a depth of about two to three meters. Improvements to the marina and docks and an increased use of the area by sport fishermen led to further destruction.

Ironically, the threat of the weirs’ impending ruin sparked curiosity and interested parties were compelled to both undertake studies and to lobby for preservation. Archaeologist Walter Kenyon from the Royal Ontario Museum led the first archaeological investigation in 1966. Using SCUBA divers he attempted to plot out the stakes, which at the time appeared numerous. Unfortunately, his survey was discontinued and the project itself of limited use, but it did raise awareness of the site among non-Anishinaabeg communities.

In 1973, two archaeologists from Trent University, Richard B. Johnston and Kenneth A. Cassavoy conducted an underwater study of the remnants of the weirs, by now appearing as stubs sticking about an inch or two above the silty river bottom. They sent samples of a few of the stakes for radiocarbon testing. Cassaway hoped that the results would be old enough to link this site with the Champlain visit. He was unprepared for the news he received that one of the stakes dated back to 2610 BC, or roughly the same time that the Great Sphinx and the Great Pyramids at Giza were built.

Johnston and Cassavoy were also able to map out the remaining stakes and determine a rough pattern to their design. Ancient engineers planned the structure at a narrower, deeper section where the water was faster, located just outside of the bend of the original channel. At the bottom of the weirs they designed a rock path about 15 feet wide to stand on to enable the fishermen to place traps and nets across the weirs’ outlet at its north end without sinking into the mud. Studying the placement of the stakes the archeologists determined that one set of stakes was designed to catch fish swimming with the current towards warm and shallow Lake Couchiching while another set orientated on a diagonal in a northwest-southwest direction caught the fish which swam upstream toward colder and deeper Lake Simcoe. Radiocarbon dating confirmed that the two weirs were built at the same time and repaired over the centuries, usually in the spring and fall. Tests also showed that the stakes were made from wood species including: Wiigwaas [Paper birch], Azhawemizh [Beech], Niib [Elm], Ninaatig [Maple], Giizhig [White cedar], Bwaayaak [White Ash], Ookweminaatig [Black Cherry], Maan’noons

[Ironwood]. Johnston and Cassaway were able to map out a total of 535 stakes ranging in size from 1.5 to 3 inches in diameter, most being about 1.5 inches.

In 1982 the Mnjikaning Fish Weirs became a National Historic Site because of its unique historical and spiritual significance. These structures form the largest and best-preserved wooden fishing weirs known in Canada.

Also, the site honours an ancient stewardship beginning thousands of years before the Huron-Wendat assumed the role, and continues on today with the Anishinaabeg.

Moreover, it is considered a sacred place representing an ancient yet present spiritual bond between the Creator and all living things.

But in 1990’s the weirs came under a new threat. Increased motor traffic enroute to Casino Rama and further north into cottage country called for an expanded bridge along Highway 12. Mitigation archaeology was necessary because a large percentage of the better-preserved stakes could be found under this bridge and were therefore threatened. Led by Parks Canada archaeologists, an in situ examination was completed and then 137 stakes were removed for conservation and study. The controversial nature of this action together with the need for inter-community engagement led to the founding of the Mnjikaning Fish Fence Circle in 1993. Incorporated in 1996, the MFFC has a three-part mandate focusing on preservation, protection and education.

The Parks Canada excavation confirmed much of the findings and theories set out by Johnston and Cassavoy.

It also arrived at an interesting discovery. Eleven of the sample stakes appeared to have been sharpened with an axe or some sort of modern metal tool. When submitted to radiocarbon testing these stakes were given a series of dates ranging from AD 1450 to 1615. In the words of a marine archeologist who worked on the site: The dates present a problem when considered with the method used to sharpen the stakes. Although fitting within the Huron period, most of the dates are far too early to correspond to what is known about the introduction of metal tools in this area. It appears that, through some unknown phenomenon, the structure is dating to somewhat older than it should actually be. After 4,000 years the Mnjikaning Fish Weirs still hasn’t given up all of its secrets.

This article was authored by Laurie LeClair who has worked as an archaeologist, historian and technical writer for over 25 years. Since 2007 she has been a treaty researcher for Union of Ontario Indians and is also a regular contributor to Anishinabek News. She lives with her husband and son in Toronto.

Anishinaabemowin: An Update Where we Began In May 2016, a Language Revitalization Strategy was created. It outlines the process best determined to revitalize our Anishinaabemowin language in Rama. Created by Vicki Snache, it has been put into motion. Pre-COVID, we held a variety of in-person language classes and language camps. We created “Phrases of the Day”, Anishinaabemowin labels for items around the home, signage for buildings throughout Rama First Nation, and different types of classes and programming for several Rama First Nation departments. In 2021, a new Language Action Plan was recently created by staff to ensure the Strategy is not just a dream but a reality. Without the Strategy and Action Plan, and more importantly, support and efforts from the community, we face an extinction of Anishinabemowin in Rama, and the loss of our Rama dialect. The language committee, Chief and Council, and staff recognize the need to act quickly when it comes to our language.

Work has begun to save our language, but we need your help.

What’s Happening Today The Language Committee has begun to meet (virtually) once again. They are helping the process of revitalizing Anishinaabemowin in Rama. One early outcome was the creation of a new contract position known as Immersion Program Administrator. This employee was hired on a short-term contract over summer 2021 to create a report outlining best practices for early years language immersion programming, and to highlight funding opportunities. In addition to the Immersion Program Administrator, a new part-time Anishinaabemowin language staff started at the Rama Early Childhood Education Centre in May 2021. Our children are little sponges who learn so quickly; this teacher will help our community’s youngest learn our language.

Anishinaabemowin classes have run virtually throughout COVID and have resumed once again.

These classes, particularly the Beginner class, are in high-demand. We have plans for adult immersion programs, continuation of the temporarily paused (due to COVID) Mentor-Apprentice program, more virtual language learning and workshop opportunities, and preserving our dialect by recording our speakers. More details on all of these initiatives will be made available once plans are finalized.

Where do we go from here?

Our language is at a critical state. We invite all members of the community to join us in saving our language. We need to act quickly. Language-learners of all levels are invited to join our community-wide effort. Keep an eye on the Rama “Our Home” Facebook page and Ojibway Times newsletter for information about classes and language initiatives. Please email culture@ramafirstnation.ca for more information about our Anishinaabemowin revitalization efforts.

Next up are a series of community and employee engagement sessions. We want to hear from the community in regards to what is needed for our language. These sessions are your chance to be heard - please attend if you can. Watch Rama First Nation social media for dates, or connect with Our Heritage Place for more information. If you’re unable to attend we also welcome you to share your thoughts or questions as well by getting in touch with us.

Together, we can save our language. Miigwech.

A map of the province of Upper Canada, describing all the new settlements, townships Wyld, James, 1812-1887 This map shows “Upper Canada” (Ontario) in 1854. Compiled by James Wyld, it was created based off of documents and maps from the Surveyor General’s Office. A far cry from the work of early “New World” cartographers 100 or so years prior, this map was accurate. Note the massive swath of land labelled only as, “Chippewa Hunting Country”. Even in 1854, much of northern Ontario was untouched and remained as it had for millenia: as our hunting territory, and exclusively Anishinaabe land.

gchi miigwech for reading!