|
The Manitoulin Treaty of 1862: Seeking the Native Perspective by Alan Corbiere, Kinoomaadoog Cultural and Historical Research Exploring and seeking to understand the signing of the 1862 Manitoulin Treaty (aka McDougall Treaty No. 94) requires gathering as many different perspectives as possible. There are three main sources of information regarding the Manitoulin Treaty: The reports of Indian Affairs officials, the Jesuits Missionaries, and the Indians themselves. Each source should be read critically and in conjunction with the other sources. Divergent views on proceedings always happens and biases always enter the fray, nevertheless, a Native perspective on the issue can be re-constructed. All too often the role of Indians (Nishnaabeg) are downplayed or minimized. In some academic studies of the Manitoulin Treaty the Nishnaabeg and their Chiefs are portrayed as merely the tools of the Jesuit priests located at Wikwemikong, blindly obeying their priests. While the Jesuits did play an active role, I hope to demonstrate that they were not the puppet masters of the Manitoulin Island Chiefs. The Jesuits certainly played a major role in the resistance, however, their activities have been emphasized at the expense of revealing the political resistance that the Chiefs engaged in. I will draw from minutes of proceedings and councils recorded by the governmental officials as well as the Jesuits. More importantly, I will utilize the petitions drafted up by the Chiefs. These petitions were predominantly written in Ojibwe. A few petitions were undeniably written by the priests but the Nishnaabeg had also learned to write in Ojibwe. The Chiefs of Wikwemikong had a secretary by the name of Francis Metosage, he wrote a number of the Ojibwe petitions. Also, John Itawashkash (also spelt Atawashkoshi of Sheshegwaning), son of Chief Itawashkash and grandson of Assiginack, was also literate in Ojibwe. Louis Debassige Jr. (of Mitchigiwadinong - present day M’Chigeeng), was also reportedly literate in Ojibwe. The Nishnaabeg during that era were predominantly monolingual Ojibwe speakers and some spoke French. The government had to employ interpreters whenever they wanted to conduct business with the Manitoulin Nishnaabeg. So much of the proceedings recorded have been filtered through an interpreter and then recorded by a secretary on site or recalled afterward. As problematic as that may sound, the minutes of proceedings do not necessarily have to be discarded. Much of the minutes corroborate other sources. Language barriers and literacy were not the only problems, the Local Superintendent Captain George Ironside served to obstruct the efforts of the Nishnaabeg to maintain their rights as well as to stymie their independence. After the signing of the Bond Head treaty of 1836, the Nishnaabeg of Manitoulin started to experience encroachment from settlers and in particular, American fishermen. The department of fisheries and the local superintendent started to issue leases to various fishing stations claimed by the Nishnaabeg. The Chiefs of Wikwemikong protested this encroachment onto their fisheries and requested that Ironside write a letter to the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs. Ironside refused. The chiefs then responded by holding a general assembly in order to set down their collective understanding of the 1836 Treaty. All of the surviving Nishnaabe participants and witnesses were invited and through the three day period they produced a document which they all signed. In a letter from Rev. Father Hanipaux (Society of Jesus) to the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs dated August 3, 1839, Hanipaux stated that: “The chiefs and prominent Indians at the three-day assembly drew up this document, which was signed by all, as much to renew the memory of this famous treaty as to request the mercy of His Excellency the Governor General, represented by you, Sir, [illegible]... But the Superintendent [Ironside] told them that this would be not necessary, since he himself had just written to His Excellency in the same vein.” Ironside appears to have routinely dismissed the concerns of the Manitoulin Nishnaabeg. This disregard, in a sense, fortified their resolve to be heard and served to have the Chiefs bypass the local Superintendent and petition the Superintendent General of Indian Affairs and the Governor General directly. On July 21, 1862 the Chiefs petitioned Ironside’s superiors to complain about his actions. They wrote, in Ojibwe, that he was trying to ‘make chiefs’ in order to deprive the Indians of their land. In this same petition, the Chiefs also addressed the fishing issue: “The fishing locations are our own property in as much as they are our islands. They told us that the Indians would receive payment but we have not received any. We demand payment forthwith for we don’t know what the promise will amount to. Now that the lease of the location is over, we require that they be not leased any more.” Throughout this time the Chiefs and Nishnaabeg of Manitoulin had their rights and title continuously questioned, challenged, disrespected and disregarded by settlers and government officials. The Nishnaabeg heard rumours of the government’s intentions to purchase the Island. These intentions were officially declared by Treaty Commissioners Bartlett and Lindsey. The Treaty commission was sent to Manitoulin to test the Indians receptiveness to treat and cede the Island. On Saturday October 5th 1861, the council was held and attended by about 130 warriors with their Chiefs. When questioned about a possible surrender the selected Ogimaa-giigido (Council Orator), Itawashkash (also spelt as Edowishkosh, Atawashkoshi a chief from Sheshegwaning) stated:
“I have heard what you have said, the words you have been sent to say to us. I wish now to tell you what my brother Chiefs and warriors, women and children say. The Great Spirit gave our forefathers land to live upon, and our forefathers wished us to keep it. The land upon which we now are is our own, and we intend to keep it. The whites should not come and take our lands from us - they ought to have stayed on the other side of the salt water to work the land there. The Great Spirit would be angry with us if we parted with our land, and we don’t want to make him angry. That is all I have to say.”
Bartlett and Lindsey then replied that the government had every right to survey the island because the English own it. At this point an unidentified warrior spoke and stated:
“Listen to me. I call you friends because the whites and Indians are friends. I wish you would understand what I say. If I understood English I would not employ another man to speak for me. I hope you will not do anything to cause me to be angry against you. This Island of which I speak I consider my body. I don’t want one of my legs or arms to be taken from me. I am surprised to hear you say the Island belongs to white men, for I have not seen any white men on the Island before and I am not very young. I know there is an evil spirit of which I am afraid as well as the Great Spirit above. As I said before, I am surprised to hear you say the Island belongs to you.” The treaty commissioners left without making demonstrable progress. They submitted their report to their superiors and stated that: “They are possessed of the idea that their title to the island is perfect, and was not impaired by the conditional surrender they made to Sir Francis Bond Head in 1836.” The Chiefs took issue with the Commissioners’ statements regarding their title to the Island and surrounding islands. On June 27, 1862, the assembled Chiefs of Manitoulin, in council produced another petition (written in Ojibwe) in which they stated:
“Last fall we heard with great surprise him who came here, saying that he was sent by the Queen; ‘We English, we are the masters of this Island of Ottawas, your chiefs have ceded it,’ said he. This word surprised us wonderfully. No we have never ceded our island nor the little ones. We keep them for our children, to gain their livelihood on. Now again they want to trouble us while we reflect upon in our minds the fine promises which have been made to us. But we won’t take that matter into our consideration, we reject the whole proposition. This is what we have to say.”
A year after the visit from Lindsey and Bartlett, William Spragge and the Honourable William McDougall came to the island to effect a treaty. On Saturday October 4th, 1862 speeches were delivered by both the government officials and the chiefs. McDougall attempted placate the Nishnaabeg while sweetening the pot:
“They (Bartlett and Lindsey) told you that you are not the owners of the island, I do not tell you that today. Assuredly you are, you, the owners of the island... Here is the land that will be given to you respectively: per family 100 acres; a boy of more than 21 years 50 acres; an orphan boy of 21 years, 100 acres. And the payment that is given to the Great Chief (taxes), you will not give it; and your children will be taught well.”
McDougall tried to entice the Nishnaabeg with the offer of money. At this treaty council, Itawashkash (Sheshegwaning Chief) again served as Ogimaa-giigido (Council Orator). After McDougall’s initial speech, Itawashkash replied: “My brother, I make you know our thoughts, having reflected first on the words you spoke to us. This is not the first time that we think about these things, no, we think about them always. Beautiful are my thoughts, I hold onto my land, I do not give it up. What I said last autumn when they came to make that request is still today my thought and my word. Always, I too, want to keep this ancient land for my child, the little I still possess, this is where the Great Spirit gave me to live, and I do not want to abandon it. For you, it is on the other side of the Great Water that he gave you to live...That is the thought of my Chiefs who are here and for whom I speak.” Government agents recorded events at the treaty proceedings but so did the people of Wikwemikong. They recorded McDougall’s reply to Itawashkash’s assertion: “Well! I have just heard your thought and what you said. It is useless, though, you will continue to be talked to about it. The Great Chief absolutely wants your land. You will no longer be spoken to as we are here all together. You will each be found on your lands, and will be asked each separately. Those who will accept the proposal, their word will be taken, and the land which they own. Those who live at the bottom end of the waters said the same as you said today: this is where the Great Being gave us to live. They were wrong, though: despite everything they gave up their land though they held to it. That is what will happen to you as it happened to them. Now the whites fill those lands. That is what will happen here.” Wikwemikong Chief Jako [aka Jocko son of Chief Atagewinini] attempted to ignite the other chiefs: “My brother, now my chiefs make their thoughts known to you: will the Indian’s happiness start now? Now that you come to ask him for his land in all its extent? Look out, my brother! Those who gave up that mainland, it is now nothing at all that you promised to pay them. You promised them four dollars. Look well at this, my brother, look at my trousers. They cost me four dollars, and I did not buy them out of the payment you gave me for my land. It is the sugar I draw from the trees here in my little island that got these trousers for me. That is what I tell you, my brother.” Despite the efforts of the Wikwemikong chiefs to re-unite all chiefs against signing the treaty, on October 6th, 1862 Itawashkash (Atonishkosh) signed the Treaty as did former ‘dissentients’ Debassige (Taibosegai) and Bemigwaneshkang (Paimoquonaishkung etc.,). The Chiefs of Wiky did not sign the treaty. After the 1862 Treaty was signed, the Chiefs of Wikwemikong and the Jesuits launched an effort to have the Treaty annulled. Jesuit Fr. Hanipaux reportedly threatened to ex-communicate Sheshegwaning and Mitchigiwadinong (also spelt as Mitchikewedinong - present day M’Chigeeng band) Indians if they did not write and sign petitions. Of course, the local superintendent reported that the signatories to the treaty were ‘happy and satisfied’ with the treaty. There is little doubt that the Jesuits greatly assisted the efforts to have petitions sent. They even offered to provide paper to the Mitchigiwadinong and Sheshegwaning Chiefs. It would appear that the Jesuits again played a dominant role, but I do not think it was that simple because there exists a document called the “Minutes of a council held by the Indians of the unceded portion of the Island and the Mitchikewedinong Indians on the 10th January 186[last number illegible].” In these minutes the chiefs state that Ironside is again attempting to covertly get the Wikwemikong Indians to cede their land. Taibosegai pledges his support to the Wikwemikong Chief Wahkaikezhik and states that he expects the same assistance if anybody were to attempt to ‘overcome’ them. Paimoquonaishkung approves of Taibosegai’s stance. Wakegijig (spelt Wahkaikezhik in the minutes) then stated: “The letter we wrote last summer had no effect because we did not get it up properly. But now this is what we will do - each chief of a village that is, Sheshegwaning, Mitchikewedinong, Manitowaning and Wikwemikong shall make out a paper with his name attached and these we shall send to Quebec. This is the right thing to do.” During the spring and summer of 1863, two petitions written in Ojibwe were sent to the Governor General. A brief one from Sheshegwaning and a more in depth one from Mitchikewedinong. These petitions are both made and signed by the Warriors of each band. Both contain statements from some of the respective Chiefs (Paimoquonaishkung, Taibosegai, Wakaose {Wetcowsai}) who signed the treaty, expressing their regret at having signed the treaty. The content of the Mitchigiwadinong petition provide six reasons to annul the treaty. The warriors who signed this petition eloquently stated that they were not informed and that the chiefs had no right to cede what they own as well. They also plead to the Governor General to have mercy on them and that their women and children will be the ones to suffer in poverty. Both petitions charged that the Chiefs were threatened and coerced into signing the treaty. Threats of soldiers coming to forcibly remove them from their lands as well as immigrant settlers displacing them. In Wikwemikong on July 1865, a general council of the Manitoulin Indians was once again convened. Another petition was drawn up and sent. This petition was signed by most of the 1862 Treaty signatories. Again the Chiefs stated that they were coerced and threatened into signing the Treaty document. The Chiefs wrote: “And now as far as our feet will reach our tears run down from crying, looking at our children who are to live in the future, at the same time thinking how we have been cheated when frightened.... And now very carefully listen to us. This time we faithfully tell our conclusion. It is that which was done in a great council, and it is that which we strongly hold in our mind, which is, that, the people hold the Island forever, what we now own to hold forever for our children that are to live in the future... And now we desire you who art merciful in heart, and the Ruler of the country called Canada, in the name of the Great Spirit, to break now immediately the Treaty into the making of which we were frightened and cheated, by Wm. McDougall, at Manitowaning, 6th October, 1862.” Clearly there is much more to this story than we have told. This article utilized only written sources - not the oral traditions of our living Elders. The sentiments expressed in these documents are eloquent, captivating and poetic. Much more can be said about the historical references to the Treaty of Niagara, the teachings expressed by the Chiefs and the discourse of classic Ojibwe/ Odawa language use. Certainly, such works deserve the attention of teachers and students in our schools. |
