On these pages are the transcripts of the three main written and signed treaties of the Manitoulin and Lake Huron area. The transcripts include the Sir Francis Bond Head Treaty of 1836, the Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850 and the Manitowaning Treaty of 1862. In the near future, each chiefs’ clan signatures contained on these treaties will be made available. For more information on the Manitoulin Treaty refer to “The Manitoulin Treaty of 1862: seeking the Nishnaabe perspective” contained on the “Articles” webpage.
A fourth treaty should be included here and will soon be. This fourth treaty is the Wampum Belt of Niagara also called the Covenant Chain of Friendship and Brotherhood. The Wampum of Niagara is a different treaty since it does not have a signed document, instead it is a treaty that conforms more to Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee protocols and practices than to British treaty arrangements. The Wampum was renewed or ‘polished’ by annual councils between the “Great Father” and Chiefs in Council as well as the delivery of Indian presents. The speeches section of the website offers complementary information on the Covenant Chain Wampum Belt.
The Wampum of Niagara laid down the foundation of the Nation to Nation relationship between the “Western Nations” (which included Anishinaabeg such as the Odawa, Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Sauks, Fox, Shawnee, Menominee, Cree, Winnebagoe and others) and the British colonial government and its successor, the Canadian government. The Kinoomaadoog website has speeches and petitions that refer explicitly to the Wampum given at Niagara.
