Treaty Days at Leila North School
When the Treaties were made in Manitoba, the discussions were about building
relationships, settlement and opportunities for all people to succeed in this land.
Treaties define the relationship between people; the Crown and First Nations. Like
any relationship it takes a continual commitment to make things work and evolve.
Treaty relationships are no different; they entail reciprocity, respect and a
commitment to work together to build a stronger and healthier nation. TRCM
From the Students;
“This week I learned that we are all Treaty people it doesn’t matter whether we
are born here or not, we are still a part of the Canadian Treaties because we live
on the land.”
“When I look at people and the world, I feel like we are all connected and I feel
like everything could change with just a handshake.”
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Treaty Days at Leila North
The Leila staff was interested in finding ways to better support the learning of
Indigenous culture and, in particular, learning about the Treaties. Having heard
that Elwick School celebrates Treaty Days, we visited their team to find out more.
We also contacted the Treaty Relations Commission of Manitoba, and researched
the history of Treaties in Manitoba. We learned that Treaty Days are celebrated
all over the country. We learned this is a time to renew the relationship that was
built between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people through the signing of the
Treaties. We learned that Treaties are promises made between two nations and a
handshake signified that the Treaty would be honored as long as the sun shines,
grass grows, and waters flow. As our school is situated on Treaty One land, and
we are all treaty people, we decided we should celebrate with our own Treaty
Days.
During the week of Monday April 20th-Thursday April 23rd we celebrated Treaty
Days. Our intent during Treaty Days was for our students, staff, and community
to gain a greater understanding of Treaties and how they impact our lives today
as Canadians. We set three goals to achieve during Treaty Days; to understand
that there is an on-going reciprocal relationship that is part of our daily lives, to
learn the historical ceremonial aspect of the signing of the Treaties (a promise
made, the smoking of the pipe, and the handshake), and finally to celebrate the
Treaties!
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
From the students;
“I learned what the Treaties are and what purpose they have. I also learned what
the Indian Act is and how it affected people.”
“I learned we are all Treaty people because we live on Treaty Land”
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Our celebration began months prior to Treaty Days. A few members of our staff
attended the Treaty Education Training at the Treaty Commission of Manitoba.
They shared their new knowledge while other staff members continued to gain
professional development opportunities including Council of Aboriginal
Educators, Indigenous Drumming and Indigenous Art workshops offered by the
Division, Educational Leave focussed on Indigenous Education in our school, Three
Pillar workshops lead by Kevin Lamoureux, and in school sharing and collaborating
among staff.
Some staff began to implement the Treaty Kits developed through the Treaty
Commission of Manitoba. Students were engaging in art, reading, and writing
that helped them gain a better understanding of the Treaties.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
The Grade 6 students all took part in the Blanket Simulation lead by Rebecca
Chartrand and divisional CATEP students. The simulation gave the students an
opportunity to experience what life was like before the Treaties and after the
Treaties. They didn’t just hear or read about this history, they were transported
back in time and walked in the shoes of the First Nation people through history.
From the students;
“I felt sad at first because I found out how they were treated but then I felt glad
because my class now knows what happened so it won’t happen again.”
“It was a very emotional time. They would give certain cards and then explain
what the card meant. Usually it was the way that person died.”
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
We also learned more about Indigenous culture throughout the time leading up
to Treaty Days.
Powwows are celebrations, social gatherings and friendly dance competitions.
But, as with the sacred thread that runs through all of life, there are sacred
traditions to be found in this coming together of people.
(www.gatheringofnations.com)
George Anderson is a local community member and a member of Distant Thunder
Drum group. He sings, drums, and dances men grass dance. His daughter Faith
dances traditional shawl and jingle dress. The students at Leila had an
opportunity on February 25th 2015 to watch a Powwow demonstration with
George, Faith, and their Powwow group. The students all participated in the
friendship dance.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
To continue this learning experience, we developed a Powwow club lead by
Shannon Bear and Ricki Penner. Every Monday the club meets to learn the styles
and traditions associated with Powwow dancing. Our club will be part of the
Divisional Powwow this June and our club members are beginning to make their
own regalia to wear at the Powwow.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
As Treaty Days began to approach all of the school bulletin boards were changed
to reflect our celebration. We wanted the boards to provide information but also
leave space for students to questions and respond to their growing
understanding. In a way of honoring the Indigenous culture we had the
background of each bulletin board represent the colour and direction of the
Anishinaabe Medicine Wheel. Below is a sampling of our many bulletin boards.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
On Wellness Wednesday during Treaty Days our Guidance Counsellors invited
students to fill up our bulletin board with their thoughts about their identity as we
learned more about being Canadians on Treaty 1 land.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
We decided to start the week with an assembly to kick off our celebration and our
learning.
Alison Cox did an opening song
Elder Mary Courchene did an opening prayer in Ojibwe
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Kevin Lamoureux spoke about the relationship between all Treaty people, and
emphasized that we need to continue to nurture that relationship
Commissioner Jamie Wilson of the Treaty Commission shared the history of the
Treaties.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Finally, Mme Nickel’s Grade 7 French Immersion class presented a re-enactment
of the signing of the Treaties in both French and English. They did a spectacular
presentation and provided a fantastic history lesson to the entire school.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Then Treaty Days activities began with our many special guests and workshops.
We offered over 80 different sessions that classrooms could participate in during
the four days. Below you will find short biographies of the presenters and their
sessions at our school.
Miigwetch to all our guests.
Elder Mary Courchene
Elder Mary has been part of Seven Oaks
School Division for the past 8 years. She is a
retired educator with over 40 years of
experience in the education field. Elder
Mary is a Wife, Mother, Grandmother, and
Great Grandmother. Elder Mary’s story of
residential schools is featured in the
Museum of Human Rights. Today Elder
Mary loves to work with children and youth
in her passion of sharing the importance of
Indigenous ways of being.
Elder Mary opened our Treaty Days
assembly with a traditional prayer and
shared the tradition of smudging with a
classroom.
From the students;
“I think it’s important to learn about their
culture because we promised so we have to
do and it is nice share about other cultures”
Elder Dan Thomas
Elder Dan Thomas shared his knowledge
on the pipe smoking ceremony during the
signing of the treaties.
From the students;
“Learning with Elder Dan Thomas was nice.
We learned about this pipe and it’s used for
putting tobacco to cleanse.”
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Elder Wayne Mason
Commissioner Jamie Wilson
Elder Wayne is from Fisher River Cree
Nation. His spirit name is Running Buffalo
and he is part of the Turtle Clan. Wayne is a
father to 7 children, grandfather of 24
children, including Leila students Noah and
Danae Mason, and has 2 great
grandchildren. He has a wonderful wife and
has been in education for over 30 years. He
has been part of ceremonies for over 20
years and is on his 22nd year of his Sundance
ceremony.
Working with the communities to build
relationships and mutual respect as we
continue to bring the Treaties to the
forefront of the minds of all Manitoban is a
priority for the Commissioner of Treaty
Relations Commission of Manitoba.
Commissioner Wilson is a columnist for the
Winnipeg Free Press and is regularly called
upon by local and national media to
comment on a wide range of First Nations
issues. He is also a Traditionalist, who has
long advocated for the equality of women
in ceremony and in leadership. Jamie is
married to Kristin Erickson and, together,
they have three school-aged children.
Elder Wayne shared his knowledge on the
7 teachings and the Indigenous medicines.
From the students;
“I learned there are seven teaching all of
them are represented as spirit animals or in
the feathers on the medicine wheel.”
Life is nothing without a challenge which is
why Wilson often quotes one of his old
sergeants who said, “when you die, make
sure it’s the last thing you have left to do.”
Commissioner Wilson joined us at our
opening assembly and spoke with
classrooms during Treaty Days.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Kevin Lamoureux
Rebecca Chartrand
Kevin Lamoureux is an instructor at the
University of Winnipeg and the University of
Manitoba, a well-known speaker and a
writer. Kevin was recently named Scholar in
Residence and Divisional Day Speaker for
the Seven Oaks School Division. Kevin
recently became a father, and his daughter
Miina’s antics have become a regular part
of his presentations. Kevin Lamoureux is
helping people understand the role that
culture, privilege, and poverty play in public
schools.
Rebecca Chartrand is Anishinaabe and
Metis. She grew up in Winnipeg. Her father
is from Treaty 4 and her mother from
Treaty territory. She is also a parent in
Seven Oaks School Divison. She won a
Canadian Aboriginal Music Award for a CD
she made called Onjida which shares both
Ojibwe and Haudeneshinee songs. Rebecca
Chartrand is Teacher-Team Leader
Aboriginal Education in Seven Oaks School
Division.
Rebecca shared her songs and hand
drumming with the Leila students.
From the students;
Kevin’s presentation, Canada, A Country of
Partnership, was a success with all our
Grade 8 students.
“I learned a song and a lot about Ojibwe
culture and traditions and about the
Creator.”
From the students;
“I learned that we are all Treaty people and
I learned the First Nation’s stories and their
ceremonies and traditions.”
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Lita Fontaine
Frank Beaulieu
Lita is Artist in Residence for Seven Oaks
School Division for the past 14 years. Her
spirit name is Mikinaak Ikwe (Turtle
Woman) and she is part of the Turtle Clan.
Lita is Anishinaabe/Dakota. Lita believes in
hands on art education, she loves making
art, and loves working with children. Lita
believes the visual arts acts as a catharsis
that nourishes emotional, physical, mental,
and spiritual growth while making art.
Frank currently teaches for the Seven Oaks
Heritage Language program. Frank was a
radio host for NCI. He is a jack of all trades
including Grass dancer, musician, and story
teller.
Lita taught students how to create dream
catchers and shared her knowledge that
helped develop a deeper understanding of
the dream catcher.
Frank provided some basic Ojibwe
language instruction for Leila students.
From the students;
“The web is like a spider web and the bead
in the middle is the spider. The spider was
making the web of life and collecting your
dreams.”
From the students;
“He was cool and funny ..AZHAA!!”
“My favorite session was with Ojibwe Frank
because now I get to say Ojibwe words and
sentences.”
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Shayna Genaille
from the Asham Stompers
Shayna is part of the Asham Stompers. The
Asham Stompers are a very high energy Jig
and Square Dance group that bring fans to
their feet EVERYWHERE they perform.
Michael Manyeagles
Michael is a Metis Soap Stone carver and is
well known for his workshops in schools
throughout the province.
Shayna was working in the gym teaching
Traditional Metis jigging.
From the students;
Michael led Soap Stone Carving workshops
for 3 days at Leila.
“It was really hard to get the moves right. I
wanted to learn more about it.”
From the students;
J’aime beaucoup ce qu’on a fait pour ‘Treaty
Days’. J’ai appris beaucoup à propos les
Traites et la culture des premières nations.
Mon activité préférée était Soapstone
Carving.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Alison Cox
Alison is Anishinnaabe and a Traditional
First Nations Drum Carrier. She has
recruited and developed traditional singers
and drummers for the past 15 years. She
founded a group called The Red Robe
Women Drum Society Singers. Red Robe
recorded a CD and performed at the Junos.
Her passion is to teach through song and
drum the history and stories of our people.
She is happy to meet all of you and share
the rich cultural history of Manitoba and
have FUN! Alison is a part of Seven Oaks
CATEP and has worked at James Nisbet,
West Kildonan, and Forest Park.
was very interesting because we got to
drum ourselves.”
“At the beginning we had to watch a video
and it was about Aboriginal children going
to Residential schools. It was an intense
moment and I felt very disappointed
because of all the things they had to go
through.”
Josh Eskin
Josh works at Edmund Partridge school
teaching guitar and fiddling.
Josh provided a fiddling workshop where
Leila students had the opportunity to learn
to fiddle!
Alison workshop was a hands on
drumming workshop where she shared the
stories of the Treaties.
From the students;
“We learned about the different ceremonies
with the drum and also the different
responsibilities between girls and boys. It
From the students;
Nous avons appris plusieurs choses cette
semaine. Moi, j’ai appris comment jouer
le ‘fiddle’! Une semaine d’apprentissage et
de réflexion. Merci!
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Sherri Denysuik
Sherri is Vice-Principal of Maples Collegiate
Sherri has always believed that sharing
stories is an impactful and meaningful to
gain knowledge. Her students from the
Maples joined us and helped us learn how
to share our own stories.
Sherri and the Maples students were
featured in the National Post. The
students and Sherri shared their
experience of writing their personal stories
and helped us continue to write our
stories.
http://news.nationalpost.com/silent-nomore
From the students;
“During Treaty Days I enjoyed when the four
girls came because I’ve learned a lot and I
enjoyed listening to their stories.”
David Alexander Robertson
David Robertson is an author of graphic
novels. David wrote his first book, "The
Bestest Poems I ever Sawed," in grade
3. His realization that education could
combat racism and sexism inspired him to
write the graphic novel The Life of Helen
Betty Osborne. He is an Aboriginal writer
who lives in Winnipeg with his partner and
three children.
The author of Sugar Falls discussed his
journey, growing up detached from
Indigenous culture and its effect on him
and how this led him to write graphic
novels. He then discussed his work, and in
so doing discussed historical items such as
the Treaties, Residential school system,
and contemporary issues in Indigenous
communities.
From the students;
“I learned that chasing your dreams no
matter how big is important. I also learned
about how wrong most sterio-types are and
how we should treat people better.”
“The important thing I learned was his
story.”
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Diane Nickel
Diane Nickel is a twenty-year veteran of the
teaching profession. She currently teaches
grade seven French immersion at Leila! She
has been instrumental in costuming the cast
of Leila’s school plays. Diane further
displays her creativity as she guides her
students through the diverse and
multifaceted landscape we call “art.” Diane
developed her artistic talent by completing
a class with Rebecca Chartrand and another
at the University of Winnipeg. It was during
these classes that she learned to do the
birch bark painting that she has taught her
students during the past three years.
Destiny Olson and Norma Bittern
Destiny and Norma have been part of our
community this year as EA practicum
students from Urban Circle.
Destiny and Norma provided us with tipi
teachings while building our own mini tipi
during Treaty Days.
From the students;
“I learned that the Tipi is opened at the top
so smoke can go out and not burn down and
that the kids have to build the fire and
watch it.”
Diane provided our students with the
chance to explore birch bark art.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Peter Krahn
Peter Krahn is Divisional Principal of
Wayfinders. Pete loves working with
children and youth, all of whom are smart,
capable, and can contribute to our
collective bright future.
Grace Clarke-Redhead
Grace is an education student. She taught
our students how to bead and shared her
skills and talents with us.
Pete taught us how the Medicine Garden
was developed and helped us understand
the Medicine Wheel while we baked
Bannock over the open fire.
From the students;
“Well when I went to the circle place it was
kind of fun and it was cold. I noticed that
when we sit down there were words on the
bench like the Seven Teachings words.”
A beading workshop was provided where
we learned to bead using Indigenous styles
and techniques.
From the students;
“I learned how to bead but it was hard and I
poked my finger.”
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
We know that gift giving was an important part of celebrating Treaty Days. Our gift to
Leila students was a key chain for each student. The students assembled their key
chains. This activity was done in the classroom and others made their key chains in the
Tipi that was in front of our school during our Treaty Days celebration. Students made
key chains for our guests and our staff.
The key chains have significant meaning because they represented who we are as a
community at Leila North. The key chains were beaded with the four Indigenous
colours, a blue bead to represent the Metis, an additional red and white bead as we
are all Canadians, and finally our school colours black and yellow.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
We celebrated on our last day of Treaty Days by enjoying cookies made by our
students for our students. The cookies were shaped like the number five. The five was
used to represent the $5 payment that all First Nations Treaty People receive yearly.
Along with the cookies students and staff read about the significance of the $5 using
the write up attached.
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
The scene at each stop is essentially the same. People gather at the band hall or some
other appropriate place and receive their annual treaty pay -- a princely sum of $5.
It's a time-honoured ceremony. You walk up to the Agent or his equivalent, and he/she
checks off your name and passes a $5 bill to an RCMP member dressed in formal red
serge. The RCMP officer than passes the money to you and shakes your hand. This
tradition goes back to the signing of the treaties.
The $5 in treaty money annually meant that a family could purchase provisions for the
coming winter. At the time of signing it was a valuable contribution to the well-being of
First Nations people. The chief receives $20 and each headman gets $10.
Today, First Nations treaty people still receive $5. While it buys much less now, the
money represents an important link to our past and reminds us that our treaties are
real.
From time to time First Nations leaders point out that the treaties should be upgraded
to a modern context and the $5 brought in line with modern reality. Comparing the
cost of living of the late 1800s with the present would be an interesting exercise.
More than half First Nations people today live and work off the reserve, and it's next to
impossible for them to return home for Treaty Day. In order to accommodate this
population, Treaty Day is now held in the larger cities. For a person to return to the
reserve for Treaty Day and collect $5, it would cost more than $50 in gasoline.
Somehow the economics don't make sense.
http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/news/forum/story.html?id=f9c6544e-0947-45f0-bc683795ae32e57e
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015
Our Treaty Days were very successful. We accomplished our goals throughout the
week but recognize new goals that we believe are important for our community at
Leila North.
Our new goals include developing continuity to our Indigenous initiatives throughout
the school year and throughout each classroom. This would allow Treaty Days to be a
celebration and sharing of year-long learning. A second goal would be to continue to
grow a deeper level of understanding among our students and staff of the history and
culture of Indigenous people. A final goal is to continue to celebrate Treaties including
the ongoing reciprocal relationship that impacts our lives as Canadians
Treaty Days – Ecole Leila North Community School – April 20-24, 2015