Treaties Week presentation by member of Métis and Mi'kmaq First Nation.

From November 1st to November 7th, the province of Ontario observed Treaties Recognition Week, an annual event designed to educate Ontarians and honor the importance of treaties in our history as a nation, and to create a better understanding between indigenous communities and not Indigenous people across Canada.

TVC22 Journalist Bruce de la Cruz was able to attend a lecture and presentation given by Archie Martin, a member of the Métis Nation, and Miꞌkmaq Nation. The lecture emphasized the importance of treaties and how they directly affected his people and his family. 

Archie goes through the timeline of treaties in Canada and North America, starting from when European settlers first arrived, all the way to 11 treaties that were signed post-confederation between the Crown and various Indigenous peoples. 

He brings up lesser known facts on the topic as well, such as how the Dutch played a vital role in some of the treaties that took place in New York.

With him, Archie brought along many artifacts of his people, that the crowd were able to take a closer look at after the presentation was over. 

Archie, who hails from New Brunswick and has lived in Rigaud, Quebec for the past 50 years, has been giving presentations and doing workshops with his wife Pierrette for the past 19 years. Travelling across Quebec, the Maritimes, and Eastern Ontario, these workshops serve as a platform for the two of them to educate and inform people of First Nation and Metis history and culture in an interactive way.