Today, Feburary 28, is Treaty Day in Oakville, marking the anniversary of the signing of Treaty 22, which encompasses the lands at 12 Mile Creek and 16 Mile Creek in Oakville.
According to Debwewin Oakville, the town of Oakville resides on the Treaty Lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, part of the Anishinaabe Nation, whose traditional territory encompasses 3.9 million acres of southern Ontario.
This year is the 205th anniversary of the treaty signing. The town of Oakville says they are "on the treaty lands and territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation" under both Treaty 14 and Treaty 22.
Oakville permanently flies the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation flag at Town Hall to acknowledge and thank the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation for being stewards of this traditional territory.
A free event will be held at the Oakville Public Library (OPL) Central Branch at 5 p.m. tonight.
OPL invites everyone to "Join this free Treaty Day event to mark the date on which the Mississaugas of the Credit (MCFN), signed their last Treaty in Oakville, Treaty 22."
Guest speakers include Emma Stelter, author and MCFN’s Governance and Policy Analyst, and MCFN’s Debwewin Lead Georgia LaForme.
The discussion will centre on the main themes of the report, “Friendship, Peace and Respect for All Future Generations: Oakville based treaty relationships between the Mississaugas and the Crown,'' authored by Stelter.
Attendees will also have an opportunity to become an Ally by signing the Acts of Allyship Commitment Form.
"Governments won’t fix racism or enable true reconciliation. It has to be the people of Canada who do the work and make it happen," said Lead Debwewin Advisory Council, Elder Peter Schuler. "I think that community to community, people to people is the way to go."