The Chapel Royal, Massey College Gi-Chi-Twaa Gimaa Kwe, Mississauga Anishinaabek Aname Gamik

The Chapel Royal, Massey College Gi-Chi-Twaa Gimaa Kwe, Mississauga Anishinaabek AName Gamik

Frequently Asked Questions

Key Facts about The Chapel Royal, Massey College

 Established by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, on National Aboriginal Day (June 21st, 2017)  The Chapel Royal has been given an Anishinaabek name by James Shawana, Anishinaabek language teacher at Lloyd S King Elementary School in New Credit: Gi-Chi-Twaa Gimaa Kwe, Mississauga Anishinaabek AName Gamik (meaning "The Queen's Anishinaabek sacred place")  The result of a partnership between Massey College and the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation  The chapel is both interdenominational and interfaith – a first for such a Royal space  The third Chapel Royal in Canada  The first Anishinaabek Chapel Royal  Massey College in the University of Toronto is located on the Treaty Lands (1805 Toronto Purchase) and Territory of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation  The chapel honours and reflects the Silver Covenant Chain of Friendship extended into these lands by the 1764 Treaty of Niagara  The chapel was inspired by the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, specifically #45  The request for Royal Chapel designation for the St Catherine’s Chapel, Massey College, was a commitment to the theme of reconciliation for Canada’s sesquicentennial  Canada is unique in having this Indigenous and settler collaboration through the Crown: there is nothing like it anywhere else in the world

What is a Chapel Royal?

The history of Chapels Royal dates back to the eleventh century in the British Isles. Originally, a Chapel Royal was a body of priests and singers that followed the King or Queen around to attend to their spiritual needs. King Henry VIII (1509-1547) expanded this designation to encompass physical spaces when he established permanent Chapels Royal at Whitehall, St James's, and Hampton Court Palaces, and the Tower of London.

Also called Royal Peculiars, there are eleven Chapels Royal in the United Kingdom:

St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle (The Queen's Free Chapel of St George in Windsor Castle); The Chapel Royal, St James's Palace; The Queen's Chapel, St James's Palace; The Chapel Royal, Hampton Court; The Chapel of St John the Evangelist in the Tower of London; The Chapel of St Peter ad Vincula in the Tower of London; The Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor; The Queen's Chapel of the Savoy, London; The Royal Foundation of St Katharine, London; The Chapel of St Edward, King and Martyr, Cambridge; The Chapel Royal, Palace of Holyrood (Scotland)

What makes Canada's Chapels Royal unique?

Since the 18th century, Canada has been the only Commonwealth nation outside of the United Kingdom to maintain a tradition of Chapels Royal. Distinct from the United Kingdom, Chapels Royal in Canada are closely associated with the unique and enduring Treaty relationships between the Crown and Indigenous Peoples. The first two Chapels Royal in Canada have roots in a meeting between Indigenous representatives – three Mohawk and one Mohican – and Queen Anne in April of 1710. In Treaty with the British Crown since the 1664 Covenant Chain, the delegates (memorialized in Jan Verelst's painting "Four Indian Kings") petitioned the Queen for more military support, as well as to have a priest sent to the Mohawk Valley (modern day upstate New York). Queen Anne ordered the construction of the first Mohawk Chapel at Fort Hunter in 1711 and it was used by the Fort Hunter Mohawks, as well as the Canajohare Mohawks who lived 50 kilometres (30 miles) away along the Mohawk River. Following the American Revolution, both communities were forced to flee north, becoming the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte (Fort Hunter Mohawk) and the Six Nations of the Grand River (Canajohare Mohawk). Both groups constructed their own chapels – Christ Church and St. Paul's – that were each declared "His Majesty's Chapel” by King Edward VII. The chapels’ designations as official Chapels Royal were confirmed a century later when Queen Elizabeth II bestowed them with the title "Her Majesty's Chapel Royal of the Mohawk." A double communion plate and bible presented by Queen Anne, among many other royal gifts, are shared by the two sites. In 2010, Queen Elizabeth II presented both chapels with a gift of silver hand bells to commemorate the meeting between Queen Anne and the Indigenous delegates 300 years earlier. The bells were engraved with the message “The Silver Chain of Friendship, 1710-2010.

What makes The Chapel Royal, Massey College, so special? Massey College’s Chapel Royal continues the long tradition in these lands of being connected with an Indigenous Nation. It is a Christian chapel that actively seeks interdenominational and interfaith dialogue and exchange. Massey's Chapel Royal is being co-founded with the Mississaugas of the 2

New Credit First Nation – making it the first Anishinaabek Chapel Royal – and has been given an Anishinaabek name by James Shawana, Anishinaabek language teacher at Lloyd S King Elementary School in New Credit: Gi-Chi-Twaa Gimaa Kwe, Mississauga Anishinaabek AName Gamik (meaning "The Queen's Anishinaabek sacred place").

The Queen’s newest chapel honours and reflects the Silver Covenant Chain of Friendship extended into these lands by the 1764 Treaty of Niagara. The chapel was inspired by the Calls to Action of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, specifically #45:

We call upon the Government of Canada, on behalf of all Canadians, to jointly develop with Aboriginal peoples a Royal Proclamation of Reconciliation to be issued by the Crown. The proclamation would build on the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the Treaty of Niagara of 1764, and reaffirm the nation-to-nation relationship between Aboriginal peoples and the Crown.

The establishment of this chapel is an act of reconciliation.

What was the Treaty of Niagara? What is this Treaty's relationship to Massey's Chapel Royal?

Established after over a month of negotiations between the Crown (represented by Sir William Johnson) and at least 24 Indigenous Nations in 1764, the Treaty of Niagara extended the Silver Covenant Chain of Friendship first established with the Haudenosaunee Confederacy into the interior of Turtle Island (North America). This Treaty was intended to be the foundation of all future Treaties in the lands that now constitute Canada.

At its heart, the Covenant Chain was a relationship that bound the monarch of the day, King George III, as family with the Indigenous Nations of the Great Lakes region. It is a relationship of equality, respect and familial love that continues to this day. Through Treaties like the one established at Niagara, the Royal Family is bound with Indigenous Nations across these lands and Massey's chapel acknowledges and celebrates these important relationships.

As Chief R. Stacey Laforme explained in his letter of support:

"My people’s ancestors were at Niagara when the Silver Covenant Chain of Friendship was extended into these lands over 250 years ago. It is in the spirit of that gathering that this chapel will serve as a place to gather regularly and polish for this and future generations.

Confederation set aside our treaty relationships, beginning a very dark chapter in the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples on these lands. The establishment of this Chapel Royal – a space to reflect, learn and reconnect – by Her Majesty and the Massey community 150 years later is a profound act of reconciliation. It will become, in effect, a new council fire for our peoples to gather around in love and friendship."

What happens next for Massey College's Royal Chapel?

Both royal and vice regal representatives of the Crown have been invited by the college to present gifts on behalf of Her Majesty, as well as unveil works of art by Sarah Hall and Philip Cote that will emphasize the chapel's new role as a centre for dialogue between Indigenous People and Settlers. The royal or vice regal visit will be part of wider celebrations for the Chapel Royal to be held in late September, following the beginning of the new academic year at Massey College. The day will begin 3 with a sunrise ceremony in the Quadrangle, and also encompass the first annual “Chapel Royal Symposium” which will focus on moving forward in Indigenous/Settler relations in Canada. The Junior Fellows will work with representatives of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation to organize this important symposium.