IN4⎮TORONTO STAR SATURDAY, MAY 22, 2021 ON9 ON INSIGHT| > OPINION Unkept promises and the great mother For Indigenous peoples, Victoria Day inspires reflections on a respected monarch’s treaties, their disappointments GARY LAPLANTE Nations, recalls that he was looking CONTRIBUTING COLUMNIST for the first opportunity to tell the This year, Victoria Day falls on the Queen that Canada had failed in actual anniversary of Queen Victo- many respects when it came to the ria’s birthdate: May 24, 1819. It’s a fulfilment of the Crown’s treaty ob- nice coincidence, but to whom does ligations. this day matter, 202 years later? Although he did not and still does Most Canadians probably don’t not see himself as a royal subject of think of the actual person the holi- the Queen, Bird clearly remembers day commemorates. his late father, Korean War veteran You may be surprised to learn that Allan Bird, saying that when he Victoria Day matters to First Na- joined the army and served in the tions leaders in the Prairie provinc- Korean War, “I fought for es. When First Nations leaders, pre- the Queen. I did not fight for Cana- sent and former chiefs, comment da.” about Queen Victoria Day, she is He was proud to have served in still referred to as the “great moth- the Queen’s army, as he saw it, with er” or “great White mother,” kih- the Princess Patricia’s Canadian cokimaskwew (Cree for great chief Light Infantry. This relationship is woman), with whom their ances- symbolized when First Nations tors made treaties. veterans proudly dance in carrying The First Nations’ understanding the Union Jack in our largest gath- of these treaties, as passed down erings, the powwow grand entries. the generations by the oral tradi- Personally, I had the privilege of tion, is that when they were negoti- attending on two occasions in ated, they were guided by the an- which the Queen was the honoured cestors and when concluded, were guest. The first occasion was June sanctified by the sacred pipe and 29, 1997, when then-prime minister ceremony. When asked, these same Jean Chrétien hosted her at the leaders do not see themselves as Royal York Hotel in Toronto. The royal subjects of the monarchy but, second was that day at the First rather, revere the monarchy for Nations University in 2005. Both embodying the foundation upon times people clamoured to try to which the nation-to-nation rela- greet the Queen or take a photo in tionship of Canada and First Na- her proximity. tions is built. I found it all surreal and curious. I The Crown-Indigenous relation- anticipated a sense of awe but it ship is still held by First Nations never happened. Instead, I felt a bit leaders as significant, even sacred, of sympathy for her; she seemed to and Queen Victoria was the original be just going through the motions Crown with whom the western of what was expected of her. It was numbered treaty agreements were her job. In retrospect, I am greatly made. impressed by her long dedication to This concept of the relationship that job. with the Crown is commonly held From Moosomin First Nation in among chiefs in the Prairies. In- Treaty 6 territory, Saskatchewan, deed, it might even be a prerequi- Chief Bradley Swiftwolfe com- site for election as a leader of First mented on Victoria Day that, “It’s Nations in the prairie. good they still have this holiday. It’s The Royal Family generally, good they don’t erase this part of though recently much in the news, our shared history.” is not a subject of interest for most Queen Victoria is not only signif- First Nations people. The recent icant symbolically, but her place in sion and alienation of our people Queen Victoria, lost her husband, former chief Ben passing of Prince Philip received history and her day for commem- from the land since treaty signing is seen in an 1897 Weenie, a few years back. With gen- extensive coverage in the media oration is a reminder for the gov- also to blame. file photo, is a uine empathy for the current and many people across Canada ernment of Canada and non-Indig- The government removed us and figure of Queen, Chief Weenie nevertheless watched the funeral service as it enous Canadians generally that the kept us off the land, instituting a respect in is disappointed in Queen Victoria, happened, but First Nations peo- Treaties are living documents, pass system that prohibited First First Nations because she believes the monarchy ple, in particular the elderly, met pointing out that the sun is shining, Nations people not only from mak- communities, had real influence on the Canadian this news with ambivalence. grass is still growing, and the rivers ing a living from the lands but also writes Gary Parliament and its prime ministers The reigning monarch, Queen still flow. The treaties, it was prom- from maintaining our relationship LaPlante; her in Victoria’s days when Stoney Elizabeth, is well respected. ised, would last as long as these with sacred sites, where the ances- descendants, Knoll had reserve land methodi- First Nations people in Saskatche- continued. tors carried out ceremonies that not quite so cally and illegally dispossessed wan remember that her first stop were and are integral to our tribal much. from it by the government of Cana- on a visit there and to Alberta in Queen Victoria is not only identities. da. 2005, the centenary of these two significant symbolically, but A significant example is the forced The Stoney Knoll descendants provinces joining the Canadian separation of the Plains Cree, still hold dearly the treaty they Confederation, was at the First Na- her place in history and her Blackfoot (Siksika), Nakota and the signed in 1876 at Fort Carlton with tions University of Canada’s Regina day for commemoration is a Saulteaux from the Cypress Hills. Queen Victoria, and the outstand- campus. For these tribes, the Cypress Hills ing land claim will be settled, but In her speech to an audience reminder for Canada that the are spiritually significant — a place Chief Weenie remembers the gen- mainly composed of First Nations Treaties are living documents of prayer and worship; our church. erations of suffering that the scat- people and journalists, we were de- That alienation devastated the tered, landless people underwent lighted to hear the Queen acknowl- Federation of Sovereign Indige- foundation of who we are, the core as a result. edge the treaties between the First nous Nations Vice-Chief Heather of our identity. Queen Victoria’s red If we take a holiday, perhaps Nations peoples and the Crown. Bear, who has chaired the FSIN children were suffering. Did she watch some fireworks and enjoy a She further paid tribute to First Na- Lands and Resources Commission know this? May long weekend, First Nations tions by presenting a stone tablet, for years, has extensive knowledge Bear is grateful for the recent ef- people in the Prairies will remem- taken from the grounds of Balmor- of treaties, land claims, and re- forts toward reconciliation, but em- ber the kihcokimaskwew, Victoria, al Castle, inscribed with her own source development within the tra- phasizes the imperative for Indige- for the reasons stated here. We may and Queen Victoria’s initials. ditional territories of First Nations nous peoples to reconcile and re- be ambivalent toward the Crown, Not lost on the First Nations audi- in Saskatchewan. connect with the land, the source of but ultimately, we hope Canadians ence was that her acknowledgment She is also a mother who sees high our identity. will not forget the promises made of the treaties was made on Treaty rates of suicides, violence, addic- Chief Sylvia Weenie, of Stoney in the presence of the sacred pip- Four territory. That treaty was tions and incarcerations among Knoll First Nation in Saskatche- estem by Victoria’s representatives, signed on Sept. 15, 1874 — 31 years our youth that most people attri- wan, commented on the passing of which were to last as long as this before Saskatchewan and Alberta bute to the government’s policy of Prince Philip, saying her heart went land shall last. became provinces. forcing our previous generations out to Queen Elizabeth on the loss Gary LaPlante is a Plains Cree-Metis from Alphonse Bird, then chief of the into residential schools. Bear readi- of her lifelong partner in both pri- Moosomin First Nation within Treaty Six Federation of Saskatchewan Indian ly agrees, but adds that disposses- vate and public life — Weenie had Territory. 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