Kinship gathering at The Forks celebrates ongoing Treaty relationship

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Newcomers, settlers and Indigenous peoples came together Sunday at a traditional meeting place to acknowledge and celebrate treaties as living documents.

“The treaty that we are part of, Treaty 1, is not just a one-time thing that happened a long time ago. It’s an ongoing relationship and elders and First Nations knowledge keepers have informed us of that and told us that. We want to take that really seriously. That’s why we do this,” Kerry Saner-Harvey, coordinator of the Mennonite Central Committee of Manitoba’s Indigenous Neighbours program, said at the We Are All Treaty People Celebration.

“I think that’s why it’s important that we gather here in a space like this to build relationships and to come together in a spirit of friendship: a spirit of learning to trust each other and learning to appreciate each other,” he later told the crowd.

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  1. The We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks

    People take part in a conga line dance during the We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks in Winnipeg on Sun., Sept. 15, 2024. KEVIN KING/Winnipeg SunPhoto by KEVIN KING /Winnipeg Sun

  2. The We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks

    An Island Breeze Manitoba dancer invites a woman to the front of the conga line during the We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks in Winnipeg on Sun., Sept. 15, 2024. KEVIN KING/Winnipeg SunPhoto by KEVIN KING /Winnipeg Sun

  3. The We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks

    The Kind Hart Women Singers perform the opening song at the We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks in Winnipeg on Sun., Sept. 15, 2024. KEVIN KING/Winnipeg SunPhoto by KEVIN KING /Winnipeg Sun

  4. The Island Breeze Manitoba group perform during the We Are All Treaty People celebration

    The Island Breeze Manitoba group perform during the We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks in Winnipeg on Sun., Sept. 15, 2024. KEVIN KING/Winnipeg SunPhoto by KEVIN KING /Winnipeg Sun

  5. The Island Breeze Manitoba group perform during the We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks

    The Island Breeze Manitoba group perform during the We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks in Winnipeg on Sun., Sept. 15, 2024. KEVIN KING/Winnipeg SunPhoto by KEVIN KING /Winnipeg Sun

  6. The We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks

    A member of the Island Breeze Manitoba group performs during the We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks in Winnipeg on Sun., Sept. 15, 2024. KEVIN KING/Winnipeg SunPhoto by KEVIN KING /Winnipeg Sun

  7. The We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks

    Elder Florence Paynter gives greetings during the We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks in Winnipeg on Sun., Sept. 15, 2024. KEVIN KING/Winnipeg SunPhoto by KEVIN KING /Winnipeg Sun

  8. The We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks

    Elder Florence Paynter gives greetings during the We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks in Winnipeg on Sun., Sept. 15, 2024. KEVIN KING/Winnipeg SunPhoto by KEVIN KING /Winnipeg Sun

  9. The We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks

    Kerry Saner-Harvey, coordinator of Mennonite Central Committee of Manitobaís Indigenous Neighbours programs addresses the crowd during the We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks in Winnipeg on Sun., Sept. 15, 2024. KEVIN KING/Winnipeg SunPhoto by KEVIN KING /Winnipeg Sun

  10. The We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks

    The We Are All Treaty People celebration at The Forks in Winnipeg on Sun., Sept. 15, 2024. KEVIN KING/Winnipeg SunWinnipeg Sun

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MCC MB organized the event, which included information booths from Treaty Relations Committee of Manitoba and others, water and pipe ceremonies, entertainment from Indigenous and other cultures, free food and drink from an Indigenous catering company, and a round dance to finish the afternoon.

Elder Florence Paynter told the crowd that continuing to celebrate the treaties, despite the difficulties, shows the resilience of Indigenous people.

“The boundaries that have been placed on us as a people need to be removed, because at one time we were a free people. We were totally free to be who we are and it’s taken a long time for us as a people to come together, to know who we are inside, and to be able to talk about and share with different walks of life the things that we have valued and things that we have held on tight to.”

The annual event takes place in an area where historians believe nine First Nations met in 1285 to create a peace treaty covering much of Western Canada.

“It’s a lot of work to put this on, but yet the relationships that come out of it have been extraordinary,” Saner-Harvey said.

Kevin.king@kleinmedia.ca

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