And now:Ish <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: From: http://www.turtleisland.org via LISN Newsrelease: PIPE CEREMONY ON PARLIAMENT HILL MARKS BEGINNING OF TREATY 8 CENTENNIAL COMMEMORATION http://www.inac.gc.ca/news/may99/may31.html OTTAWA, ONTARIO May 31, 1999—Representatives of the First Nations who signed Treaty No. 8 in 1899 are marking the beginning of the trek home for the original treaty document from the National Archives of Canada to the Treaty 8 location where it was signed 100 years ago. The commemoration ceremony, which included a pipe ceremony, was held on Parliament Hill at noon on May 31, 1999. Those attending included a delegation from Treaty No. 8, the National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine and the Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, the Honourable Jane Stewart. The purpose of the pipe ceremony is to bless the original treaty before it leaves the National Archives for exhibit during the Treaty 8 Centennial Commemoration in northern Alberta on June 21, 1999. The Archives has rich holdings related to the First Nations, including more than 600 treaties, land surrenders and agreements. “We have not had possession of our document since the signing 100 years ago but now we are asking for its safe journey home to Treaty No. 8. The prayers and offerings presented here today mark the sacred nature and promises that this document represents for our people. The solemn nature of this event is in honour of this”, said Chief Richard Davis of the Swan River First Nations who is also the Chairperson of the Treaty No. 8 Centennial committee. The National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Phil Fontaine, was also present to mark this momentous occasion. “Treaties are the basis of our relationship with the Crown and the Canadian government. This event highlights the nation-to-nation relationship between Canada and First Nations citizens in ways which words can never hope to match. It’s a sacred relationship between the ancestors of our peoples and the representatives of the Crown”, stated National Chief Fontaine. “This Treaty is a symbol of the historic bonds between Canada and the Treaty No. 8 First Nations,” said Minister Stewart. “Our ancestors forged a partnership based on mutual respect, responsibility and sharing one hundred years ago, and we honour that partnership today with the blessing of the treaty. I look forward to the official commemoration of this sacred document on June 21 in Grouard, Alberta.” First negotiated in June 1899, Treaty No. 8 embraces an area of some 840,000 square kilometres in the Athabasca region of Canada’s northwestern interior. At the time, the treaty represented the largest land settlement undertaken by the Canadian government with First Nations. It encompasses much of what is now the northern half of Alberta, the northeastern quarter of British Columbia, the northwestern corner of Saskatchewan, and the area south of Hay River and Great Slave Lake in the present-day Northwest Territories. Upon the treaty’s return to Ottawa, it will be the centre-piece of a National Archives of Canada exhibition marking the treaty’s centennial. This exhibition, simply titled Treaty 8: 1899-1999, will be open at the Archives from June 21 (National Aboriginal Day) to December 31 in their Wellington St. location. A complete virtual version of the exhibition will be available on the Web site of the National Archives of Canada www.archives.ca. For more information, contact: Phil Mercredi, Marketing and Promotions co-ordinator, Treaty 8 Centennial, (780) 984-1113 Sylvie Marcil, National Archives, (613) 947-1498 Reprinted under the fair use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html doctrine of international copyright law. &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& Tsonkwadiyonrat (We are ONE Spirit) Unenh onhwa' Awayaton http://www.tdi.net/ishgooda/ &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&
