Toronto is the traditional territory of the Wendat, Anishnaabeg and Haudenosaunee Confederacies. It is also one of the most culturally diverse cities on Earth. There is a web of historical treaties that were negotiated on these lands – agreements that hold continued relevance and possibility for the present.

Polishing the Chain: Treaty Relations in Toronto is a fall and winter conversation series that will bring together Indigenous and allied scholars, knowledge holders, artists, Earth workers and activists who will explore the historical significance and contemporary relevance of the treaties Indigenous nations in southern Ontario have made with each other, with the land and with the Crown. It will explore: the spirit and intent of Toronto treaties; the ways Indigenous Peoples have upheld and continue to uphold them; the extent to which they are (and are not) reflected in contemporary Indigenous and state relations; and the treaty responsibilities of both settler and Indigenous Torontonians.

The series’ inaugural talk, “The Symbolic Language of Wampum Diplomacy,” will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 28, just prior to Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on Sept. 30. The event, co-presented with the Toronto Biennial of Art, will feature Anishinaabe historian and 91��ɫ Assistant Professor Alan Corbiere, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous History of North America; Tuscarora writer, historian and curator Rick Hill; and interdisciplinary Kanienkehaka artist Ange Loft.

The series will continue with “Taking Care of the Dish: Treaties, Indigenous Law and Environmental Justice” on Oct. 26; “Treaty Relations, Planning and Indigenous Consultation at the City of Toronto” on Nov. 23; “The Forgotten Promise of the Treaty of Niagara” on Jan. 31; “The Toronto ‘Purchase’ ” on Feb. 14; and “We are all Treaty People” on March 14.

All Fall 2021 seminars will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. via Zoom and live-streamed on the . To register, visit .

This year’s EUC Seminar Series is co-presented by 91��ɫ’s new , the Indigenous Environmental Justice Project, and the Jumblies Theatre and Arts Talking Treaties project. For more information about the seminar series, email polishingthechain@gmail.com.

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The Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages (CIKL) is led by inaugural Director , an associate professor at 91��ɫ and the Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Environmental Justice at Osgoode Hall Law School. The new ORU will host Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers and students engaged in these areas of scholarship, and aims to facilitate knowledge production and dissemination that re-centres Indigenous knowledges, languages, practices and ways of being. Moreover, CIKL will support research involving both traditional and contemporary knowledges, as care-taken, shared and created by Indigenous scholars at the University and from Indigenous knowledge holders in the community.

Cross-appointed between Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change, McGregor is Anishinaabe from Whitefish River First Nation, Birch Island, Ont. She has an extensive research background focusing on Indigenous knowledge systems and their applications in water and environmental governance, environmental and climate justice, and sustainable self-determined futures.

McGregor notes that “the Centre for Indigenous Knowledges and Languages offers a generative space within and beyond 91��ɫ to advance Indigenous scholarship, research theories, methodologies and practices that supports a keen understanding of the goals and aspirations of Indigenous Peoples. CIKL will foster collaborations and partnerships with Indigenous Peoples and others that create ethical space for dialogue on how research relationships can be envisioned, negotiated, practised in support of Indigenous futurities. Creating this ethical space in collaboration with Indigenous Peoples and our colleagues across the University also creates opportunities for critical dialogue, reflection and change to take place in addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges.”

Joining McGregor as a research leader is 91��ɫ Professor , who will become CIKL’s associate director. Hillier has recently been appointed a 91��ɫ Research Chair in Indigenous Health Policy & One Health. He is a queer Mi’kmaw scholar from the Qalipu First Nation, and an assistant professor at the School of Health Policy & Management. His collaborative research program spans themes of aging, living with HIV and other infectious diseases, and antimicrobial resistance, all with a focus on policy affecting health-care access for Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

“Having dedicated Indigenous research resources and space, as offered by the new CIKL, which is run by and for Indigenous Peoples on campus, is a critical first step,” says Hillier. “This centre will assist 91��ɫ in becoming a research-intensive institution and serves the principals of the Indigenous Framework and University Academic Plan.”

Amir Asif, 91��ɫ’s vice-president of research and innovation, says, “The establishment of CIKL creates a vital space for Indigenous researchers and all those engaged in decolonizing scholarship at 91��ɫ and beyond. The centre will play an important role in invigorating and disseminating groundbreaking, Indigenous-centred research taking place at and beyond 91��ɫ.”

Stayed tuned for upcoming events and initiatives at CIKL.

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