Land Acknowledgement

Indigenous History and Commitment to Reconciliation

• Recognizing land (treaties) and people

  We respectfully acknowledge the history of the traditional territory on which we live, work, and play. The Niagara region has been a key meeting place for many Nations over thousands of years.

  The Town of Lincoln acknowledges the significance of Indigenous Treaty Rights as protected under the Canadian Constitution.

  We would also like to respect the longstanding relationships of the local First Nations groups of this land and place. The Attawandaran (Neutral) peoples once settled this region alongside the Algonquin and Haudenosaunee peoples and used this land as their traditional hunting grounds. The Nations that share territory lands in present-day Niagara include:

  • Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation

  • Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation

  • Haudenosaunee Confederacy

  
  
  These Nations include Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe peoples but, there are also many First Nations, Metis and Inuit people from across Turtle Island who live and work in Niagara today.

  This territory is covered by the Upper Canada Treaties, is within the lands protected by the “Dish With One Spoon” wampum agreement and is directly adjacent to Haldimand Treaty territory.

  We recognize that in this territory, Indigenous rights holders have endured historical oppression and continue to endure inequalities that have largely resulted from the widespread failure of non-Indigenous treaty people to hold up their responsibilities within the Dish With One Spoon Covenant. The Town of Lincoln recognizes our role and is committed to raising awareness of our shared commitments to taking care of this land, and to rebuilding and renewing respectful relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
  
   

  We are dedicated to honouring Indigenous history and culture and committed to moving forward in the spirit of reconciliation and respect with all First Nation, Métis, and Inuit.
  
  
  
  We encourage all of our community to take the time to read the Final Report of the TRC, and to consider how the scope of our shared and external projects can further advance progress on the Calls to Action.
  
   

• Two Row Wampum

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  The Wampum Treaty is considered the “Grandfather of all treaties” and was a mutual covenant made in 1613 between representatives of the 5 Nations of the Haudenosaunee (Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca – previous to the Tuscarora joining the confederacy in 1722) and representatives of the Dutch government in what is now upstate New York. The Two Row Wampum agreement was later renewed with the French, British, and American governments under the framework of the Silver Covenant Chain agreements.

  After much conflict, both the Dutch and the Haudenosaunee were inspired to build peace between their nations. The Two Row Wampum covenant is a foundational metaphor and teaching across Indigenous Nations of what an equitable, mutually respectful, and healthy relationship of co-existence can be between Indigenous peoples and settler society. The Two Rows of the Wampum Belt are a visual depiction of the alliance, with two parallel lines of purple beads symbolizing the canoe carrying the Haudenosaunee peoples, traditions, laws, and lifeways; and the ship carrying the traditions and laws of the Dutch.

  The Two Row Wampum teaching tells the story of two sovereign peoples separately steering their own vessel on the human-made river of peace, strength through unity, and a good mind/equal justice. It tells of two distinct peoples and political entities bound in the spirit of alliance and mutual respect for each nation’s right to self-determine their own path and agree to share the same lands and resources peaceably. This teaching was given to the Haudenosaunee peoples by the Peacemaker and ancestors and has been passed down over the centuries in the oral tradition. The Two Row and other Wampum belts are used by First Nations for the purposes of teaching, ceremony, governance, and as a model for repairing nation-to-nation relationships across Turtle Island (North America).

  The following excerpt outlines the relationship and agreement between Haudenosaunee leaders and the Dutch settlers. It is based on the oral history of the Two Row Wampum covenant and belt by Cayuga Chief Jacob Thomas.
  
  
  
  There was not much “love” between the settlers and the Natives in the beginning of first contact.
  
  
  
  The parties began to talk about forming a friendship.
  
  
  
  The Creator did not intend that we would live in discord, and we should respect one another instead.
  
  
  
  They came to one mind to make a legal agreement (meaning words on paper and words in wampum belts) so that all descendants will know what was agreed upon. 
  
  They agreed on the symbols of their new relationship:

  • First, they would have friendship and love as the Creator intended. In this way they would have peace. This will be symbolised by the Earth, the Creator’s creation, and its happenings (as long as the Earth lasts, so too will the agreement).
  • Second, we’ll take each other by the hand (take a hold of each other’s arm). They agreed to call each other ‘brother,’ because brothers cannot control each other. They are equals. 

  
  
  They sealed their friendship by smoking sacred tobacco, so that the Creator will then bear witness to our agreement. 

  They agreed to solidify their agreements with a three-link chain:

  • First link stands for friendship.
  • Second link stands for our both having good minds
  • Third link means there will always be peace.

  Principles of the agreement:

  • They both have their own authority (strength/power), and do not have jurisdiction over each other.
  • They have their respective beliefs, from the same Creator.
  • They have their respective laws. 
  • Term of the Agreement – They agreed it will last as long as:
  • The Sun always makes it bright on earth. 
  • The Waters flow in a certain direction.
  • The Wild Grasses grow at a certain time of year
    
     

  Unfortunately, centuries of colonial rule by different European nations in Turtle Island corrupted the original spirit, intention, and manifestation of the values and principles of the wampum covenant. This is where the work lies for current and future generations: to protect and reaffirm the original oral teaching and live by their values and principles. In this current era of Indigenous reconciliation and righting relationships, the Two Row Wampum teaching is particularly relevant.

• Dish With One Spoon

  The Dish With One Spoon is a treaty between the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee that bound them to share the territory and protect the land. Subsequent Indigenous Nations and Peoples, Europeans and all newcomers have been invited into this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship and respect.
  
  
  
  This treaty was made between the Anishinaabe and Haudenosaunee after the French and Indian War. Newcomers were then incorporated into it over the years, notably in 1764 with The Royal Proclamation/The Treaty of Niagara. The territory it refers to the Dish or, as it is sometimes called, the Bowl and represents what is now southern Ontario, from the Great Lakes to Quebec and from Lake Simcoe to the United States.
  
  
  
  This agreement highlights that we are to share the responsibility of ensuring the Dish is never empty, which includes taking care of the land and the creatures we share it with. There should always be something for others and future generations, and the plate should be kept clean. Importantly, there are no knives at the table, representing everyone has an equal right to eat from the dish (or harvest from the land’s bounty) and that we must keep the peace.

  Like the Two Row Wampum, the Dish With One Spoon has deep relevance for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous societies in terms of building equitable and reciprocal relationships across nations, governments, and communities; and ethical planning, use, and stewardship of the lands that we share.

  Dish With One Spoon - A poem by Duke Redbird  
  
  The Mississauga Nation welcomed settlers from across the seas 
  
  When they arrived in their territories
  
  Such beauty revealed before their eyes 
  
  Was beyond their ability to describe 
  
  In all the languages that the settlers spoke
  
  There were no words that could evoke 
  
  With any clarity a single thought 
  
  What Mother nature’s splendour brought 
  
  It was from Indigenous tongues that the settlers learned  
  
  the language of the Earth in all Her idioms 
  
  Toronto from Tkaronto  
  
  Tree standing in the water 
  
  A meeting place where small fish could gather 
  
  Nearby hills where alders grow 
  
  That was called Etobicoke 
  
  And in the autumn, before the winter snows 
  
  The passenger pigeons rested in Mimico 
  
  And to the west, where the great waters flow 
  
  The lake and lands were called Ontario 
  
  Eagles soar high with prayers for manitou 
  
  The Mississauga peoples smudge and launch their birch-bark canoes 
  
  Three sisters: corn, bean and squash 
  
  The planting season has begun
  
  Tobacco is offered a gift to Grandfather Sun 
  
  Sage, sweetgrass and cedar to Grandmother Moon 
  
  There is peace, joy and harmony in the treaty lands called A Dish With One

• Local Indigenous organizations & resources

  • Niagara Regional Native Centre (NRNC)
  • Niagara Chapter – Native Women Inc (NCNW)
  • Indigenous Mental Health Resources- Niagara College Canada
  • The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) Reports and 94 Calls to Action
  • Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report on the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and the 231 Calls for Justice
  • United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
  • National Indian Residential School Crisis Line: 1-866-925-4419
• Great Niagara Escarpment Indigenous Cultural Map

  The Great Niagara Escarpment Indigenous Cultural Map is a multimedia online resource containing photography, video, and contextual information that identifies important Indigenous historic, cultural, and natural world locations along more than 525 kilometres from Niagara Falls to the western region of Manitoulin Island.