Indigenous peoples are not Toronto’s first inhabitants. Plants, fish, insects, birds, and animals were already following well-established patterns regulating life in the waters and lands. To survive, Indigenous peoples had to accommodate themselves to these pre-existing processes. These activities took many forms, including ceremonies acknowledging and petitioning the plants, fish, insects, birds, animals and others being to favour, teach, and feed them, in return for promises made by Indigenous peoples to honour them in various ways. Agreements with the more-than-human world eventually spread between First Nations, such as the Wendat, Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe. When Europeans arrived, First Nations did not relinquish these views. Toronto’s more-than-human presence continues to teach us about these agreements. They can be revitalized and harmonized with subsequent treaties with the Crown.
The Chamberlin series engages scholars, knowledge keepers, and creators to present on Indigenous issues, ideas, art, and oral traditions – finding stories beyond the pages of the book. It also highlights the Fisher’s important Indigenous collections, encouraging long-term engagement with a variety of materials preserving history, experience, and memory.