ANISHINABEK NATION
Issue 1 2026 – Chiefs of Ontario Advocate magazine 
32  l
Tenth Anniversary 
of the Treaties 
Recognition Week Act 
BY MARCI BECKING
A reflection
J
une 2026 marked the 10th 
anniversary since the Treaties 
Recognition Week Act was legis-
lated in Ontario. The Treaties 
Recognition Week Act, 2016, is an Ontario 
law proclaiming the first full week of 
November as Treaties Recognition 
Week (TRW), which promotes educa-
tion on treaty rights, relationships and 
significance, serving as a step towards 
reconciliation in response to the Truth 
and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls 
to Action.  
Its roots go deeper than that. In 
the Report of the Ipperwash Inquiry 
released in May 2007, there were 
recommendations related to public 
education with treaty education and First 
Nations history. And, going back further 
to the 1996 final Royal Commission on 
Aboriginal Peoples report, it too had 
recommendations for public education.
Understanding that all occupants 
of this land have a role in education 
and reconciliation, the Anishinabek 
Nation made it a priority. In 2016, the 
Anishinabek Nation organized the first 
TRW event held in Oshawa at David 
Bouchard Public School. And you may 
be thinking – why in Oshawa? We 
wanted to highlight the Durham District 
School Board – and, specifically, this 
school – for its teachers and leadership 
that have made First Nations education a 
year-round priority. Former Anishinabek 
Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick 
Madahbee and I walked the halls of the 
school and got a tour of some of the 
classrooms. We were amazed that they 
wove First Nations education into the 
Ontario curriculum year-round.
Building on the success of the “We 
Are All Treaty People” teachers guide/
kit released in 2015, the Anishinabek 
Nation launched the high school 
“Gdoo-Sastamoo Kii Mi: This is 
Our Understanding” teachers kit at 
the inaugural TRW event. Both the 
Indigenous affairs minister and the 
education minister attended the event, 
along with Mississaugas of Scugog Island 
First Nation Chief Kelly LaRocca, 
Elders and treaty educators. We received 
extensive media coverage with the help of 
our Ontario partners. 
In 2017, we launched two books 
– Dakota Talks About Treaties and 
Alex Shares his Wampum Belt – geared 
towards Kindergarten to Grade 2 
students. The TRW event was held at 
the Shawanosowe School in Whitefish 
River First Nation, with the highlight of 
the event being Indigenous Relations and 
Reconciliation Minister David Zimmer 
and Chief Shining Turtle on the floor 
with all the students, reading the  
books together. 
There was a slight shift in 2018, when 
we held an event that fall at the Harris 
Learning Library on the Nipissing 
University/Canadore College campus 
in North Bay. It was well-attended, 
including attendance from an MP from 
Sault Ste. Marie on behalf of Ontario, 
students from both campuses and 
Nbisiing Secondary School students. 
Attendees heard from Knowledge 
Keepers who provided teachings on the 
wampum belts.
The following year, we held a Treaty 
Education Day event at Antler River 
Elementary School in Chippewas of 
the Thames First Nation, where treaty 
educator Kelly Crawford led readings 
and guided students through various 
activities from our teachers kits.
Adapting to the virtual world 
during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 

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