Part of Jumblies Theatre & Arts’s multi-year Talking Treaties project, A Treaty Guide for Torontonians is an artful examination of the complex intercultural roots of treaty relationships in the place we now call Toronto. Scholarly and historical research is complemented by outdoor activities, theatrical pursuits and contemporary writing prompts that help readers explore the modern-day subjective and physical embodiment of treaty relations. This combination of art-based research and Toronto specific knowledge inspires an active approach to treaty awareness through embodied learning tools.

Beginning with Indigenous treaty-making principles expressed in early inter-Indigenous and intercultural alliances such as the Two Row Wampum/Covenant Chain, the Wendat-Algonquian-French alliance, and the Dish With One Spoon agreement, we strive to provide a rich historical and cultural context. Local narratives carry us through the Royal Proclamation of 1763 and the 1764 Treaty of Niagara, which together constitute the legal and ethical foundation for Indigenous / non-Indigenous relations across the Great Lakes region. Together, they underpin later Upper Canada land cession agreements, including the so-called Toronto Purchase of 1787 and its confirmation in 1805, as well as the land claims process that resulted in the 2010 settlement of the Toronto Purchase specific claim in favour of the Mississaugas of the Credit.

The publication illustrates the importance of visual and symbolic languages, mnemonic practices, and personal relationship to the documentation presented, complemented by lush illustration; exciting the readers’ curiosity, engaging their senses and imagination, and encouraging them to rethink historic, current, and future treaty relationships. We strove to build familiarity with the key agreements that underpin relations in Toronto today through accessible, memorable activations and shared performative experience.

Jumblies Press, Toronto Biennial of Art in partnership with Art Metropole, 2022

30 X 18 cm, 180 pages