Ontario is celebrating another Treaties Recognition Week and in North Bay the event was marked with an event at the Harris Learning Library that featured several First Nation speakers.
One of those speakers was Chief Scott McLeod of Nipissing First Nation.
McLeod told Moose News “it’s the Treaties that led to the formation of this country”.
McLeod says it’s important people know the real history of Canada, the good and the bad, and how that history formed the country.
On the issue of Truth and Reconciliation, McLeod says some truths might makes us feel uncomfortable, “but it’s a discussion this country needs to have”.
One of those negatives is knowing that Indigenous young people were taken from their families and subjected to residential schools.
“We can’t just sweep that stuff under the rug, it has to be talked about,” McLeod said.
One of the keys to understanding what went on in the past is education and McLeod says that seed has been planted and understanding is starting to grow.
However McLeod says there’s still a long road ahead for the average Canadian to under First Nation history.
“I would hazard to guess if you walk down the streets of North Bay and ask randomly questions about Treaties, you wouldn’t get very informative answers,” McLeod said.
“There’s still a great deal of education that needs to occur.”
As an example, McLeod visited a North Bay high school last year and said the students didn’t know where Nipissing First Nation was.
This is the third annual Treaties Recognition Week in Ontario.
