We Are All Treaty People: The Original Agreements of the Earth

November 3, 2025

November is Treaty Month — a time when we are called to remember the sacred promises that shape this land. But at Grandmother’s Voice, we are reminded that treaties did not begin with pen and paper. They began in Creation itself.

Before ink ever touched parchment, there were agreements between the rivers and the stones, between the trees and the wind. The cedar knew its duty to heal. The water knew its role to give life. The eagle knew its responsibility to watch over the people. These are the first treaties — the living agreements that sustain balance and ensure survival. Every being, human and more-than-human, understood their place in the circle.

When we speak of Treaty, we are not only speaking of human contracts. We are speaking of Natural Law — the law that lives in the roots and the stars, that flows through our breath and blood. Our ancestors honoured this law through ceremony, gratitude, and relationship. They knew that to live in good relation meant to live in justice.

The Human Agreements

When newcomers arrived, treaties were meant to reflect that same sacred understanding — that we would share this land in peace, that all children would be cared for, that the water would remain pure and the land plentiful. These were not transactions. They were commitments to live together in balance.

But over time, paper replaced ceremony. Lawyers replaced Elders. Promises were broken, and those sacred words — as long as the sun shines, the grass grows, and the rivers flow — became reminders of both beauty and betrayal.

Still, the treaties remain alive. They cannot die because the Earth still breathes. The rivers still flow. The sun still shines. They are waiting for us to remember.

A Return to Right Relationship

At Grandmother’s Voice, we believe this remembering begins within. To live in treaty is to live in relationship — with the land, with one another, and with the responsibilities gifted to us by Creation.

Justice is not only found in the courtroom or government policy. Justice lives in how we honour these relationships. When one community suffers, when the water is poisoned, when Indigenous children are buried without names, the treaty is broken — not by law, but by spirit.

We must hold our governments to account, yes. But we must also hold ourselves to account. Because treaty is not a “topic.” It is a way of life. It is the heartbeat of this land.

The Living Treaties of Nature

Look to the trees. They do not ask the wind for permission to bend; they trust in their relationship. The birds do not own the sky; they simply inhabit it with care. The salmon does not question the river; it follows its ancient promise to return.

These are treaties in motion — quiet, constant, sacred. If we listen deeply, the Earth will teach us how to live in treaty once more.

Our Call to Action

As we gather in this month of remembrance, let us move beyond acknowledgment and toward action.
Let us live as treaty people — not just in words, but in deeds.
Let us walk with the same integrity as the cedar and the river.
Let us renew our commitment to one another — Indigenous and non-Indigenous — to restore balance, respect, and love.

Because the treaties are not history. They are now.
They are in the wind that moves through your lungs.
They are in the soil beneath your feet.
They are in the relationships you nurture, the justice you defend, the peace you create.

We are all treaty people.
And the time to honour that truth — is now.

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