Respect, Responsibility, and Renewal: The Foundations of Anishinaabe Treaty Making with the United States and Canada

In this article, the author focuses on the foundations of Anishinaabe treaty-making with the United States and Canada. The author first describes a story of "The Woman Who Married a Beaver," which illustrates Anishinaabe principles of respect, responsibility, and renewal that are critical in treaty making. "The Woman Who Married a Beaver" is a powerful story of transformation that sheds light on how the Anishinaabe understood treaty-making. The author argues that the story recounts the forging and functioning of a treaty relationship between the Anishinaabe and beavers. The principles of respect, responsibility, and renewal illustrated in this treaty between the Anishinaabe and beavers are foundational in Anishinaabe political thought and practice. The Anishinaabe utilized these principles in their treaty practices with the United States and Canada as a means to establish just and mutually beneficial relationships. The author discusses the treaty process as a way to develop international alliances with colonial and settler nations. The author concludes by discussing contemporary applications of Anishinaabe treaty principles. (Contains 74 notes.)