A TREATY BETWEEN
THE OJIBWE NATION AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AT LAPOINTE IN THE STATE OF WISCONSIN ON
OCTOBER 15, 2006**
PREAMBLE
TO ALL AND SINGULAR TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME,
GREETINGS:
WHEREAS, after nearly two hundred years of working to eradicate the cultures of its Indigenous Peoples, the governmental leaders of the United States of America now understand that those cultures hold invaluable teachings for living properly with our land, water and air, and,
WHEREAS, our land, water and air are now facing the long-term negative effects of climate change, largely brought by the precipitous increase of greenhouse gases released into the earth’s atmosphere due to human intervention, and,
WHEREAS, today’s leaders of both the Ojibwe Nation and the United States, recognize that past leaders like Kechewashkeenh (Great Buffalo), Aldo Leopold, Mamongesada (Loon’s Foot), Sigurd Olson, Waubishgaugauge (White Crow), John Muir, Waubojeeg (White Fisher), Gaylord Nelson and Waubijijauk (White Crane), all understood the lasting importance of land stewardship, thus in turn, we, as today’s descendents of these leaders, in order to enjoy the long-term existence of humans on this planet, understand that it is imperative to continue this tradition.
THEREFORE, the leaders of the government of the United States of America hereby beseech the Ojibwe People to teach them how to live in this land in a manner that does not cause such disastrous effects as climate change. To facilitate this teaching, they, along with the leaders of the Ojibwe Nation hereby enter into this treaty with clear mind and serious intent, and set forth the following articles of agreement:
ARTICLE 1: Given the long friendship between the Ojibwe Nation and the United States of America, the leaders of the Ojibwe Nation agree to meet the demands of the request stated above. To facilitate the goal of this teaching, the leaders of the United States of America agree to come to Moningwunakauning Miniss (Madeline Island) in Spring 2007 to begin the teaching, and to meet annually at this site for a period of twenty-five years.
ARTICLE 2: Due to the propensity of the United States of America to recurrently find itself at war ever since first encountering the Ojibwe People, the United States of America agrees to study, and adopt as much as practicable, the Ojibwe world view and philosophy of life in order to learn how to begin walking the Road of Peace. Since the world of a people at war as much as the United States has been is out of balance, a condition that can lead to effects like climate change, the Ojibwe People agree to teach the Americans how to achieve the balance between militarism and pacifism that is necessary for on-going life.
ARTICLE 3: The governmental leaders of the United States of America agree to learn the Ojibwe Peoples’ long-term perspective on existing as only one of the many species of life on this planet. This will focus on the need to always keep in mind a concern for The Seventh Generation as America resolves the paradox of living to meet the needs of the immediate, but also, at the same time to never forget to meet the needs of the eternally distant.
ARTICLE 4: Remembering that in the past the Americans sent blacksmiths, carpenters, farmers and teachers to the Ojibwe in order “to civilize the savage,” the Ojibwe hereby agree to send technicians, artisans, teachers and holy persons to the Americans in order to teach them how to live properly in this land.
ARTICLE 5: Given the urgency of the need to learn how to live with our land, water and air in order to halt the negative effects of climate change, the United States of America, in order to cover the expense of activities stated in the above articles, agrees to annually pay to the Ojibwe Nation, the sum of one hundred million dollars over the next twenty-five years, and that each year’s sum is to be transferred to the Ojibwe Nation’s financiers at the time of the annual Chequamegon Bay meeting. The decision to renew this payment for another twenty-five years at the above stated amount or to change the amount is left to the discretion of the leaders of the Ojibwe Nation.
ARTICLE 6: All agreements set forth in this treaty are valid and binding at the pleasure of the leaders of the Ojibwe Nation.
RATIFICATION: This treaty shall be obligatory upon the contracting parties, when ratified by the appointed leaders of the constituent communities of the Ojibwe Nation.
TREATY SIGNATORIES: We, the undersigned appointed Ojibwe and United States leaders, acting in the capacity of Treaty Commissioners, hereby give our full faith and trust in both our nations to fulfill the obligations set fourth in the above articles of agreement:
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**THIS IS A PURELY FICTITIOUS DOCUMENT, MODELED AFTER THE 1837, 1842
AND 1854 TREATIES BETWEEN THE OJIBWE PEOPLE AND THE UNITED STATES OF
AMERICA. IT IS OFFERED IN THE SPIRIT OF ART, FANTASY, HISTORY AND HOPE.