American Indian Culture and Research Journal

The Anishinaabe (Ojibwe/Chippewa) engaged in treaty-making long before the arrival of Europeans. These diplomatic forums established lasting political, social, and economic relationships with other nations. Treaty principles were embedded within Anishinaabe stories and further articulated throughout the negotiation process. This article opens with an analysis of The Woman Who Married a Beaver, a story told by Kagige pines, a Fort Williams Anishinaabe, to Mesquaki anthropologist William Jones in 1904. This story illustrates that Anishinaabe treaty relationships were dependent on the principles of respect, responsibility, and renewal. This article further demonstrates that 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 examination of these principles sheds light on the original relationships established between Anishinaabe and colonial nations- relationships grounded in trust. The canons of treaty construction have created a path for a reorientation of federal Indian law by providing an interpretive framework for the courts to expand their interpretations of First Nations’ treaty rights. The treaty record demonstrates that Anishinaabe understandings of the trust relationship were built upon the foundational treaty principles of respect, responsibility, and renewal. A return to the values described above can provide new directions for the United States and Canada in their relations with First Nations.