An Indigenous gathering set to take place in Sault Ste. Marie this weekend has been cancelled in the midst of ongoing tensions between the Métis Nation of Ontario and First Nations.
The Painted Hand Ceremony — a two-day event organized by high-profile Anishinaabe artist and speaker Isaac Murdoch — was described as a gathering aimed at uniting people to “protect the lands and waters for future generations,” while acknowledging historic alliances between Indigenous Peoples, according to the event’s website.
It was set to be held at the Delta Waterfront Hotel.
Murdoch has since called off the ceremony, citing a vague “safety risk” involving two unnamed individuals in a video posted to Facebook this week.
“Sometimes we have to remove the politics out of things in order to have a real conversation about things,” Murdoch said in the video.
“This gathering was never meant to be political, and it was always meant to be a gathering of people where we can put our hearts together and really put good into the world.
“I thought it would be a great idea to have a gathering — and I still think it’s a great idea — with the half-breeds and to lift each other up, to support each other for the lands and waters.”
SooToday has reached out to Murdoch for comment.
The cancellation of the event comes amid backlash from Robinson Huron Waawiindamaagewin, an organization representing the collective political interests of 21 First Nations in the treaty territory.
In a news release issued earlier this week, RHW expressed “deep concern” over the ceremony, which was scheduled to feature political figures from the Métis Nation of Ontario “who have consistently presented misleading and inaccurate historical and cultural narratives that negatively impact” Anishinabek people in Robinson Huron Treaty territory.
It also cautioned that a similar ceremony held in Serpent River First Nation in 2015 has allegedly been used by the MNO as evidence of a treaty relationship with the Anishinabek Nation.
The ceremony figured into a report by the Métis National Council Expert Panel, which described the event as a “treaty renewal” between Anishinabek, Métis and Cree nations.
It is also referenced on the Painted Hand Ceremony website, which also mentions a pipe ceremony in 2005 involving the MNO and the Anishinabek Nation.
“Nothing could be further from the truth. These events are based in cultural and ceremonial practices from Cree, Nakoda, and Saulteaux territories in the prairie provinces and simply do not apply to our territory,” RHW said in its release.
“No such treaty ever existed between Robinson Huron First Nations and the Métis Nation of Ontario.”
SooToday has reached out to RHW for comment.
There's been conflict between the MNO and First Nations in the province in recent years, as a series of academic reports commissioned by First Nations leadership have all purported to disprove the existence of so-called historic Métis communities in Ontario.
The MNO, meanwhile, has cited a 2003 decision by the Supreme Court of Canada recognizing a Métis community in and around the Sault. While the decision affirmed Métis rights in the region, it did not consider the six new Métis communities recognized by Ontario in 2017.
In 2023, the Métis National Council Expert Panel was criticized by RHW and the Chiefs of Ontario after it published a 264-page report validating the existence of Métis communities in the province.
Murdoch said the ceremony scheduled for this weekend was about protecting the environment in the wake of Bill C-5 and Bill 5, which give both Canada and Ontario broad powers to pursue major infrastructure and resource-driven projects.
“I don’t like the political rhetoric that’s surrounding this gathering. It wasn’t intended for that, and that’s what people are making it,” he said in a Facebook video.
“I think a real good thing was stopped.”