The Burying the Hatchet Ceremony (also known as the Governor's Farm Ceremony) happened in
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
on June 25, 1761 and was one of many such ceremonies where the
Halifax Treaties
The Peace and Friendship Treaties were a series of written documents (or, treaties) that Britain signed between 1725 and 1779 with various Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet), Abenaki, Penobscot, and Passamaquoddy peoples (i.e., the Wabanaki Confe ...
were signed. The treaties ended a protracted period of warfare which had lasted more than 75 years and encompassed six wars between the
Mi'kmaq people and the British. The
Burying the Hatchet
Bury the hatchet is an American English idiom meaning "to make peace". The phrase is an allusion to the figurative or literal practice of putting away weapons at the cessation of hostilities among or by Native Americans in the Eastern United St ...
Ceremonies and the treaties that they commemorated created an enduring peace and a commitment to obey the rule of law.
Many of British commitments were not delivered on, despite the intentions of the British dignitaries who attended the ceremony and helped draft the treaty, such as the right afforded to the Mi'kmaq for becoming British subjects. The treaties were enshrined into the
Canadian Constitution
The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents ar ...
in 1982, and there have since been numerous judicial decisions that have upheld them in the
Canadian Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the highest court in the judicial system of Canada. It comprises nine justices, whose decisions are the ultimate application of Canadian law, and grants permission to b ...
, the most recognized being the
Donald Marshall case. Nova Scotians celebrate the Treaties of 1760-61 every year on
Treaty Day (October 1).
Historical context
![JonathanBelcherByCopley](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f7/JonathanBelcherByCopley.jpg)
The northeastern region of North America encompassing New England and Acadia increasingly became an area of conflict between the French and British Empires, and there was a long history of the Wabanaki Confederacy (which included the Mi'kmaq) killing British colonists along the border of New England and Acadia in Maine. Several Governors of the
Massachusetts Bay Colony attempted to prevent these French and Wabanaki massacres by issuing a bounty for the scalps of men of the Wabanaki Confederacy.
During
Father Le Loutre's War
Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Briti ...
,
Edward Cornwallis
Edward Cornwallis ( – 14 January 1776) was a British career military officer and was a member of the aristocratic Cornwallis family, who reached the rank of Lieutenant General. After Cornwallis fought in Scotland, putting down the Jacobi ...
followed that example after the
Raid on Dartmouth (1749) when he attempted to protect the first British settlers in Nova Scotia from being scalped by putting a bounty on the Mi'kmaq (1749).
The final period of this conflict was the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
, when French officers, Mi'kmaq, and Acadians carried out military strikes against the New Englanders, particularly after the
deportation of the Acadians
The Expulsion of the Acadians, also known as the Great Upheaval, the Great Expulsion, the Great Deportation, and the Deportation of the Acadians (french: Le Grand Dérangement or ), was the forced removal, by the British, of the Acadian peo ...
and the bounty proclamation of 1756. The Mi'kmaq and their French allies conducted the Northeastern Coast Campaign (1755) in Maine and extended this campaign into Nova Scotia, attacking civilians during the
raids on Lunenburg. The British
captured Louisbourg in 1758 and battled
Quebec in 1759 and
Montreal in 1760, and the French imperial power was destroyed in North America. With the loss of their French ally, the Mi'kmaq recognized the need for a new relationship with the British colonists.
There were various treaties signed with other tribes of the Mi'kmaq and Maliseet before the formal burying the hatchet ceremony. On 11 February 1760, two tribes of the Passamaquoddy and
Saint John River came to Halifax with Colonel Arbuthnot and appeared before council, renewing the treaty of 1725 and giving hostages for their good behavior. On Feb 13, a treaty was ratified with Roger Morris and one of the Mi'kmaq chiefs. On 10 March 1760, Mi'kmaq chiefs Paul Laret, Michael Augustine, and Calude Renie made a treaty.
[(Atkins, p. 65)] On 15 October 1761, Jannesvil Peitougashwas (Pictock and Malogomish) made a treaty.
French priest
Pierre Maillard
Abbé Pierre Antoine Simon Maillard (c. 1710 – 12 August 1762) was a French-born Roman Catholic priest. He is noted for his contributions to the creation of a writing system for the Mi'kmaq indigenous people of Île Royale, Cape Breton Island, ...
accepted an invitation from Nova Scotia Governor
Charles Lawrence to travel to Halifax and assist in negotiating with the Mi'kmaq peoples. He also received permission to maintain an oratory at a Halifax battery, where he held Catholic services for
Acadians
The Acadians (french: Acadiens , ) are an ethnic group descended from the French who settled in the New France colony of Acadia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most Acadians live in the region of Acadia, as it is the region where the de ...
and Mi'kmaqs in the area. In his official capacity, Maillard was able to persuade most of the tribal chiefs to sign peace treaties with the British in Halifax.
The Ceremony
![RichardBulkeleyHalifaxNovaScotia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/RichardBulkeleyHalifaxNovaScotia.JPG)
On June 25, 1761, a "Burying of the Hatchet Ceremony" was held at Governor
Jonathan Belcher
Jonathan Belcher (8 January 1681/8231 August 1757) was a merchant, politician, and slave trader from colonial Massachusetts who served as both governor of Massachusetts Bay and governor of New Hampshire from 1730 to 1741 and governor of New J ...
's garden on present-day
Spring Garden Road, Halifax
The Spring Garden Road area, along with Barrington Street (which it adjoins) is a major commercial and cultural district in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It acquired its name from the fresh water spring that flows directly beneath it. It compris ...
in front of the
Court House
A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English- ...
.
Representing the colony were Belcher and four members of the
Nova Scotia Council
Formally known as "His Majesty's Council of Nova Scotia", the Nova Scotia Council (1720–1838) was the original British administrative, legislative and judicial body in Nova Scotia. The Nova Scotia Council was also known as the Annapolis Counci ...
:
Richard Bulkeley, John Collier, Joseph Gerrish, and Alexander Grant. Also present were
Admiral Lord Colville, commander-in-chief of British naval forces in North America, Major-General
John Henry Bastide
Lieutenant-General John Henry Bastide ( – 1770) was a British army officer and military engineer who played a significant role in the early history of Nova Scotia. He was the chief engineer at both of the sieges of Louisbourg (1745 and 17 ...
, the chief engineer in Nova Scotia and Colonel William Forster, the commander of Nova Scotia's army regiments. These three men were accompanied by a detachment of soldiers.
[Wicken, p. 216]
There were at least four Mi'kmaq chiefs that signed the treaty: Jeannot Peguidalonet (representing Cape Breton), Claude Atouach (Shediac), Joseph Sabecholouet (Miramichi), and Aikon Ashabuc (Pokemouche). Representatives from other villages were also present at the treaty signing.
The occasion was one of "great pomp and ceremony". The two parties faced each other near a British flag. French priest
Pierre Maillard
Abbé Pierre Antoine Simon Maillard (c. 1710 – 12 August 1762) was a French-born Roman Catholic priest. He is noted for his contributions to the creation of a writing system for the Mi'kmaq indigenous people of Île Royale, Cape Breton Island, ...
was in the middle acting as the interpreter. Belcher promised the crown would protect the Mi'kmaq from unscrupulous traders, protect their religion and not interfere with Catholic missionaries living among them. Belcher gave presents to each chief along with medals that were passed down through generations as testimony to the words that bound their people to uphold the peace. Both Belcher and the chiefs then moved to the flag post, where Belcher and the chiefs formally buried the hatchet.
One of the Mi'kmaq Chiefs declared that "he now buried the hatchet on behalf of himself and his whole tribe, a token of their submission and of their having made peace." The Chief of the Cape Breton Mi'kmaq's declared: "As long as the Sun and the Moon shall endure, as long as the Earth on which I dwell shall exist in the same State as you this day, with the Laws of your Government, faithful and obedient to the Crown".
At the same time the hatchet was being buried, the Chiefs went through the ceremony of washing the paint from their bodies in token of hostilities being ended. The whole ceremony was concluded by all present drinking to the king's health. The cornerstone of the
Halifax Provincial Court (Spring Garden Road)
The Halifax Court House is a historic building in downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia. Its main section was completed in 1863, with the east wing, built in 1930, being the newest portion. The Italian renaissance style building was designed by William T ...
now stands beside the spot of the burial, a symbol of peace and the rule of law.
[Atkins, History of Halifax. p. 66; Radall,]
Aftermath
The
Halifax Treaties
The Peace and Friendship Treaties were a series of written documents (or, treaties) that Britain signed between 1725 and 1779 with various Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik (Maliseet), Abenaki, Penobscot, and Passamaquoddy peoples (i.e., the Wabanaki Confe ...
effectively established peace between the Mi'kmaq and the British by both committing to uphold the rule of law. Historians disagree about whether or not the Treaties reflect that the Mi'kmaq surrendered or not to the British.
Daniel N. Paul notes that the wording of the document ascribed to the Chiefs uses language and knowledge of European conventions that would be incomprehensible or unknown to the Mi'kmaq.
See also
*
Military history of Nova Scotia
*
Treaty Day (Nova Scotia)
Treaty Day is celebrated by Nova Scotians annually on October 1 in recognition of the Treaties signed between the British Empire and the Mi'kmaq people. The first treaty was signed in 1725 after Father Rale's War. The final Halifax Treaties of ...
*
History of the Halifax Regional Municipality
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
References
;Endnotes
;Texts
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* {{cite book, last=Wicken, first=William C., title=Mi'kmaq Treaties on Trial: History, Land and Donald Marshall Junior, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0MEQyYggQE8C&pg=PP1, year=2002, publisher=University of Toronto Press, isbn=978-0-8020-7665-6, pages=215–218
External links
Burying the Hatchet Ceremony - Art Gallery of Nova ScotiaTreaty_Day_in_Nova_Scotia_-_Plaque_of_the_Royal_Nova_Scotia_Historical_Society.html" ;"title="Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society">Treaty Day in Nova Scotia - Plaque of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society
">Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society">Treaty Day in Nova Scotia - Plaque of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society
Culture of Nova Scotia
Military history of Acadia
Military history of Nova Scotia
Military history of New England
Military history of the Thirteen Colonies
Military history of Canada
History of Halifax, Nova Scotia
1761 in Canada
Mi'kmaq in Canada