| These totems are taken from the treaty known as the Great Peace of Montreal, signed on August 4, 1701. Each chief signed by drawing the totemic animal of his tribe. Aboriginal warfare between the First Nations, allies of the French, and the Iroquois Five Nations had long been disrupting the fur trade. In 1701, at a meeting convened by Governor Callière in Montréal, delegates from 40 First Nations met with their French hosts to try and find a peaceful solution. After several weeks of negotiations, exchanges of gifts and ceremonies, an agreement was reached on August 4. By imposing neutrality on the Western Amerindian and the Five Nations tribes, New France ensured control of the fur trade in the Great Lakes area and the freedom to expand its presence on the continent over the next fifty years. Reproduction on canvas
MG 18, C 12 |