Rare Documents on Display

Visitors to the Timmins Public Library are getting to see some rare documents this week. National Archives Canada has allowed public viewing of the The James Bay Treaty, also known as Treaty No. 9. This is in honour of the 100th anniversary of the treaty. It is the agreement between the Crown and the Nishnabwe Aski Nation. The treaty was signed over a one year period between August of 1905 and 1906 in the various Aboriginal communities across our region. It these days of computers and electronic data storage, it was a pleasure to see such an important handwritten document. It was also interesting to note that several of the signatures included the well known Cree syllabic symbols, still being used in Cree communities.