Ruth Howard
Artist • Consultant • Secular Officiant
this website is still in progress
Talking Treaties
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (with connections to broader treaty territories and communities)
2016–2021
Talking Treaties was a multi-year arts project exploring Toronto Treaty histories, relationships and responsibilities through performance, storytelling, films, publications, installations, and public engagement.
Developed through Jumblies Theatre in collaboration with Ange Loft and a wide network of artists, advisors, partners and participants, the project brought together Indigenous, settler, and immigrant perspectives to consider what it means to live in treaty territory, and how these relationships might be understood, honoured, and reimagined.
Talking Treaties was an evolving body of work that responded to changing contexts of its participants and the broader social and political landscape, including growing public awareness and conversation around truth and reconciliation, Indigenous rights, and decolonization.
Project Gallery
Timeline
2014 - Talking Treaties is launched through Jumblies’ participation in First Story Toronto, and an invitation to apply for project funding from Ontario Aboriginal Affairs. Mohawk artist Ange Loft takes the lead, in close collaboration with historian/writer Victoria Freeman.
2015 - Talking Treaties multi-arts workshops are designed and delivered in community contexts, and a first Talking Treaties presentation is included in the program for the Toronto Train of Thought episode.
2017 - The Talking Treaties Spectacle is created and performed at Historic Fort York, as a highlight of Jumblies’ Touching Ground Festival.
2018 - The Talking Treaties Spectacle is remounted at Historic Fort York.
2019 - Talking Treaties (installation and film: By These Presents, Purchasing Toronto) is featured at the Small Arms Building, Mississauga, as part of inaugural Toronto Biennial of Art.
2021 - Jumblies and Toronto Biennial of Art co-produce and present a second Talking Treaties Film: Dish Dances (filmed during the Covid Pandemic at Camp Naivelt, Brampton).
2023 - Publication and launch of book: A Treaty Guide for Torontonians.
2024 - Talking Treaties educational website is launched (talkingtreaties.ca)
2025 - Talking Treaties workshops delivered at Black Creek Village, by Jesse Wabegijig and Tijana Spasic guided by Ange Loft, conclude the project, with the book and website widely circulated and still available.
More about Talking Treaties can be found at www.talkingtreaties.ca, and on Jumblies website at: https://jumbliestheatre.org/projects/talking-treaties/…
Collaboration
This program was in collaboration with:
2014 - Talking Treaties is launched through Jumblies’ participation in First Story Toronto, and an invitation to apply for project funding from Ontario Aboriginal Affairs. Mohawk artist Ange Loft takes the lead, in close collaboration with historian/writer Victoria Freeman.
2015 - Talking Treaties multi-arts workshops are designed and delivered in community contexts, and a first Talking Treaties presentation is included in the program for the Toronto Train of Thought episode.
2017 - The Talking Treaties Spectacle is created and performed at Historic Fort York, as a highlight of Jumblies’ Touching Ground Festival.
2018 - The Talking Treaties Spectacle is remounted at Historic Fort York.
2019 - Talking Treaties (installation and film: By These Presents, Purchasing Toronto) is featured at the Small Arms Building, Mississauga, as part of inaugural Toronto Biennial of Art.
2021 - Jumblies and Toronto Biennial of Art co-produce and present a second Talking Treaties Film: Dish Dances (filmed during the Covid Pandemic at Camp Naivelt, Brampton).
2023 - Publication and launch of book: A Treaty Guide for Torontonians.
2024 - Talking Treaties educational website is launched (talkingtreaties.ca)
2025 - Talking Treaties workshops delivered at Black Creek Village, by Jesse Wabegijig and Tijana Spasic guided by Ange Loft, conclude the project, with the book and website widely circulated and still available.
More about Talking Treaties can be found at www.talkingtreaties.ca, and on Jumblies website at: https://jumbliestheatre.org/projects/talking-treaties/…