{"id":932,"date":"2026-06-01T16:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T16:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trc57speakerseries.ca\/sandbox\/?post_type=trc57_speakers&p=932"},"modified":"2026-06-16T15:00:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-16T15:00:15","slug":"dr-michael-asch2","status":"publish","type":"trc57_speakers","link":"https:\/\/trc57speakerseries.ca\/sandbox\/speakers\/dr-michael-asch2\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Michael Asch"},"content":{"rendered":"
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What if the future of reconciliation depends on how we understand the treaties made at the very moment Canada came into being?<\/h2>\n

with Dr. Michael Asch<\/p>\n

Webinar Date:<\/strong>\u00a0March 25, 2026 \/ 12-1pm PT<\/div>\n
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In this informative conversation, Dr. Michael Asch invites our audience to reconsider the significance of the treaties negotiated around Confederation\u2014not as relics of the past, but as living agreements that continue to shape the legitimacy of Canada\u2019s presence on these lands. Drawing from his chapter\u202f\u201cConfederation Treaties and Reconciliation: Stepping Back into the Future,\u201d\u202fAsch reflects on what settlers agreed to when they were granted permission to settle, and what responsibilities flow from those agreements today.<\/p>\n

Rather than asking what reconciliation might look like in the abstract, this session turns our attention to history, consent, and obligation:<\/p>\n

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  • What did treaties actually authorize settlers to do\u2014and what limits were placed on that authority?<\/li>\n
  • What does it mean to understand treaties as agreements to share land, rather than surrender it?<\/li>\n
  • And what changes when treaties are understood as Canada\u2019s foundation, rather than a footnote to its history?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Through careful engagement with treaty texts, Indigenous interpretations, and historical records, Asch argues that reconciliation requires settlers to align present-day practices with the commitments made in the past. He invites participants\u2014especially settlers\u2014to consider what it would mean to take those commitments seriously as the basis for shared futures.<\/p>\n

    This conversation offers space to reflect on responsibility, consent, and the possibility of honouring treaties as living relationships\u2014now and for generations to come.<\/p>\n