Any study of the intercultural relationships between the Indigenous peoples of North America and British settlers usually focuses on the differences that resulted in disputes and violence. However, on closer examination, the interaction also involved the exchange of ideas and the forging of alliances, which required diplomacy and respect for differing traditions concerning the nature of treaties, rights to movement, use of resources, and the nature of borders. In fact, early America was defined by Indigenous and non-Indigenous interaction and movement across shared and defended territories and settlements, connected via intercultural diplomacy.

This webinar will introduce you to the work of the Treatied Spaced Research Group and analyse one of the oldest diplomatic relationships in the world, the relationship between the British Crown and the Indigenous peoples of Canada and North America. This established a fundamental kinship relationship between the Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois Confederacy) and the British Royal Family, one that continues to be ‘brightened’ or renewed in diplomatic terms today.