Burlington residents can learn about a foundational agreement between Indigenous peoples and European settlers at a free talk later this month. The Burlington Public Library is hosting Rick Hill and Daniel Coleman, two contributors to “Deyohahá:ge: Sharing the River of Life,” on Thursday, June 18, 2026 from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Central Library’s Centennial Hall. The event has space for only 34 people, so registration is required.
The authors will discuss the Two Row Wampum, an agreement made in 1613 between the Haudenosaunee and Dutch representatives. The pact, also called Guswenta or Kaswentha, established that the two groups would live side by side as equals, like two vessels traveling down a river without interfering in each other’s cultures, beliefs, or laws. The Haudenosaunee consider it the grandfather of all treaties.
Rick Hill is a Tuscarora of the Beaver Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River Territory. He is a historian, curator, and leading knowledge specialist at the First Nation Technical Institute who has spent 40 years working to return wampum belts to their original Haudenosaunee owners. Daniel Coleman is a Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of English and Cultural Studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, where he has studied Canadian literature and wampum as a form of communication and law.
The book they co-edited, “Deyohahá:ge: Sharing the River of Life,” was published in early 2025 and is now short-listed for the Canada Prize 2026. Its title means “two roads or paths” in the Cayuga language, reflecting the parallel paths envisioned by the Two Row Wampum. The talk will explore how the agreement’s principles might help build better relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people today.
Central Library is at 2331 New Street, on the Treaty Lands and Territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Registration for the talk is available through the library’s event page.
