For decades Daniel Coleman has worked closely with many Indigenous scholars to understand the land he calls home and the complex and painful histories between Indigenous and European nations that have formed Canada. In Grandfather of the Treaties, he has drawn on this experience to craft an extensive study of the wampum covenants that underpin our nations, one that takes readers from wampum’s first emergence among Indigenous nations to how these covenants can help us shape a better future for all. In this wide-ranging book Coleman seeks to fill a deep hole in most Canadians’ knowledge of how our nation was formed. As we relearn our history, we can recommit to our earliest promises, which were meant to last “as long as the sun shines upon this earth, as long as the water still flows and as long as the grass grows green at a certain time of the year.”

In Grandfather of the Treaties, Daniel Coleman traces the long-neglected history of the Covenant Chain of Friendship and the Two Row Wampum Covenant, the founding agreements made between the Haudenosaunee and European nations as they first encountered each other and strove to live together in peace.

"Does an excellent job detailing the agreement and settler betrayal. While it can be daunting with the academic tone and the massive amount of information, it is definitely worth taking the time to read!"

"The Land Back movement isn’t just about returning land to First Nations, although that’s important, he contends; it’s also about seeing the land itself as a living, agential treaty partner to whom we have obligations, something we can learn from our Indigenous treaty partners. In this time of climate crisis and ecological peril, that’s a vital lesson, one we desperately need to take seriously. Reading The Grandfather of the Treaties is a way to begin that work."

I welcome this publication because I think it will provide great insight for the other people descended from the many ships that arrived on our shores. It might help them rethink what it means to have inherited this Two Row Wampum agreement. It is about maintaining quality relationships and developing true friendship. . . . I hope that Daniel’s words and my drawings help you see what this friendship is like. Look back to look forward. Look at each other to find the real reason that peace, respect and friendship matter. – from the Foreword by Rick Hill (Tuscarora)