Treaty #

A treaty is a contract. A treaty is enduring. A treaty is an act of faith. A treaty at its best is justice. It is a document and an undertaking. It is connected to place, people and self. It is built on the past, but it also indicates how the future may unfold. Armand Garnet Ruffo'sTreaty # is all of these. In this far-ranging work, Ruffo documents his observations on life and in the process, his own life as he sets out to restructure relationships and address obligations nation-to-nation, human-to-human, human-to-nature.

Now, he undertakes a new phase in its restoration. He has written hisTreaty#like a palimpsest over past representations of Indigenous bodies and beliefs, built powerful connections to his predecessors, and discovered new ways to bear witness and build a place for them, and all of us, in his poems. This is a major new work from an important, original voice. (From Wolsak & Wynn)

Treaty # was a finalist for the 2019 Governor General's Literary Award for poetry.

Armand GarnetRuffo is an Ojibway filmmaker, writer and poet. His other books includeGrey Owl,Norval MorrisseauandThe Thunderbird Poems.

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