Written and recited by Elder Duke Redbird, A Dish With One Spoon is a poem named after the Dish With One Spoon treaty.

This treaty was developed between the Anishinaabe, Mississaugas of the Credit and Haudenosaunee, and has been symbolically extended to settlers of the land. The “dish” represents the land we live on and benefit from and the “spoon” represents the people using the land in the spirit of mutual care.

Elder Redbird’s poem speaks to the responsibility we all have to be good stewards of the land, and delves into the relationship Indigenous people have had to Toronto’s waterfront since time immemorial.

In this video Elder Redbird recites his poem, A Dish With One Spoon.