Deciphering Paskwa pictograph not a simple, fast process: Delbert Pasqua

CBC News

 A pictograph of the Treaty 4 negotiations, illustrated by Chief Paskwa. It is the only depiction of the treaty negotiations from a First Nation perspective. (Royal Saskatchewan Museum) 


Deciphering historical imagery goes beyond conventional book knowledge when it comes to the depictions of the signing of Treaty 4.

The treaty was signed in 1874. Nine years later, Chief Paskwa created a document of his own, in the form of a pictograph, based on what he was told by an interpreter, says Delbert Pasqua.

"[Chief Paskwa] didn't understand them, he had to take the interpreter's word that this is what [the Crown] meant, what they were promising," Pasqua told CBC Radio's Saskatchewan Weekend earlier this week.

Pasqua is a direct descendant of Chief Paskwa and is in charge of deciphering the images that were put to paper.

It involves more than just cross-referencing the images with the written words of the treaty, signed between the Indigenous people living on the land and the Crown 143 years ago...http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/delbert-pasqua-decipher-pictograph-1.4041710

Related: Pictographs of the North American Indians - Gerrick Mallery