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Treaties
The decline of the fur trade in the 19th century,
along with increasing European
settlement, fundamentally changed the relationship
between First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples and
Europeans. As a result of new settlement and
colonial policies, First Nations in postConfederation Canada became increasingly
marginalized and were no longer treated as equals
and allies, but as inferiors, dependents, and
impediments to civilization.
Most of the settled lands of Canada, in Ontario,
Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta, were
transferred from First Nations to the Crown (the
Government) through treaties. Signing treaties was
Canada's way to gain sovereignty over the West
without the expense of military intervention. At
treaty signing, the chiefs and headmen pledged
allegiance to the Crown and agreed to follow the laws
of the land. In return, they received a number of
promises such as education, assistance in times
of famine, a medicine chest, economic
assistance and other social programs. The Crown
received the land base to build Western Canada.
Today both sides agree that the Treaties
are agreements between the Crown (the
Government) and First Nations, in which
the First Nations exchanged some of their
interests in specific areas of their ancestral
lands in return for various kinds of
payments and promises from Crown
officials. However, each side has a different
interpretation of what was intended by
the agreements.
The Canadians (British) and the First Nations
were at the same meetings, listened to the same
speeches (translated) and signed the same
pieces of paper. Yet they had (and still have) two
totally different concepts of what the treaties
were about, and what each side was promising.
The differences in understanding are rooted in
two totally different world views, and two totally
different concepts of land ownership, and two
colliding purposes.
The concept of private ownership of land by an individual,
who could build a fence and keep others out forever, was
totally foreign to First Nations people.
“The earth does not belong to man; man belongs to the earth.
This we know. All things are connected like the blood which
unites one family. All things are connected. Whatever befalls
the earth befalls the sons of the earth. Man did not weave the
web of life; he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to
the web, he does to himself.”
-Chief Seattle, 1854
Aboriginal Worldview
Making Treaties
First Nations had an oral tradition.
They passed down important
information by the spoken word during
important ceremonies and at
celebrations. What was said was what
was important to them, not what was
written on paper. Though they did not
have a written tradition, in the European
sense, they recorded important events by
sewing beaded wampum belts.
Wampum belts signifying treaties
became sacred objects that were brought
out at certain times, Then elders recited
the terms and understandings of the
agreement commemorated by that
ceremonial wampum belt.
Aboriginals had treaties with each other long before
European fur traders or settlers arrived in what is now called
Canada. Aboriginal nations would use oral treaties to settle
land disputes and end other conflicts, including war. Trade
and marriage arrangements were commonly made between
tribes as well.
When the Europeans arrived, they brought with them their
own methods, especially the written treaty. Particularly
after the conquest, when the British gradually began to
establish a strong hold on the continent, Aboriginals were not
always happy with the outcomes of these written treaties - for
governments of the time sometimes did not include oral
promises made to the Aboriginals in the written treaty. This
forms the basis of many land claims today, as Aboriginal
leaders demand to be given what they were promised.
Land Claims
In general, there are two types of Aboriginal claims in Canada that
are commonly referred to as “land claims” - comprehensive
claims and specific claims. Comprehensive claims always involve
land, but specific claims are not necessarily land-related.
Comprehensive claims deal with Aboriginal rights. These
claims are based on the traditional use and occupancy of land by
First Nations, Métis and Inuit who did not sign treaties.
Specific claims originate in First Nations’ claims that the
Government of Canada did not fulfill its obligations either
under historic treaties or the Indian Act. Types of claims include
the inadequate allocation of reserve land, the failure to
protect reserve land from unlawful disposition or lease, fraud
on the part of government employees, and the
misadministration of First Nations’ funds and other assets.
Treaty Distribution Days
A First Nation member's right to treaty payments depends on
the precise terms and conditions of their specific First Nation's
treaty. They are entitled to annual treaty payments if they are
registered as an Indian and a member of a First Nation
that signed a treaty providing for annual treaty payments.
Treaty annuities are normally paid in cash at Treaty Day
events held annually on or off reserve.
The scene at each stop is similar. People gather at the band
hall or some other appropriate place and receive their annual
treaty pay -- a princely sum of $5.