Treaties
To talk about Treaties it is necessary to start at the beginning. And, where does the beginning start? Let's look at the land, and start with Turtle Island. North America is commonly referred to as Turtle Island among many Indigenous Nations. The geographical outlay depicts the shape of a turtle and is based on a story about Sky women. Please see below:
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(Native reflections, 2019)
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If you would like to hear a story about Turtle Island & Sky women, please go to the following link to watch a video: https://youtu.be/qV5sGEneGCM
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Prior to the formation of Canada, First Nations people lived upon the Great Turtle Island of North America. In the 1700’s explorers from Europe began to arrive. Initially, the relationship between First Nation peoples and the newly arrived settlers was positive. It was based on a principle of sharing knowledge, as well as the land (Potrais-Collins). A symbol of this relationship is documented by the Gusenwentha, Two Row wampum belt by the Haudenosaunee also known as the Six Nations Confederacy people.
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(Onondaga Nation, 2019)
As more settlers arrived, it became apparent agreements would need to be created to acknowledge and respect each other's way of life, and to share the land. Treaties were created to recognize this. Treaties are internationally recognized agreements made nation to nation (Gunn, 2020). Later, in 1767 the Royal Proclamation was made by the British King. It formalized land agreements and could only be carried out by the Original Nations and the Crown (Indigenous Arts UBC, 2020).
As the treaties were made they were numbered in order. Please see the map below:
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(Wikipedia, 2020)
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It is very important to note that as treaties were agreed on between First Nation people and the British Crown, the interpretations varied with each side. First Nation peoples based their side of the treaty on the spiritual connection to the land and sharing, while the Crown intended settlement and immigration. More importantly, First Nations peoples believed the oral agreement was to last ‘as long as the sun shines, waters flow, and grass grows’ and as long as there were Indigenous peoples. Sadly, the federal government chose to deal with Indigenous peoples through a process of domination and subjugation. The final outcome was assimilation. Today, many First Nations communities are actively working to educate about the terms of the original treaty agreements as they are still in force and effect.
Further to this, the terms outlined in each treaty vary from one another. For example, Treaty six includes clauses on education, medicare, famine and pestilence, farming equipment, and more. Whereas Treaty seven was about land and occupancy and less about education and medicare.
Please note, the province of British Columbia did not sign into confederation until 1871. And when they did, they rejected the terms for Indigenous title to their lands and held onto this position until 1997 when the Supreme Court of Canada overruled the province (Curry, J. 2014). It is important to understand that the federal government passed legislation in 1927 that disallowed lawyers to represent Indigenous peoples in courts relating specifically to lands. This law was repealed in 1968. To date, there are ongoing land disputes between First Nations peoples, the province of BC, and the federal government.
The province of Alberta resides in five treaty territories: Treaty six, Treaty seven & Treaty eight, and small parcels of Treaties ten and four. Please see the link below for a map created by the Alberta Teachers Association:
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