Treaties and Land Agreements
Treaties and Land Agreements
Learning Goal: I can explain the purpose and significance of treaties and land agreements, and describe how Aboriginal peoples and the Crown understood those agreements differently.
Between 1871 and 1921, Canada negotiated 11 numbered treaties with First Nations across the Prairies, the north, and into northern Ontario. These treaties covered most of what is now Saskatchewan. Understanding what treaties are, what they were supposed to accomplish, and how each side has interpreted them is essential to understanding Indigenous-Crown relations in Canada.
What Treaties Were Supposed to Be
From the Crown's perspective, treaties were legal agreements in which First Nations surrendered title to their lands in exchange for reserves, annual payments, farming equipment, schools, and the right to hunt and fish on traditional lands. The Canadian government understood treaties as one-time real estate transactions.
From the perspective of First Nations, treaties were not land sales. They were agreements to share the land and its resources while each party maintained their own governance and way of life. Elders have consistently described the treaties as agreements meant to last 'as long as the sun shines and the rivers flow,' not as documents surrendering sovereignty.
Why the Difference Matters
The gap between these two understandings has driven conflict for over 150 years. Canadian governments used treaties to justify taking land. First Nations have gone to courts and negotiating tables to argue that treaty rights include rights to economic participation, self-governance, and the protection of their territories. Many of these cases remain active in Canadian courts today.
Treaty 4 and Treaty 6
Most of southern Saskatchewan falls within Treaty 4 territory. Central Saskatchewan is Treaty 6 territory. These are not historical artifacts. They are living agreements. Many First Nations argue that treaty rights include the right to control what happens on their traditional territories, including resource development projects.
Inuit Land Claims
The Inuit did not sign numbered treaties. Their land agreements came much later, through a different process. The James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement (1975) and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement (1993) created the framework for Inuit land rights, self-governance, and resource revenues in the north. The creation of Nunavut as a territory in 1999 came directly from Inuit political organizing and negotiation.
Metis and Land
The Metis were excluded from the numbered treaty process. The government was supposed to provide Metis land through a scrip system: paper certificates exchangeable for land. In practice, speculators bought up scrip at a fraction of its value. The Metis were left without a land base. This remains a central grievance of the Metis Nation today and has driven significant legal action.
References
Miller, J. R. (2009). Compact, Contract, Covenant: Aboriginal Treaty-Making in Canada. University of Toronto Press.
Venne, S. H. (1997). Understanding Treaty 6: An Indigenous Perspective. In M. Asch (Ed.), Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in Canada (pp. 173-207). UBC Press.
Craft, A. (2013). Breathing Life Into the Stone Fort Treaty: An Anishinabe Understanding of Treaty One. Purich Publishing.
Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (2023). About the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Retrieved from https://www.tunngavik.com
Slattery, B. (1987). Understanding Aboriginal Rights. Canadian Bar Review, 66(4), 727-783.