Treaties - (Numbered and Various) (Oct. 14)

This looked at some of the different types of Treaties that exist in Canada with First Nations people.

What were Peace and Friendship Treaties?

Early treaties where Indigenous nations and Europeans agreed to friendship, peace, and trade, not land surrender.

• Signed between British (Europeans) and the Mi'kmaq, between the 1620s–1650s.

• Nation-nation agreements that were renewed (every 30 years, as things changed).

What did the Marshall case highlight about these treaties?

They included trade rights, and the inherent rights to be able to hunt, fish, trap.

What were the Haldimand Treaties?

A series of land agreements and confirmations beginning with the Haldimand Proclamation of 1784, which granted land in Ontario to the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) who had been displaced after supporting the British during the American Revolution.

• They are not numbered treaties, they are loyalist-era land grants and confirmations of Haudenosaunee land rights.

• The most important one is the Haldimand Proclamation (1784).

• This land was given to the Haudenosaunee for their loyalty.

Treaties in Ontario where First Nations were given cash in exchange for land. 

• Treaties were made to give land to Joseph Brant and the Mohawks who fled the U.S.

• After the 1830s, reserves could only be held in trust, so he couldn’t sell it.

Douglas Treaties (BC) 

1850 - 1854

James Douglas in BC made the Douglas Treaties. He was the Governor of B.C. Between 1850 and 1854, James Douglas negotiated 14 treaties with several First Nations on Vancouver Island.

This included guarantee of harvesting rights.

• He thought he was setting a model for other colonies by negotiating fairly.

• Douglas was replaced by Joseph Trutch, who refused to sign treaties.

• The Douglas Treaties and Treaty 8 are the only ones to exist in BC.

  • The other areas have no treaties and are unceded. 

Robinson Treaties (Huron and Superior, ON)

These treaties were negotiated by William Robinson. This treaty making process followed the Royal Proclamation rules.

• The Robinson-Huron Treaty of 1850 was signed between the Crown and the Anishinaabe Nations in northern Ontario.

• Its purpose was primarily colonial centered on:

  • Land acquisition;

  • Resource extraction;

  • Extinguishing Aboriginal title.

• This treaty introduced the first ever treaty annuities of $3 a year.

• The Augmentation Clause became a point of contention.

  • This was due to the fact that treaty annuities did not increase as promised.

• They were also promised the right to fish and hunt (maintain their hunting way of life).

  • This proved to be challenging due to the pollution that came with settlement (Grassy Narrows).

Relevance of the Robinson Treaties

The Robinson Treaties included a promise that treaty annuities would increase as resource revenues increased (Augmentation Clause). This came in the form of the augmentation clause in these treaties.

BUT the Crown never increased payments for over 100 years.

This led to the Robinson-Huron annuities case, where courts found:

• the Crown breached the treaty

• the government acted dishonourably

• annuities must be updated retroactively

They also guaranteed hunting and fishing for the First Nations.

What triggered the first seven Numbered Treaties?

The Rupert’s Land purchase, when Canada bought HBC land in 1870.

• First Nations communities were opposed to and challenged this because they were never consulted with in the sale of the land.

• They said that HBC never owned the land to sell.

Who was the main treaty negotiator?

Alexander Morris, (1826–1889) was a senior Canadian government official who helped negotiate several of the Numbered Treaties (Treaties 1–7) in western Canada.

• He served as the Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba and the Northwest Territories.

• He was the federal government’s lead treaty negotiator during the early 1870s.

• He helped negotiate Treaties 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6.

• He tried to follow the principles of the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which recognized Indigenous land rights.

What issue exists with Treaty 11 (1921)?

Many “signatures” were actually pen touches, raising doubts about consent. Or if these treaties were actually ever signed or if they were forged.

What is a treaty adhesion?

When a First Nation joins an existing treaty instead of negotiating a new one. This is specifically related to the Numbered Treaties, and Treaty 5 in Manitoba.

What problem happened at Split Lake?

The Chief accidentally signed an individual adhesion, not a collective one, possibly grounds for a court challenge.

The government officials simply attached it to the correct paper by cutting and tapping it.

Why are water rights an issue in treaty interpretation?

Historic treaties say “lands,” not water, suggesting water was never surrendered.

What is the Indigenous interpretation approach?

The spirit and intent of the treaty. What was agreed to in words (orally that maybe was not included), ceremony, and understanding, not just the written text.

What is a “meaningful” treaty interpretation?

A liberal and generous reading that reflects Indigenous needs and understandings.

A legal principle used by Canadian courts when interpreting Indigenous treaties and Indigenous rights. It means courts must interpret treaties in favour of Indigenous peoples, not narrowly or technically.

How does the federal government interpret treaties?

Like a written contract, focusing on literal wording.

• Transactional, surrender of land.

Treaty 1 (1871)

Southern Manitoba (Winnipeg area)

Treaty 1 was the first of the Numbered Treaties.

• It included:

  • Annuity payments ($3)

  • 160 acres per family (land)

  • Farming tools

  • Support for transitioning to agriculture.

• Chiefs were also given coats, medals, and gifts.

• The treaty created reserves around the area now known as Winnipeg.

• The Anishinaabe and Cree Nations initiated the request for a treaty, not the Canadian government.

  • This was because they had concerns over settlers moving in, surveying of their lands, and lack of any agreement in place protecting their rights.

Treaty 2 (1871)

Southern & Central Manitoba

Signed the same year as Treaty 1, it covered a large part of central and southern Manitoba. First Nations requested this agreement after seeing Treaty 1, and settlers continued to encroach on First Nations land.

The British Crown did not initially want to engage in another Treaty so soon. It was the pressure from the First Nations that forced the crown to act.

• It had similar terms: annuities, land, and farming support.

  • 160 acres per family of 5.

  • $3.00 annuity.

• The Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) Nations of southwestern Manitoba initiated Treaty Two.

Treaty 3 (1873) 

Northwestern Ontario & Southeast Manitoba

The First Nations involved had more experience negotiating with Europeans and pushed for better terms.

Anishinaabe of the Rainy River / Lake of the Woods region (Anishinaabe Confederacy of the Gichigami area) initiated the Treaty. However, this came after years of being heckled by Europeans, as they wanted this initial land for the Dawson Road.

• Treaty 3 increased annuities from $3 to $5;

• Increase land amounts (reserves provided);

• Hunting and fishing rights acknowledged;

• They also asked for water protection, which later proved significant because their waters were poisoned 100 years later (Wabigoon).

Treaty 4 (1874)

Saskatchewan & Western Manitoba (Qu’Appelle Valley)

Treaty 4 is known as the “Blanket Treaty.” This Treaty was initiated by the British Crown as they wanted to open southern Saskatchewan for agriculture.

• First Nations consulted Treaty 3 nations and demanded similar $5 annuities.

• 640 acres promised.

• Oral promises were emphasized, the Treaty Commissioner compared the treaty to a warm blanket, showing how oral agreements were important.

Treaty 5 (1875)

Lake Winnipeg Region

Originally signed with a few communities (Berens River, Cross Lake, Grand Rapids, Norway House) with later adhesions added. Those that came on as adhesions, advocated to do so. This was initiated by the First Nations, as commercial fisheries and settlement were coming in. Later adhesions were initiated by the government.

• The government tried to reduce land size and annuities, creating disagreements.

• This treaty was also initiated by the First Nations.

  • They were not seeking out this land as much as the areas of the earlier treaties.

• Negotiated with the communities individually, instead of collectively.

• The treaty focused on the Lake Winnipeg area and was sometimes called the Lake Winnipeg Treaty.

  • As well as the negotiations began in Winnipeg. Adhesions were later signed sometimes in the actual communities.

Treaty 6 (1876)

Central Saskatchewan & Alberta

Treaty 6 is famous for the Medicine Chest Clause, which First Nations insisted on, meaning a guarantee of health care. This was initiated by the British Crown as they pushed to expand settlement + deal with smallpox crises in Indigenous communities.

• They also negotiated famine and pestilence relief because of recent smallpox epidemics.

  • Famine ad Pestilence Relief: Guaranteeing that if the First Nations in the treaty were “overtaken by any pestilence, or by a general famine,” then relief would be provided; that “famine clause”

  • $5.00 per person.

  • 640 acres.

• It included standard annuities and land but added stronger protections due to health crises.

Treaty 7 (1877)

Southern Alberta

Signed with the Blackfoot Confederacy.

It included $5 annuities, land, and support for farming.

This Treaty was initiated by the British Crown as they wanted secure control before the railway and settlement expanded.

• This was the last treaty with meaningful negotiations before the government shifted to using treaties mainly to clear land for settlement.

• Last meaningful negotiation that occurred in the Treaty process for First Nations. 

  • With the inclusion of First Nations based ceremonial elements.

Treaty 8 (1899)

Northern Alberta, Northeast BC, Northwest Saskatchewan, Southwest NWT

Treaty 8 was negotiated because of increased travel and settlement through Dene territories during the Yukon Gold Rush. Initiated by the Dene, Cree, and other northern Nations

• It promised $5 annuities, land, and the right to hunt, fish, and trap.

• People feared losing their way of life due to outsiders moving through their lands.

• It covers one of the largest treaty areas in Canada.

Treaty 9 (1905–1906)

Northern Ontario (James Bay region)

Ontario wanted access to minerals, forestry, and northern resources, so it pushed for this treaty. This treaty was initiated by the British Crown as they required these lands for mining, hydro, and resource development.

• First Nations agreed based on promises of continued hunting, fishing, and trapping.

• However, major terms were recorded differently in the commissioners’ oral promises vs. the written treaty (a major legal issue today).

• Annuities remained $5 per person.

Treaty 10 (1906–1907)

Northern Saskatchewan

First Nations asked for medical care, and the treaty commissioner orally promised a doctor, but this promise was not written into the treaty (similar to Treaty 6’s Medicine Chest idea). Initiated by the Cree and Dene who were facing economic challenges.

• People agreed because food shortages and poverty were becoming major issues

• Like earlier treaties, it included hunting, fishing, trapping rights, and $5 annuities.

• At this time there was less negotiating power for terms.

• Government would offer more leeway depending on if they were looking to acquire the land for a specific purpose.

Treaty 11 (1921)

Mackenzie Valley, Northwest Territories

Treaty 11 was driven by the discovery of oil and gas in the region. This Treaty was initiated by the British Crown as they were fueled by the 1920s oil boom in the NWT.

• Some First Nations did not want reserves, remembering the problems faced by Treaty 8 nations.

• Many “signatures” were done by touching the pen, raising concerns about whether true consent was given.

• Only one reserve was created (Hay River), and treaty implementation became a long-standing dispute.