Conditions of the numbered treaties Reasons for numbered treaties Concerns about numbered treaties

Have roots in the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which ended the Seven Years War between the French and British First nations agreed under the treaties to share Their lands and resources In return they received from the federal government Education Hunting and fishing rights Reserves Farming assistance Annuities Special benefits Health Care

For First Nations the numbered treaties are sacred nation-to-nation agreements They should not be changed without agreement by the First Nations Treaty rights and citizenship go together now, in the past, and in the future Reasons for agreeing to treaties Federal governments desire to build a national railway Desire to avoid war, between settlers and First Nations Economic security for first Nations due to small pox, loss of buffalo, end of fur trade

Natives do not think of land as something you can give up, since you can never own it Differences between oral versions of treaties used by Natives and written versions used by Europeans Largely dealt with only prairie based First Nations Differences between the law and the policies

THE NUMBERED TREATIES OF WESTERN CANADA