1. Native Studies 120
Treaties

2. Treaties of Peace and Friendship
Signed in 1700s
Between colonial government of Nova Scotia and Mi’kmaw and Wolastoqiyik peoples
Established to:
End hostilities
To keep Indigenous people from siding with the French

3. Why do we have treaties?
As more settlers came to Canada there were disputes over who had to right to the land and resources.
A treaty is an agreement between two or more rulers or nations.
Treaties can be made for trade, to set up alliances, or to make peace after a dispute
Some treaties lead to conflicts

4. Early Treaties
Treaties were not new to Indigenous Peoples. Nations made treaties with each other for several reasons
To identify territories and laws of each nation
To ensure that nations understood the customs and traditions of another nation.
These treaties were often represented on wampum belts. Everyone knew exactly what each side had agreed to.

5. The Great Law of Peace of the People of the Longhouse
One of the oldest known treaties in Canada
Dated before 1450
A treaty between the 6 nations known as the Iroquois Confederacy
Had 117 terms about the relationships between the nations, their laws and their customs
It was a vision by the Great Peace maker Deganawidah
The Great Peace centred around a Great White Pine which peacefully protects humanity with its branches, whose roots sprouts in all directions and the great eagle stood guard
The treaty was used in 1701 to end 100 years of fighting between the Iroquois and New France and paved the way for European settlements farther west

6. Treaties with the French
Focused on peace
Leasing of Indigenous lands
Established trade
Terms were often negotiated by Jesuits priests who took the time to learn the language of the indigenous peoples and taught them French
New France was taken over by the British in 1763 and Britain assumed control and ownership of the leased land believing it belonged to the French and not to the Indigenous People

7. Treaties with the British
Treaties were often signed with interpreters who were instructed to be deliberatively vague and not explain what they were negotiating
They were to acquire lands for British settlers who were often given the land free of charge to settle and develop it
Indigenous people believed they were agreeing to share the land and resources, as they did with the French, and not surrendering their interests.
The government often took away the peoples rights in the treaty but said they could still hunt and fish on the land
Gifts, trinkets and small cash amounts were often given as a promise of peaceful relationships but were actually in exchange for their land rights

8. Treaties with the Government of Canada
Canada became a country in 1867 with the British North America act.
Canada signed treaties with Indigenous peoples but were responsible to uphold treaties signed with the British
The main focus of the first treaties with Canada was with western Nations.
Nations signed because they wanted to avoid the types of wars happening in the American West
Others made treaties to survive because they were suffering from the diseases introduced by the Europeans
Many nations were starving because their food sources, like the buffalo and other large game animals had been over hunted. The treaties guaranteed their hunting and fishing rights and provided farming equipment to some groups

9. The government of Canada had no interest in signing treaties with Indigenous peoples of the North.
This changed in 1896 when gold was discovered in the Yukon and settlers began mining minerals
In 1899, they signed Treaty 8, in which the First Nations believed they were signing a treaty stating nothing would change their way of life, but surrendered the land for mining and lumber operations. Many First Nations did not sign willingly. (To this day, members of these Nations only receive $5/year while the government receives millions in revenues from the mines and lumber)
Tribes who signed treaties were sent to reserves and soon became subject to the Indian Act of 1876
Northern Treaties

10. Treaties were not equal exchanges
Large amounts of land full of natural resources such as gold, silver, jade and diamonds, timber were exchanged for clothes and small sums of money
The government promised to build schools on reserves but did not keep those promises and instead built residential schools
Some groups such as the Cree tried to resist giving up their land for Treaty 6 negotiations as they knew the money and reserves did little to make up for the resources their land provided.
They signed because there were very few bison left; they were starving and suffering from European diseases.
They believed signing the treaties were their only means of survival

11. The Indian Act The Government of Canada passed it in 1876
The act banned some very important traditions, cultural practices, and religious ceremonies
It restricted Indigenous people from working, leaving the reserve and their ability to hunt and fish
Indigenous people disliked the act and had no say in the terms
It still governs the relationship between the Canadian government and Indigenous Peoples today

12. Treaty of 1725(of peace and Friendship)
Signed in Boston between the British and the people of the Ckuwaponahkiyik
Mi’kmaq, Wolastoqiyik, Panuwapskewiyik (Penobscot), Peskotomuhkatiyik (Passamaquoddy) and the Aponahkewiyik (Abenaki)
First formal treaty in the East. Signed because the struggle between England and France to control Eastern North American had spilled into relationships each side had with local First Nations
There were many amendments to the treaty to include all nations of the East and as the British pushed to get more land
It did not resolve all the conflicts with the British as many terms were broken, who saw the terms as giving up rights and not sharing as brothers, and led to many wars between the Mi’kmaw and the British

13. Treaty of 1752
Signed in Halifax on October 1, 1752 during the Father Loutre’s War
Between Governor of NS and Mi’kmaq people of Shubenacadie
Included the terms from the 1725 treaty
Agreed to buried the hatchet any hostilities from previous wars between the British and the Mi’kmaq
The Mi’kmaq would make other tribes sign the treaty and if the tribe refused the Mi’kmaq would make war on them until they signed
Tribes would be allowed to hunt, fish as normal and if they had a lodge or building torn down it would be rebuilt and moved in a new area and they would be allowed to travel to Halifax to sell their fish, fowl, skins, feathers or other wares

14. The government would provide bread, flour and other provisions twice yearly to each family for all the time to come and the tribes would agreed to renew and ratify the agreement
To cherish a good harmony on October 1, the Government would provide gifts of tobacco, blankets, powder and shot so long as the Indians traveled to Halifax to renew their friendship
That the Indians would rescue any one shipwrecked on the coast and would be rewarded for their salvage efforts as deemed by the crown
That all disputes between the Indians and his Majesty’s subjects would be tried in a court of law and they would have the same rights as his subjects
At no time was any land surrendered or ceded to the crown

15. New Brunswick
In NB the Loyalists who arrived wanted to settle on the waterfront land of the St. John River
First to be displaced were the Wolastoqiyik
Later, the Mi’kmaq suffered the same fate because settlers wanted to fish and cut timber
In summary, Native land was constantly under pressure from settlers

16. Modern Treaties
Relations with the Indigenous peoples and the government have been tense for several years
In 1992, the Charlottetown Accord tried to change the Canadian Constitution to recognize Indigenous self-governance but was not ratified. It would have given indigenous people more freedom
Treaties must be made in order to self-govern
Treaties are constantly being made to settle land claims, protecting of the environment, natural resources and many other issues involving unceded territories and to uphold rights granted by the UN banning the discrimination against Indigenous peoples and granting them many rights

17. UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Adopted in 2007
Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand voted against it believing self-government would take away their authority of the First Nations
Gave rights to Indigenous Peoples all over the world
Includes right to education, healthcare, form communities, self-govern, maintain culture, language and religion
Protected their right to remain distinct from the mainstream society in their country
Has little power: Countries who adopt it are not required to follow it
Canada finally became a supporter in 2016 but does not consider it part of Canadian law as it believes it will lose power over the land and natural resources