Numbered Treaties
The Numbered Treaties ( French Traités numérotés , German numbered treaties ) are a series of eleven treaties between Canada , or the monarchs of the United Kingdom , who are formally there as heads of state , and numerous Indian tribes , which are now known as First Nations . The government of Canada prepared the treaties, set up treaty commissioners as negotiators, and ratified the treaties that came into being between 1871 and 1921. Therefore, they are still valid today.
The first seven of the eleven treaties came into being within ten years of Canada's creation as a confederation of British colonies , an area largely controlled in the center, west and north by the Hudson's Bay Company .
The government of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald (1867–1873 and 1878–1891) envisioned a settlement in the vast areas of what is now the provinces of Alberta , Manitoba and Saskatchewan . In order to do this, however, land had to be acquired that was inhabited by numerous tribes who were recognized as having an older claim ( title ) on the land. In order to persuade the Indians to give up their claims in favor of much smaller areas than their traditional areas, they were offered compensation. These should consist of annual cash payments, equipment, food and help with agriculture or fishing, as well as the granting of hunting rights, but also the right to fish and trapping on the abandoned land.
The Canadian negotiators benefited from the fact that the buffalo herds had been dramatically decimated and many Indians had their traditional livelihoods destroyed. So they became dependent on food deliveries. Edgar Dewdney used the leverage of hunger several times to force the tribes that resisted to give in. This manifested itself in many forms and was clearly evident in the Red River Rebellion of 1869 and the Northwest Rebellion of 1885, but also in the attempt by the Cree chief Big Bear to establish a large common reserve. The Métis and the Cree, in particular , fought back against marginalization.
The contracts
Contract 1
Treaty 1 , also known as the Stone Fort Treaty because it was concluded in the stone Lower Fort Garry in Manitoba , came about on August 3, 1871. Affected were the tribes of the Brokenhead Ojibway Nation , Fort Alexander (now Sagkeeng First Nation ), as well as the First Nations of the Long Plain, Peguis (the largest group in Manitoba), Roseau River Anishinabe, Sandy Bay and Swan Lake. The contract was signed by the Canadian negotiator Wemyss M. Simpson on the one hand and the Chippewa and Swampy Cree Tribes of Indians on the other. It was based on the construct that Her Majesty the Queen of England would ask her subjects to give their consent to open the country to settlement and immigration. To this end, the Indians should appoint people who would have the authority to sign such a contract. These were "Mis-koo-kenew or Red Eagle (Henry Prince), Ka-ke-ka-penais, or Bird for ever, Na-sha-ke-penais, or Flying down bird, Na-na-wa-nanaw, or Center of Bird's Tail, Ke-we-tayash, or Flying round, Wa-ko-wush, or Whip-poor-will, Oo-za-we-kwun, or Yellow Quill ", as it says in the contract.
The area was outlined as “Beginning on the international boundary line where it meets the Lake of the Woods , to a point north of the middle of Roseau Lake ; then to the middle of Roseau Lake and northwards to the middle of White Mouth Lake , also called White Mud Lake; then from the middle of the lake and the middle of the river to the confluence with the Winnipeg River ; along the Winnipeg to its mouth; then westward, including all islands near the southern end of Lake Winnipeg , across the lake to the mouth of the Drunken River ; then west to a point in Lake Manitoba between Oak Point and the mouth of Swan Creek ; then across that lake along a line on its west bank; then in a straight line to the Assiniboine rapids ; then south to the border; then again eastwards along this line to the starting point. "
In return, the Indians were to receive reserves . For the tribe of Chief Henry Prince, also known as Mis-koo-ke-new, that much land on both sides of the Red River , starting on the southern border of St. Peter's Congregation. For all tribes, 160 acres should remain for a family of five , an area that should be scaled to the size of the family. The tribe of chiefs Na-sha-ke-penais, Na-na-wa-nanaw, Ke-we-tayash and Wa-ko-wush were promised such a reservation on the Roseau River , starting at the mouth; the tribe of chief Ka-ke-ka-penais starting land on the Winnipeg River above Fort Alexander about a mile above the fort; the tribe of Oo-za-we-kwun land in the south and east of the Assiniboine , some twenty miles above the Portage , plus an area that should lie on the reservation and encompass 25 square miles. This should serve the Indians, if a settler was already living in the reservation at the time the contract was signed, as a replacement area of the same size.
In addition, each member of the tribe received three dollars and a school should be set up if the tribal officials so requested. Alcohol trafficking was prohibited.
An exact census of the Indians in each described district should be carried out, so that every July in or near the reservation a family of five people (adapted accordingly to larger or smaller families) should be paid 15 Canadian dollars. However, this should be paid out in the form of blankets, clothing, paints, yarn, traps , according to the prevailing price in Montreal , unless the Queen considered it sensible to pay in cash.
In addition to the actual contract, which had been “read out and explained” to the Indians, verbal promises also came into effect: every chief who had signed should receive an item of clothing that would make him stand out as chief. Clothing was also available for the advisors and the brave , with the number fixed at two per chief. In addition, there was a single horse for each chief and his two advisers or brave men , except for Yellow Quill and his people. Each chief got a bull and a cow, plus a boar for each reserve and a sow for each chief. As soon as the Indians are ready, they should also get a couple of domesticated animals ("each kind of animal raised by farmers"). Everyone who worked the soil should have a plow and harrow , but the equipment should remain government property and only be loaned.
Contract 2
Only a few weeks later, on August 21, Treaty 2 came about, with the tribes of the Dauphin River, Ebb and Flow, Keeseekoowenin , Lake Manitoba, Lake St. Martin, Little Saskatchewan, O-Chi-Chak-Ko-Sipi (Crane River), Pinaymootang (Fairford) and Skownan (formerly Waterhen). Signatories were for the Swan Creek and Lake Manitoba Indians, Sou-sonse or Little Long Ears; for the Indians of Fairford and the neighboring localities, Ma-sah-kee-yash or 'He who flies to the bottom,' and Richard Woodhouse, whose Indian name is Ke-wee-tah-quun-na-yash or 'He who flies round the feathers; ' for the Indians of Waterhen River and Crane River and the neighboring localities, Francois, or Broken Fingers; and for the Indians of Riding Mountains and Dauphin Lake and the remainder of the territory hereby ceded, Mekis (the Eagle), or Giroux. "
The contract was largely the same as Contract 1, apart from the description of the areas to be ceded:
From the mouth of the Winnipeg River , on the northern boundary of the area affected by Treaty 1; then along the east bank of Lake Winnipeg northward to the mouth of the Berens River ; then across said lake to its west bank, on the north bank of the mouth of the Little Saskatchewan River or Dauphin River ; then upstream and along the north and west banks, and at Lake St. Martin (also called St. Martin's Lake), on the north bank of the creek that flows into Lake St. Martin, from Lake Manitoba along the main direction of the creek to the latter lake; along the east and north banks of Lake Manitoba to the mouth of the Waterhen River ; along the east and north banks of said river to the far north end of the lake known as Waterhen Lake ; west to and across Lake Winnipegosis , then in a straight line to the northernmost waters that form the source of the Shell River , then to a point two miles west of the river, at right angles to it, then along a parallel line to the Shell River to its Mouth, then over the Assiniboine River , parallel to it at a distance of two miles, west to a point opposite Fort Ellice , southwest to the northwest point of the Moose Mountains , then south to the US border. Then along the border eastwards to the western border of the area from Treaty 1, along this border to the mouth of the Winnipeg.
The following remained as reservations: For Chief Mekis' band : 160 acres of land for each family of five between the Turtle River and Valley River , on the south bank of Dauphin Lake . For the tribe of François, or Broken Fingers, land on the Crane River that flows into Lake Manitoba, also here with a view of the “standard family”. For the tribe of Ma-sah-kee-yash and Richard Woodhouse, corresponding land between Lake Manitoba and St. Martin's Lake, known as the "Fairford River" including the area of the Indian mission.
For the tribe of Sou-sonce Land on the east side of Lake Manitoba, northward from "where there is currently a fallen elm" and up to halfway between Oak Point and Manitoba Post. There was also the restriction that existing settler sites should be taken into account.
Contract 3
Treaty 3 was concluded on October 3, 1873 with the Ojibway (in the treaty they are called the "Saulteaux Tribe of the Ojibbeway Indians"), and mainly affected areas in northwestern Ontario and in eastern Manitoba . The preceding negotiations resulted in improvements to the first two contracts, on the other hand, this contract served as a template for the following eight contracts. In addition, later trials in the highest courts helped to define the division of responsibilities between the provinces and the federal government more precisely.
In addition to the representatives of the Queen, the following First Nations were signed: The Buffalo Point (the only one from Manitoba, all other tribes lived in Ontario), the Big Grassy and the Big Island (Morson), the Couchiching (Fort Frances), the Eagle Lake (Migisi Sahgaigan), the Grassy Narrows (today the tribe is called Asubpeeschoseewagong), the Iskatewizaagegan 39 First Nation (Shoal Lake), the Lac Des Mille Lacs (Thunder Bay), the Lac La Croix (Fort Frances), the Lac Seul (Hudson , Kenora District), the Naicatchewenin (Devlin), the Naotkamegwanning (Pawitik), the Nicickousemenecaning (also Nigigoonsiminikaaning or Nicickousemenecaning around Fort Frances), the two First Nations of Northwest Angle 33 (Kenora) and Northwest Angle 37 (Sioux Narrows), the Obashkaandagaang Bay (Keewatin), the Ochiichagwe'Babigo'Ining (Kenora), the Onigaming (Nestor Falls), the Rainy River (Emo), the Ojibway Nation of Saugeen (Savant Lake), the Seine River First Nation (Mine Center), the Stanjikoming (Fort Frances), the Shoal Lake 40 (Shoal Lake), the Wabauskang (Ear Falls), the Wabigoon Lake (Dryden), the Wauzhusk Onigum (Kenora) and the Wabaseemoong (Whitedog). The affected area covered 55,000 square miles according to the contract.
Contract 4
Treaty 4 was first written on September 15, 1874 in Qu'Appelle , Saskatchewan . It was officially called the contract between "Her Majesty the Queen and the Cree and Saulteaux Tribes of Indians at the Qu'Appelle and Fort Alice". The background here was less the settlement issue than the expansion of the transcontinental rail link. As compensation for the abandonment of their land, the 33 and 34 tribes affected received the following: Each tribal member should receive 5 dollars a year, plus clothes. Each chief should receive $ 25 upon signing the contract and $ 25 per year, plus a coat and a silver coin. Every three years he was to receive a new set of clothes. Four other people from each tribe received similar payments, but only $ 15 a year. They were to be given tools for tillage and $ 750 a year for gunpowder and ammunition, cloth and thread for fishing nets. Upon request, the government also maintained a school and teacher. Here, too, the Indians got the right to hunt and fish on all abandoned land, except where there was agriculture, or forestry, mining, or where there were settlements.
Again, numerous tribes were affected. In Manitoba these were the seven First Nations of the Gamblers, Pine Creek, Rolling River, Tootinaowaziibeeng Treaty Reserve, Waywayseecappo and the Wuskwi Sipihk and the Sapotaweyak Cree Nation.
Significantly more tribes were affected in Saskatchewan (26 and 27 in total). In detail, these were the First Nations of Carry The Kettle, Cote, Cowessess, Day Star, Fishing Lake, Gordon, Kahkewistahaw, Kawacatoose, Keeseekoose, The Key, Kinistin, Little Black Bear, Muscowpetung, Muskowekwan, Nekaneet, Ocean Man, Ochapowace, Okanese, Pasqua, Peepeekisis, Pheasant Rump Nakota, Piapot, Sakimay, Star Blanket, White Bear, Yellow Quill. The Standing Buffalo did not sign the contract, but their participation was tacitly acknowledged.
Contract 5
Treaty 5 came into being on September 20, 1875, with the last signatures not being made until September 7 of the following year. In addition, there were additions from the years 1908 to 1910. The main area was central Manitoba, with smaller areas in Saskatchewan and Ontario. A total of 38 strains were affected.
The following 29 First Nations in Manitoba were affected by this contract: Berens River, Bloodvein, Bunibonibee Cree, Chemawawin Cree, Cross Lake, Fisher River Cree Nation, Fox Lake, Garden Hill First Nations, God's Lake, Grand Rapids, Hollow Water , Kinonjeoshtegon, Black River, Little Grand Rapids, Manto Sipi Cree, Mosakahiken Cree, Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation, Norway House Cree Nation, Opaskwayak Cree Nation, Pauingassi, Poplar River , Red Sucker Lake, St. Theresa Point, Sayisi Dene, Shamattawa, Tataskweyak Cree Nation, War Lake, Wasagamack, York Factory .
In Ontario these were the five First Nations of Deer Lake, North Spirit Lake, Pikangikum , Poplar Hill, Sandy Lake; in Saskatchewan the four First Nations of the Cumberland House Cree, the Red Earth and the Shoal Lake of the Cree First Nation.
Contract 6
Treaty 6 came about in August and September 1876 with Plain and Wood Cree and other tribes in Fort Carlton , Fort Pitt and Battle River (amended in February 1889). At that time the tribes were decimated by smallpox and the almost disappeared herds of buffalo forced them to accept alimentation from the Canadian state. To do this, they had to give up their traditional territory and withdraw into reservations. Additions to this contract were made until 1958.
Seventeen tribes were affected in Alberta, 2 in Manitoba and 30 in Saskatchewan. In Alberta these were the First Nations of the Alexander, the Alexis Nakota Sioux, the Beaver Lake Cree Nation, the Cold Lake , the Enoch Cree Nation, the Ermineskin Tribe, the Frog Lake, Heart Lake, Kehewin Cree Nation, the Louis Bull , Montana, O'Chiese, Paul, Saddle Lake, Samson, Sunchild and Whitefish Lake; in Manitoba these were the Marcel Colomb and the Mathias Colomb First Nation; in Saskatchewan the First Nations of the Ahtahkakoop, Beardy's and Okemasis, the Big Island Lake Cree Nation, Big River, Chakastaypasin, Flying Dust, Island Lake, James Smith, Lac La Ronge, Little Pine, Lucky Man, Makwa Sahgaiehcan, Mistawasis, Montreal Lake who have favourited Moosomin, Mosquito, Grizzly Bear's Head, Lean Man First Nation , Muskeg Lake, Muskoday, One Arrow, Onion Lake, Pelican Lake, Peter Ballantyne Cree Nation Poundmaker, Red Pheasant, Saulteaux, Sweetgrass, Sturgeon Lake, Thunderchild, Waterhen Lake and Witchekan Lake.
Contract 7
Treaty 7 of September 22, 1877 mainly concerned Blackfoot tribes and was signed around 100 km east of Calgary , on what is now the Siksika Nation reservation . On December 4th, more Blackfoot chiefs signed the treaty. This treaty affected eight tribes in Alberta, namely the Kainai Nation (Blood), the Piikani Nation (Piegan), the Siksika Nation (Blackfoot), the Tsuu T'ina Nation (Sarcee), the Stoney First Nation , and finally the Bearspaw , Chiniki and the Wesley.
Contract 8
Treaty 8 came about on June 21, 1899 and received several amendments in 1901. The treaty affected tribes at the Little Slave Lake . The trigger for this contract in an area of around 840,000 km², in which such agreements in favor of settlers had previously been considered superfluous, was the gold rush on the Klondike . It provided tax exemption as well as capital penalty and military service for the undersigned Woodland Cree, Dunneza (or Biber ) and Chipeway.
In Alberta, the following First Nations were affected: Athabasca Chipewyan, Chipewyan Prairie, Fort McKay, Fort McMurray # 468, Mikisew Cree, Fort Chipewyan, Bigstone Cree Nation; Loon River, Whitefish Lake, Woodland Cree; Driftpile, Kapawe'No, Sawridge, Sucker Creek, Swan River; Beaver, Dene Tha, Little Red River, Lubicon Lake, Tallcree; Duncan's, Horse Lake, Sturgeon Lake. In British Columbia, the First Nations included the Doig River, Fort Nelson, Halfway River, Prophet River, Saulteau, West Moberly, the Blueberry River, and McLeod Lake. In Saskatchewan, these were the Black Lake Denesuline Nation, the Clearwater River Dene Nation, and the Fond Du Lac Denesuline Nation.
Contract 9
Treaty 9 was formally concluded between King Edward VII and numerous tribes in northern Ontario, plus the Abitibi from Québec. As of July 12, 1905, 38 tribes gradually signed the treaty. These First Nations were, in addition to the Abitibiwinni from the province of Québec, First Nations from Ontario: Albany, Aroland, Attawapiskat, Bearskin Lake, Brunswick House, Cat Lake, Chapleau Cree, Chapleau Ojibway, Constance Lake, Eabametoong, Flying Post, Fort Severn, Ginoogaming, Kasabonika Lake, Keewaywin, Kingfisher, Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug , Matachewan, Mishkeegogamang , Missanabie Cree, Neskantaga, Nibinamik, Mattagami, Muskrat Dam Lake, Marten Falls, McDowell Lake, Moose Cree, North Caribou Lake, Sachigo Lake, Slate Falls Nation, Taykou Wahgoshig , Wapekeka, Wawakapewin, Webequie, Weenusk, Wunnumin Lake, a total of 38 tribes.
Contract 10
Treaty 10 was signed from August 28, 1906. This affected tribes in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Two First Nations in Manitoba, the Barren Lands and the Northlands First Nation, signed the treaty, five more from Saskatchewan, namely the First Nations of the Birch Narrows, the Buffalo River Dene Nation, the Canoe Lake Cree, the English River and the Hatchet Lake First Nation.
Contract 11
Treaty 11 was formally signed between King George V and numerous First Nations in the Northwest Territories . The signing took place from June 27, 1921 and concerned the following First Nations: Acho Dene Koe, Aklavik, Behdzi Ahda, Dechi Laoti ', the Deh Gah Gotie Dene Council, Deline First Nation, Dog Rib Rae, Fort Good Hope, Gameti First Nation , Gwicha Gwich'in, Inuvik Native First Nation, Jean Marie River First Nation, Ka'a'gee Tu, Liidli Kue, Nahanni Butte, Pehdzeh Ki, Sambaa K'e (Trout Lake) Dene First Nation, Tetlit Gwich'in, Tulita Dene, West Point and Wha Ti First Nation.
See also
literature
- Michael Asch (Ed.): Aboriginal and Treaty Rights in Canada: Essays on Law, Equality, and Respect for Difference , University of British Columbia Press 1997, reprinted 1998 and 2002.
- René Fumoleau: As long as this land shall last: a history of Treaty 8 and Treaty 11, 1870-1939 , University of Calgary Press, Arctic Institute of North America 2004 (revised, first published in 1975).
- Treaty 7 Elders and Tribal Council, Walter Hildebrandt, Dorothy First Rider, Sarah Carter: The True Spirit and Original Intent of Treaty 7 , McGill-Queen's University Press 1996, reprinted 2005.
- Arthur J. Ray, Jim Miller, Frank Tough: Bounty and Benevolence: A History of Saskatchewan Treaties , McGill-Queen's University Press 2000.
Web links
- Texts from treaties 1 and 2
- Text of Treaty 3
- Text of Treaty 4
- Text of Treaty 5
- Text of Treaty 6
- Text of Treaty 7
- Text of Treaty 8
- Treaty 8 First Nations of Alberta
- Treaty 8 Tribal Association (British Columbia)
- Text of Treaty 9
- Text of Treaty 10
- Text of Treaty 11
- Historical Indian Treaties , The Atlas of Canada
- Treaty Timeline Introduction, Association of Manitoba Chiefs
- Virtual Journey: The Signing of Treaty Nine
- For Settlers - Understanding Treaty One in the Context of Idle No More , in: The Media Coop, December 11, 2012
Remarks
- ↑ Mosquito, Grizzly Bear's Head, Lean Man are the only tribes in Canada to belong to two of the Numbered Treaties, namely No. 4 and No. 6.
- ↑ Jeffrey S. Murray: Hard Bargains - The Making of Treaty 8