We Are All Treaty People

Treaties

The treaties in Saskatchewan are formal agreements between the Crown and First Nations with their expectations and obligations.

Their creation began after confederation and between 1871 and 1921 there were 11 Numbered Treaties were negotiated covering the territories from present-day Ontario to Alberta as well as portions of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. There are many details included in the Treaty Timeline.

Treaties are beneficial to all people in Saskatchewan as they are considered to be mutually beneficial arrangements that guarantee a co-existence between the treaty parties.

Today there are misconceptions that only First Nations peoples are part of the treaties, but that’s not the case. As the phrase “we are all treaty people,” implies, both Indigenous and non-Ingenious people in Saskatchewan are part of the treaty. There is benefit from the wealth generated from the land and the foundational rights provided in the treaties.

In Saskatchewan there are six treaties.




An in-depth look at treaties:

Treaty Backgrounder - Overview of treaties in Saskatchewan.

Modern Day Treaties - Summary of modern day treaties and agreements.

Aboriginal Rights - Backgrounder on the philisophical understandings and evolution of Aboriginal rights and title.

Fur Trade - History of the First Nations and the fur trade in Western Canada.

Treaty Implementation Report – published in 2007 it presents a comprehensive treaty-based approach that will enable the parties to fulfill their obligations to each other.

Treaty Timeline

The history of treaties in Saskatchewan starts well before Europeans arrived. View the treaty timeline to walk through history.

View Timeline