Staff at the Office of the Treaty Commissioner are continuously working to grow their own knowledge while support the other of others to learn.

On Aug. 16, Sheldon Krasowski, author of No Surrender: The Land Remains Indigenous, joined OTC staff for a professional development day.

It was great to have him share his learning with our team.

Krasowski’s book is published by the University of Regina Press. 

Between 1869 and 1877 the government of Canada negotiated Treaties One through Seven with the Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains. Many historians argue that the negotiations suffered from cultural misunderstandings between the treaty commissioners and Indigenous chiefs, but newly uncovered eyewitness accounts show that the Canadian government had a strategic plan to deceive over the “surrender clause” and land sharing.

According to Sheldon Krasowski’s research, Canada understood that the Cree, Anishnabeg, Saulteaux, Assiniboine, Siksika, Piikani, Kainaa, Stoney and Tsuu T’ina nations wanted to share the land with newcomers—with conditions—but were misled over governance, reserved lands, and resource sharing. Exposing the government chicanery at the heart of the negotiations, No Surrender demonstrates that the land remains Indigenous.