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.
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Treaty 2
The first post-Confederation treaty, Treaty One, is concluded in August 1871 and covers Manitoba as it existed then. Treaty Two is concluded a few weeks later and covers areas needed for expansion and settlement in the west and north of the Province. British Columbia enters Confederation on the understanding that construction of the east-west railway will begin in two years and will be completed in ten.
Read a historical interpretation of the treaty in Treaty Research Report: Treaty One and Treaty Two
Look at a typed transcript of the Treaties 1 and 2 text.
Source: Government of Canada Treaty Guide to Treaty No. 1 & Treaty No. 2
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Canada
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Saskatchewan
Download: Map of First Nations in Saskatchewan
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Treaty 4
Initiated by Indians and Métis concerned about the declining numbers of animals which provided them with a living. Treaty 4 covers present-day southern Saskatchewan. Provisional boundary set in northern Ontario.
Read a historical interpretation of the treaty in Treaty Research Report: Treaty Four
Look at a typed transcript of the Treaties Four text.
Source: Government of Canada Treaty Guide to Treaty No. 4
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Canada
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Saskatchewan
Download: Map of First Nations in Saskatchewan
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Treaty 5
This treaty originated in two historical processes. The southern part, negotiated in 1875, was one of the southern Prairie treaties, and was in large part a result of the insistence of the Native people of that region that their aboriginal rights be recognized by the Canadian government, which had recently acquired title to their lands. The northern part of Treaty 5 was negotiated in 1908.
Read a historical interpretation of the treaty in Treaty Research Report: Treaty Five
Look at a typed transcript of the Treaties Five text.
Source: Government of Canada Treaty Guide to Treaty No. 5
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Canada
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Saskatchewan
Download: Map of First Nations in Saskatchewan
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Treaty 6
The negotiation of this treaty took place during a difficult period for the Plains Cree, who were suffering from the rapid decline of the buffalo. The documents indicate that their concerns included medical care and relief in case of need.
Read a historical interpretation of the treaty in Treaty Research Report: Treaty Six
Look at a typed transcript of the Treaties Six text.
Source: Government of Canada Treaty Guide to Treaty No. 6
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Canada
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Saskatchewan
Download: Map of First Nations in Saskatchewan
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Treaty 8
The first of the northern treaties covered an area of 324,900 sq miles and represents the most geographically extensive treaty activity undertaken. It comprises what is now the northern half of Alberta, the northeast quarter of British Columbia, the northwest corner of Saskatchewan, and the area south of Hay River and Great Slave Lake in the Northwest Territories.
Read a historical interpretation of the treaty in Treaty Research Report: Treaty Eight
Look at a typed transcript of the Treaties Eight text.
Source: Government of Canada Treaty Guide to Treaty No. 8
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Canada
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Saskatchewan
Download: Map of First Nations in Saskatchewan
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Treaty 10
Covers 220,000 square kilometres of northern Saskatchewan and Alberta. Unlike the land in southern Saskatchewan, the Treaty 10 lands were deemed unsuitable for agriculture and so the federal government did not respond to demands from the region's Native people for a treaty until the early 20th century, when the mixed-blood people of northern Saskatchewan began to demand compensation for loss of aboriginal rights and the Provinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta had been created.
Read a historical interpretation of the treaty in Treaty Research Report: Treaty Ten
Look at a typed transcript of the Treaties Ten text.
Source: Government of Canada Treaty Guide to Treaty No. 10
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Canada
Download: Treaty Boundaries Map for Saskatchewan
Download: Map of First Nations in Saskatchewan
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.
